This week marked the 30th anniversary of the release of Natural Born Killers, the romantic crime action film directed and co-written by Oliver Stone.
In anticipation of the milestone, Stone spoke with gift about the making of the 1994 film starring Juliette Lewis and Woody Harrelson as a homicidal couple sensationalized by the media.
Although Lewis and Harrelson had the majority of the screen time, it was the supporting actor who initially drew director Stone’s ire for almost “ruining” the tone of the film.
The filmmaker recalled filming the final scene when Downey Jr. had the idea of dipping one of the front corners of his white button-down shirt in fake blood and running it through the open fly of his pants, like a bloody phallus.
“‘Come on, that’s too much! You’re going too far, Robert,'” Stone told Downey, then 27, who admitted he was struggling with substance abuse at the time.
Natural Born Killers director Oliver Stone said he initially felt Robert Downey Jr. (pictured in the 1994 film) was “ruining” the movie with “nonsense.”
In a new interview with Esquire, Stone recalled filming the final scene of the 1994 film when Downey Jr. came up with the idea of dipping one of the front tails of his white button-down shirt in fake blood and running it through the unbuttoned fly of his pants, like a bloody phallus; Stone seen in 2022
Stone, who was 47 at the time of production, further scolded the actor, which came shortly after his Oscar nomination for Chaplin the previous year.
“You’re ruining my movie! Forget that stupid idea,” the three-time Oscar winner continued, before adding: “This is not… This is not stupid.”
It turns out that Downey Jr. was sober on that particular day of filming, and he gave in and zipped up his shirt.
But as she did so, Stone had an idea: “Wait, wait… wait a second. Let me see that penis thing again,” she told the Less Than Zero star.
“Pull it back half an inch,” Stone told Downey Jr., who quickly responded to the director’s command, then declared, “Okay. Let’s go.”
And the rest, as they say, is film history.
Stone directed the film from a screenplay he co-wrote with David Veloz and Richard Rutowski, which was based on an original story by Quentin Tarantino.
Downey played lecherous television journalist Wayne Gale, who pursues the biggest story of his life as he reports on the murder spree of Lewis and Harrelson’s characters, only to become news in the film’s twisted ending.
Downey Jr, whose history of substance abuse as a young actor has been well documented over the years, admitted that “the only time I was awake (during production) was between action and cutting.”
But still, after all these years, he has the vision to see that the film “has something that still deserves to be reexamined,” even after three decades since its release.
“Oliver Stone is a director who, outside of (Christopher) Nolan and maybe a few others, is the ultimate embodiment of social commentary through cinema,” the Iron Man star said.
Downey Jr. plays ratings-conscious television journalist Wayne Gale.
“‘Come on, that’s too much! You’re going too far, Robert,'” Stone told Downey (pictured), who was then 27 and admitted he was struggling with substance abuse at the time.
Natural Born Killers, which was released in theaters in 1994 just as the 24-hour news cycle was becoming a part of everyday life in the U.S., became a box office hit, grossing $110 million against a production budget of $34 million, despite polarizing reviews.
“Oliver Stone has never made a movie that didn’t say something. Never.”
Natural Born Killers served as a satire of the violence-obsessed media of the 1990s.
The main cast of Harrelson, Lewis and Downey Jr. were joined by Tommy Lee Jones and Tom Sizemore.
Also appearing are Rodney Dangerfield, Evan Handler, Steven Wright, Edie McClurg, Sean Stone, Russell Means, Lanny Flaherty, Balthazar Getty, Richard Lineback, Kirk Baltz, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Joe Grifasi, Everett Quinton, Marshall Bell, Peter Crombie, Grand L Bush, Dale Dye, Louis Lombardi, Corey Everson, O-Lan Jones and Jared Harris.
Natural Born Killers, which was released in theaters in the summer of 1994 just as the 24-hour news cycle was becoming a part of everyday life in the U.S., became a box office hit, grossing $110 million against a production budget of $34 million, despite polarizing reviews.
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