Kevin Costner appeared in one of his most controversial roles as New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison in JFK. The film came from Oliver Stone who was having a pretty great repertoire in the ’80s and ’90s. Despite the success of the film, the controversy surrounding the film gave Stone the image of a conspiracy theorist.
While he has no regrets about his film, he expressed 25 years later that he wished the talk around the film had died down soon. The film received critical acclaim and Costner’s performance in the film was praised by many. JFK went on to win the Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing.
Kevin Costner’s JFK Ruined Oliver Stone’s Image By Branding Him As A Controversial Director
Oliver Stone‘s JFK explored an alternate myth to the assassination of former US President John F. Kennedy. The film raised several questions about the political landscape of the country at the time of its release. Kevin Costner played attorney Jim Garrison who didn’t believe the official version of the assassination as per Warren Commission’s findings.
Garrison believed that there was a conspiracy theory to overthrow Kennedy and place Lyndon B. Johnson in the President’s chair. He believed that Lee Harvey Oswald was just a scape goat in the big picture. Oliver Stone and writer Zachary Sklar adapted the screenplay from two books, On the Trail of the Assassins by Garrison and Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy by Jim Marrs.
Stone was accused of spreading lies as soon as the film hit theaters. During the 25th anniversary of the film in 2016, Stone shared with Variety that the film was a “hot potato” right from the start and believed that it rubbed the establishment the wrong way. After JFK, many viewers dismissed him as a political director and a conspiracy theorist. Stone told Variety:
It was a hot potato from the get-go, much hotter than I thought. I didn’t realize it would hit the central nerve core of the establishment … And it did take its toll. I think it’s changed the perception of me forever. Many now dismiss me as a filmmaker who is political and only into conspiracy theories. It labeled me and I was staggered. I wish, in a way, it had just died off.
Stone spent the next six months defending the film in the press. Stone shared that the media was “nasty” and recalled moments when he didn’t even get to refer to his research during interviews. However, Stone did not try to stay away from other political films as he directed Nixon and W. based on the lives of two other US Presidents.
He also produced a trilogy on the US involvement in the Vietnam War. One of the films in the trilogy was Platoon which had Johnny Depp in it. Another film in the trilogy was Born on the Fourth of July, starring Tom Cruise.
Kevin Costner Defended The Controversial Film
Kevin Costner’s patriarch in Yellowstone nor his role in the Oscar-winning Dances with Wolves role were nearly sharp and controversial as his JFK role. Costner embraced the role in the Oliver Stone film and even stuck to the director’s tight filming schedule.
Costner defended the film amidst its controversy and even 25 years later, when he shared with Variety that the film had prompted people to question those in power. He shared that the film’s success was not just measured by box office but also by its impact on people. The Horizon star shared with Variety:
[JFK] has a chance for generations to visit it when they come of an age where that interests them, and the questions posed are really important. There was a shift in the country. We used to think — my parents thought, certainly — that people in power told you the truth, and it’s really not always the case. We’ve seen that for the last 60 years.
JFK did have the impact that Costner mentioned as it was partially credited for the JFK Act which reversed the decision to seal official records of the assassination from the public until 2029. Most of the documents were made public in 2017. The film did not do bad at the box office either, collecting $205 million (via Box Office Mojo).
JFK is now available for rent on AppleTV+.
