Latest news with #Platoon
Metro
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Hollywood legend smiles as he watches Victory Day military parade in Moscow
Hollywood filmmaker Oliver Stone put in a smiley appearance as he attended the Victory Day military parade in Russia on Friday. The esteemed US director, 78, is known for tackling various subjects, including war and politics, in his work, while he's also made dramas and biopics. With three Academy Awards, a Bafta, an Emmy, and five Golden Globes to his name, it's no surprise he drew attention during the celebrations, given that he's behind some of the most iconic movies. The military parade took place in Moscow for the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during World War II. Meticulously choreographed with fine detail, the parade occurred in the capital's Red Square and was attended by over 20 global leaders, including China's President Xi Jinping and Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Leaders from the United States and Africa were also present. Stone was in high spirits among the crowd, dressed in smart attire of a white shirt, red tie, and camel coat. He also shielded his eyes with a pair of red sunglasses and added the black and orange Saint George's ribbon to his lapel. Also among attendees yesterday was American actor Steven Seagal. The 73-year-old was dressed in all black as he attempted to blend in with the pack of spectators. Stone has an extensive military background himself, having risen to notoriety in the late 1980s for his movies about the Vietnam War, in which he also participated as an infantry soldier. The acclaimed director served from 1967 to 1968 in the 25th Infantry and 1st Cavalry Divisions and was wounded twice in action. He is the proud owner of several honours awarded for his service, including a Bronze Star for valour, an Air Medal, and an Oak Leaf Cluster to recognise the two wounds. Speaking last November during a Vietnam at 50 lecture, Stone reflected on his decision to enlist in the army, spending a year in South Vietnam as a teacher but leaving with more questions. 'I didn't feel like my education was complete. I was still confused about what was going on because I didn't understand all of the politics. I went back because I didn't feel that I knew enough. I didn't want to be a fraud.' He continued: 'I felt like I had to go to this war to understand it. I had to go back. I had already seen a bit of it from the fringes, but I went right into the heart of it in '67.' Several years following his return from war, he would struggle with his mental health, but managed to overcome the challenges and attend film school. Stone went on to depict the brutality of war in his Vietnam trilogy, which included 1986's Platoon, which starred Johnny Depp and Willem Dafoe; Born on the Fourth of July (1989), starring Tom Cruise; and Heaven & Earth (1993), with Tommy Lee Jones. Platoon, specifically, was, in part, inspired by Stone's own experiences on the frontlines. It won four Academy Awards, including best picture. More Trending The Oscar-winning best director is also behind controversial flicks such as The Putin Interviews (2017), having hailed the Russian dictator as a 'great leader' for the country and a 'very refined individual'. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Speaking about the longest-serving Russian President Putin's leadership in 2017, he said that the 'Russian people have never been better off'. Other divisive films from Stone include those that critics have used to accuse him of promoting conspiracy theories. For example, 1991's JFK examined the investigation into the assassination of John F. Kennedy by New Orleans attorney Jim Garrison, who believed there was a conspiracy behind the assassination and that shooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, was scapegoated. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Star of $105,000,000 flop didn't realise film would be so 'wacky' MORE: Jennifer Aniston's 'stalker' appears in court half-naked in unsettling footage MORE: Putin's army of Telegram war bloggers and TV propagandists unmasked
New York Post
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
A collector's dream NYC pad 'sells in a day' for $9M cash
Alexander Zweig, an entrepreneur, collector and angel investor — and a son of the late Wall Street investor Martin Zweig — has found a buyer for his $9 million Tribeca loft, sources told Gimme Shelter exclusively. The all-cash deal is slated to close on Wednesday. 'It [found a buyer] in a day,' a source said of the 62 Beach St. aerie. The home's stylish aesthetic was inspired by the nearby Greenwich Hotel. Advertisement 15 The open living area features exposed brick and beamed ceilings. Richard Caplan 15 There's plenty of space for billiards. Richard Caplan 15 One of the home's two bedrooms. Richard Caplan Advertisement At more than 3,350 square feet, the two-bedroom, 2½-bathroom nest is a two-unit combo on the sixth floor. It has also served as a stage for Zweig's impressive memorabilia collection. That includes Charlie Sheen's helmet from 'Platoon,' Clint Eastwood's 'Dirty Harry' gun and Arnold Schwarzenegger's shotgun from 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day.' There's also John Belushi's driver's license, which is in one of the apartment's powder rooms, and memorabilia from the film 'Edward Scissorhands.' 15 Arnold Schwarzenegger with his shotgun from 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day.' Everett Collection / Everett Collection Advertisement 15 Clint Eastwood holding his handgun in 'Dirty Harry.' Courtesy Everett Collection The collection, which also includes sports memorabilia, art and photography including a black-and-white Kate Moss photo by Mario Testino — along with vintage typewriters, rare books and more — was not part of the sale, sources said. Zweig first purchased 6B in 2012 for $2.89 million, followed by 6C in 2013 for $3 million. A six-year renovation to combine the units followed. Advertisement 15 A gracious foyer inside the loft. Richard Caplan 15 The home is rife with stunning ceilings and memorabilia. Richard Caplan 15 The open chef's kitchen comes with a breakfast bar. Richard Caplan 'It's a really unique space and has some of the most insane pop-culture memorabilia inside — it's like a museum,' said Ryan Serhant of Netflix's 'Owning Manhattan,' who shared the listing with Greg Vladi, also of Serhant. Zweig inherited the collecting gene from his late father Martin, an investor who once predicted the 1987 stock market crash. The elder Zweig paid a then-record $21.5 million for the Pierre Hotel's penthouse in 1999. It was on the market for $125 million when he passed away in 2013, leaving his collection — including Marilyn Monroe's 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President' dress — to Alexander, his brother Zachary and his second wife Barbara. 15 The residence's hidden home office and bookshelf. Richard Caplan 15 The wet bar is a welcome addition to the play space. Richard Caplan Advertisement 15 Memorabilia inside includes the driver's license of the late John Belushi, seen perched next to the sink. Richard Caplan The Beach Street abode opens to a foyer with custom closets and a modern chandelier that leads to a great room with red-brick walls, exposed brick and tin ceilings. There's also an open living/dining area with a built-in wet bar and a chef's kitchen. Design details include three exposures, a pocket door that opens to a windowed home office with built-in storage, and 20 windows facing south and west for sunsets over the Hudson River. Advertisement 15 A stylish lounge. Richard Caplan 15 A cozy nook inside the Tribeca home. Richard Caplan 15 The unit's open dining area. Richard Caplan 15 Large couches fill this lounging room. Richard Caplan Advertisement The main bedroom comes with cove lighting, a walk-through closet and an ensuite spa-like bath. Both the bedroom and office open to a courtyard-facing balcony. The residence is in a former coffee, tea and spice warehouse, the Fischer Mills Building, which dates to 1860 and is now a full-service condo. The renovation was led by DHD Architecture & Interior Design's Jill Diamant, an architect, and Emilee Pearson, a designer.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Oliver Stone Looks Back at the Fall of Saigon 50 Years Later: 'We're Back to Learning Nothing' (Exclusive)
April 30 marks the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, the capture of the capital of South Vietnam by the Communist North Vietnamese army that marked the official end of the Vietnam War — a conflict that stretched two long decades and cost millions of lives. Approximately 60,000 of them were U.S. soldiers. Among the survivors was director Oliver Stone, whose combat injuries earned him multiple decorations, including a Bronze Star with 'V' Device for valor, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster (to denote two wounds), an Air Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge. Stone — who through landmark films like 1986's Platoon and 1989's Born on the Fourth of July allowed the country to process the trauma of war — reflected on his time in Vietnam, his conversion to pacifism upon his return to the U.S. and his thoughts on similar endless and deadly conflicts currently plaguing the planet. I went to Vietnam as a teacher first in 1965. I was 18, and I taught there after I had attended Yale. I went again three years later as a soldier. I was young, and I didn't have the conscience we all have now. It was just something that we all believed in at the time. Vietnam was all of a sudden the center of the world. It was like Ukraine is now, where people were going nuts and saying that we have to fight for Ukraine. More from The Hollywood Reporter Agatha Christie Comes to Life in AI-Enhanced BBC Maestro Writing Course Daniel Ings Joins Catherine Zeta-Jones in Prime Video Series Adapted From Nick Harkaway Novel Cannes: 'March of the Penguins' Director to Judge Immersive Competition That mentality of militarism was born in America. It was in our blood. I grew up relatively conservative. In 1965, Vietnam was an interesting place to be a teacher. It felt like a divine mission. But as I traveled around Asia, I saw Cambodia before the war — before Pol Pot — and I ended up in Laos. And the more I saw, the worse it looked. By the time I went back as a soldier, it was depressing. All barbed wire camps. We put half a million men on the ground and as a soldier, I could see that it was a mess. It was just this poorly run war, and we were counting the bodies and pretending that we were winning. The whole thing was based on a lie. There was a lot of other lying going on. In my book, Chasing the Light, it tells my version of Vietnam. By the time I left in December '68, I had been wounded twice and seen quite a bit of action. I was shot in the neck and had shrapnel on my lower body. It was a miracle I survived the neck injury because that was close — about a quarter-inch from my carotid. But I went back into combat anyway. I served most of my 15 months in the jungle, in the plains around the beaches. I was exposed to quite a bit and who knows, maybe I got Agent Orange poisoning. We used to walk through that stuff. You've seen the movies — Platoon, Born on the 4th of July — and then I told the Vietnamese side of it with my 1993 adaptation of the Le Ly Hayslip book, Heaven & Earth, which depicted a beautiful Vietnam before we got there. When Richard Nixon came into the White House in January 1969, I had left already Vietnam a month earlier. For Americans, the war dragged on for another four years till 1973. And then Nixon made his deal to get the POWs out. Most of the American combat troops were out by '73. And the amount of casualties was amazing between '69 and '73. I think it was rather an even split between the two regimes, Lyndon B. Johnson and Nixon. I came back to the U.S. in '68. In 1970, I went to NYU film school. That was a very revolutionary kind of place. The student body distrusted veterans and stuff, so I kept my mouth shut. In the early 1970s my feelings about the war changed, but by the mid-'70s, I would be on the other side of the fence completely. I was more aligned with Jane Fonda. I grew to admire her after the war. When it was going on, her opposition seemed strange. We knew it was over when Johnson refused to run in March '68. So he wasn't backing his policy in Vietnam. And the army kept going. The American media had been so 'rah rah' on Vietnam. It's part of the problem that we have in our country — the media tells us what to think. The New York Times is awful. In every single war — Vietnam, Iraq, etc. — read their editorials. They were so jingoistic and pro-government. They always were the government. They were the government line, I guess you could say. At the end of the Vietnam, they changed, because they hated Nixon. Now they hate Trump. So they go after Trump all the time. But the truth is, they support the Ukraine war. So it's the same crap. And the Ukraine war is another one that's completely a lie. They keep lying to the American public and the public falls for it. When Saigon fell — on April 30, 1975 — I was relieved. Everyone was. It was a wonderful moment in the sense that it was the end. There was a wave of movies that started with The Deer Hunter (1978), Apocalypse Now (1978) and Jane [Fonda]'s movie Coming Home. All of these were noble, good movies. And then I got to make Platoon. I made Born on the Fourth of July, a very strong, anti-military movie. It came out Dec. 20, 1989. The U.S. invaded Panama that day. It was the beginning of a change — a shift back to the use of our military and belief again in the system. It was George H. W. Bush. The next thing you know, we're in the Iraq war, which was all based on propaganda. According to the media, we were heroes. The military had done a great job. The next thing you know, we were back in Iraq for the second Iraq war. It hasn't stopped. As Bush 41 said, 'The specter of Vietnam has been buried forever in the desert sands of the Arabian Peninsula.' There was this fear that we were becoming too pacifist, too soft. So that was why they reclaimed that sense that we had to get tough again. And we did. We got very tough. And before you knew it, by the late '90s, we had this policy — it's written in ink and we've lived up to most of it — to take out the seven countries on the NeoCon list. We hit six of them so far. The seventh one, of course, is Iran. If we go after Iran, it's a huge mistake. We're going to bury Bush's bullshit in the sands of the ashes of history. But I think we'll go. Netanyahu, he's our leader. He's our foreign policy. Middle East policy goes through him. I think that guy is absolutely fanatical. I interviewed him years ago, and I thought he was mad then. He really hates the Arabs. He just can't get over it. So we're back to learning nothing. This country really has a problem with history, I think. 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South China Morning Post
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
10 of the greatest Vietnam war movies, from Apocalypse Now to Full Metal Jacket
The Vietnam war cast a long shadow across one of the most fertile periods of American filmmaking, and for the half-century since it ended, filmmakers have reckoned with its complicated legacy. Advertisement These 10 films, assembled to mark the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, range from indelible anti-war classics to Vietnamese portraits of resistance, capturing the vastness of the war's still-reverberating traumas. 1. The Big Shave (1967) A 25-year-old Martin Scorsese made this six-minute short. In it, a man simply shaves himself before a sink and a mirror. After a few nicks and cuts, he does not stop, continuing until his face is a bloody mess – a neat but gruesome metaphor for Vietnam. Peter Bernuth in a still from The Big Shave (1967). 2. The Little Girl of Hanoi (1974) A young girl (Lan Huong) searches for her family in the bombed-out ruins of Hanoi in Hai Ninh's landmark of Vietnamese cinema. It is a work of wartime propaganda but also of aching humanity. 3. Hearts and Minds (1974) Controversy greeted Peter Davis' landmark documentary around its release, but time has only proved how sober and clear-eyed it was. Newsreel clips and home front interviews are contrasted with the horrors on the ground in Vietnam in this penetrating examination of the gulf between American policy and Vietnamese reality. 4. The Deer Hunter (1979) Arguably the pre-eminent American film about the Vietnam war, no other movie more grandly or tragically charts the American evolution from innocence to disillusionment than Michael Cimino's devastating epic about working-class friends (Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage) from a Pennsylvania steel town drafted into war. 5. Apocalypse Now (1979) Apocalypse Now, which transposes Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness to the Vietnam war, is an epic of madness that teeters on the brink of hallucination. More faithful to Conrad than to Vietnam, Apocalypse Now does not so much illuminate the chaos and moral confusion of the war as elevate it to a grandiose nightmare. 6. Platoon (1986) The 1980s saw a wave of Hollywood films about Vietnam. Foremost among them is the Oscar best picture-winning Platoon, which Oliver Stone wrote based on his own experiences as an infantryman in Vietnam. Widely acclaimed for its realism, Stone's film remains among the most intensely vivid and visceral dramatisations of the war. 7. Full Metal Jacket (1987) Stanley Kubrick should be more often thought of as the supreme anti-war moviemaker. Split between the harrowing boot-camp tyranny of R. Lee Ermey's drill instructor and the urban violence of the 1968 Tet Offensive, Full Metal Jacket fuses both ends of the war machine. 8. Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) How former soldiers lived with their experience in Vietnam has been a subject of many fine films. In Werner Herzog's non-fiction gem, he profiles the astonishing story of German-American pilot Dieter Dengler. In the film, Dengler recounts – and sometimes re-enacts – his experience being shot down over Laos, captured and tortured and then escaping. 9. The Fog of War (2003) Former US defence secretary and Vietnam war architect Robert McNamara sat for interviews with documentarian Errol Morris. The result is a chilling reflection on the thinking that led to one of America's greatest follies. It is not a mea culpa but a thornier and more disquieting rumination on how rationalised ideology can lead to the deaths of millions. 10. The Post (2017) Steven Spielberg's stirring film dramatises The Washington Post's 1971 publishing of the Pentagon Papers, a collection of classified documents that chronicled America's 20-year involvement in Southeast Asia. While government analyst Daniel Ellsberg could be considered the hero of this story, The Post turns its focus to Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) and the wartime role of the media.
USA Today
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Willem Dafoe's most gonzo movie roles, ranked (including 'Legend of Ochi')
Willem Dafoe's most gonzo movie roles, ranked (including 'Legend of Ochi') Show Caption Hide Caption 'The Legend of Ochi': Girl meets cute creature in fantasy adventure Helena Zengel plays a girl taught by her dad (Willem Dafoe) to hunt and fear a mythical creature until she meets one in "The Legend of Ochi." From the wild eyes to an often unnerving grin, Willem Dafoe has one of the most expressive faces in Hollywood, and it's led to some gloriously bizarre performances. Dafoe, 69, is one of our greatest character actors, a man who's appeared in more than 100 movies during his 45-year career, often in supporting roles or controversial parts but always making films better by inserting his signature electricity. He has a list of greatest hits: Oscar-nominated turns as an idealistic soldier in "Platoon," Vincent van Gogh in "At Eternity's Gate" and a big-hearted motel manager in "The Florida Project." And then there's his high-profile take on Jesus in Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ." We're here, however, to celebrate his more out-there work, the characters that have been meme'd on social media (like GIF-able "The Smile Man") or are just memorably unconventional for a guy who's impossible to pigeonhole. With Dafoe back on the big screen in the throwback family adventure "The Legend of Ochi" (in theaters now), here are the actor's 15 most gonzo movie roles, ranked: Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox 15. Gill, 'Finding Nemo' (2003) This spot's a jump ball between Dafoe's cider-swilling Rat in "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and the steely Moorish idol who befriends little Nemo in the Pixar classic. Gill gets the nod for scrambling his aquarium "Tank Gang" for an escape mission. (Plus, he's got gnarly scars from meeting the business end of some dentist tools.) 14. Maxim, 'The Legend of Ochi' (2025) Wielding shoddy armor and sword, Dafoe brings a goofy but tender spirit to a blowhard dad who leads a group of local boys to hunt and fear mythic (and adorable) creatures known as the Ochi. It's not until his daughter (Helena Zengel) befriends an injured baby Ochi that he sees the damage that mindset has caused his charges. 13. J.G. Jopling, 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' (2014) Dafoe's characters in Wes Anderson's movies always lean eccentric, but this guy's pretty darn deadly, too. Jopling is a hitman with skull rings and a sadistic streak who does all sorts of dirty work, including engaging in some light decapitation and throwing a cat out the window before meeting an amusing end off a snowy cliff. 12. Albin Eberhart von Franz, 'Nosferatu' (2024) In Robert Eggers' remake of the 1922 horror classic, von Franz is an oddball Swiss philospher and disgraced scientist called in when young Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) shows signs of possession. He's also in on the case to help kill the vampire that's come to town, ultimately setting the villain's coffin vault afire in a mad passion. 11. Klaus Daimler, 'The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou' (2004) While he's not exactly a total weirdo in Anderson's comedy, Dafoe mines an enjoyable pettiness and jealousy in Klaus, the German first mate of the title oceanographer. Steve is out to find the jaguar shark who killed his partner, but Klaus finds his own enemy in a Zissou fan (Owen Wilson) who believes the undersea documentarian is his dad. 10. Nemo, 'Inside' (2023) The experiential thriller winds up a one-man show for Dafoe. An art thief gets trapped on a job in a high-tech penthouse, and his mental and physical state goes south as months go by, leading the criminal to converse with pigeons, do the Macarena and turn the walls of his accidental prison into an unhinged canvas. 9. John Geiger, 'Speed 2: Cruise Control' (1997) There's not much to love about this woeful sequel. Dafoe at least steals the film with menacing zeal as a former cruise worker who hijacks a luxury ship and programs it to crash into an oil tanker. "Speed" returnee Sandra Bullock and Jason Patric get in his way but Geiger makes sure to exit in gleefully insane fashion. 8. Paul Smecker, 'The Boondock Saints' (1999) The cult hit contains one of Dafoe's most flamboyant efforts, complete with random river-dancing, a prostitute costume change and lyrical dancing during a gunfight. As a gay FBI agent doggedly pursuing vigilante twin brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus), Dafoe doesn't leave much scenery unchewed. 7. He, 'Antichrist' (2009) Lars von Trier's controversial horror flick is wall-to-wall bonkers, with Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a couple escaping to nature after the tragic death of their infant son. Dark visions and ultraviolent sexual situations ensue, including one bit with a wood block you'll never unsee. (Extra points for Dafoe also giving demonic voice to a fox.) 6. Godwin Baxter, 'Poor Things' (2023) Yorgos Lanthimos' "Frankenstein"-esque fable casts Dafoe as a disfigured surgeon who reanimates young dead woman Bella (Emma Stone) with the mind of a fetus. The actor infuses this unusual father figure with an overprotective streak and a sense of melancholy to match a patchwork body born from parental abuse. 5. Raven Shaddock, 'Streets of Fire' (1984) Dafoe's earliest years were kind of a biker period, with "The Loveless" but mainly with this noir-ish, 1950s-style "rock and roll fable." Dafoe rocks an aerodynamic pompadour and wicked attitude as the leader of a biker gang who kidnaps a rock singer (Diane Lane) and has a showdown with her ex (Michael Paré). 4. Bobby Peru, 'Wild at Heart' (1990) Dafoe might be the only person who could out-Cage Nicolas Cage. Them in the same movie? That's the stuff of legend. In David Lynch's neo-noir flick, Dafoe's creeper with ghastly teeth wants to rob a feed store with an Elvis-obsessed ex-con (Cage) after sexually assaulting his girlfriend (Laura Dern) but gets quite the explosive comeuppance. 3. Thomas Wake, 'The Lighthouse' (2019) Imagine being trapped in tight quarters with a gassy old sailor. You'd go mad, too! In Robert Eggers' period psychological thriller, Dafoe is a salty and kooky lighthouse keeper who mentors a young rookie (Robert Pattinson), and even nonstop drinking can't stop severe isolation from taking hold of the newbie. 2. Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, 'Spider-Man' (2002) Dafoe's supervillain would be freaky enough in that suit of armor and riding around on a Goblin Glider. But the web swinger's psychotic antagonist is even creepier with the helmet off, sneering and snarling to himself in that first Spidey flick and again nearly 20 years later in Marvel's "Spider-Man: No Way Home." 1. Max Schreck, 'Shadow of the Vampire' (2000) The nifty fictionalized conceit of this horror flick is that the German star of the 1922 silent movie "Nosferatu" was actually a vampire, and Dafoe earned his second career Oscar nod for an extremely eerie and darkly comic portrayal of Schreck. He's brilliant in the transformative role, both outrageously left field and deeply thoughtful.
