Critically acclaimed director Oliver Stone backs out of the Martin Luther King Jr. biopic.
The at times controversial director has been considering and working on a Martin Luther King Jr. biopic for several months, but three days before MLK Day he announced via twitter the his involvement in the project is over.
Controversial director Oliver Stone has been circling a Martin Luther King Jr. biopicfor months, but he took to Twitter on Friday — just three days before MLK Day — to announce that his involvement with the project has come to an end.
Sad news. My MLK project involvement has ended. I did an extensive rewrite of the script, but the producers won’t go with it.
— Oliver Stone (@TheOliverStone) January 17, 2014
I’m told the estate & the ‘respectable’ black community that guard King’s reputation won’t approve it. They suffocate the man & the truth.
— Oliver Stone (@TheOliverStone) January 17, 2014
I wish you could see the film I would’ve made. I fear if ‘they’ ever make it, it’ll be just another commemoration of the March on Washington
— Oliver Stone (@TheOliverStone) January 17, 2014
Martin, I grieve for you. You are still a great inspiration for your fellow Americans—but, thank God, not a saint.
— Oliver Stone (@TheOliverStone) January 17, 2014
It was reported that Jamie Foxx was attached to the role of King before DreamWorks and Warner Bros. rejected Oliver Stone’s latest script.
Many argue that this is the latest attempt by the King estate to keep a tight grip on the civil-rights leader’s name and reputation. The studios were working closely with the family, who granted the right to use King’s copyrighted speeches, but now it seems they were concerned about Oliver Stone’s approach. Ultimately, the family could damage could damage the credibility and success of the feature film if they did not agree with Oliver Stone’s portrayal.
Stone has been previously criticized for stretching the truth in his previous historical feature films, mostly the 1991’s “JFK” which insinuated that Lyndon B. Johnson initiated an assassination to remove President John F. Kennedy.
Regardless of what could of happened, the MLK Jr. family has kept a tight grip on their father’s legacy. Until this point, they will not sacrifice their father’s name for a big budget Hollywood feature film.
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