Celebrated film maker Oliver Stone today announced he will no longer be working on a film project about the life of Martin Luther King Jr. because of objections to his script posed by the King family.
Stone took to his Twitter account to explain his decision was based on the resistance of the producers and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s estate to allow his script which addressed Dr. King’s issues with adultery as well as disunity within the Civil Rights Movement.
Stone contends that his aim was to create an accurate and honest portrait of the beloved icon.
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
The script dealt w/ issues of adultery, conflicts within the movement, and King’s spiritual transformation into a higher, more radical being
— 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
Dr. King's family has a right to feel protective of their patriarch's legacy; however, Stone may have a point. Only time will tell if the final product delivers a sanitized King that fits neatly into history books or the true spirit of the revolutionary.
Kimberly Foster is the founder and editor of For Harriet. Email or Follow @KimberlyNFoster
