For his next project, Platoon and Wall Street director Oliver Stone is playing a journalist. For The Putin Interviews, Stone spent 20 hours with the brutal Russian leader and American adversary between 2015 and 2017. The four-hour Showtime documentary has already faced a lot of criticism for its somewhat flattering depiction of a dictator. Last night, Stone stopped by The Late Show to promote the documentary, but rather than get a softball interview, Stephen Colbert did what he does best and pressed his guest hard.
Take, for example, Colbert's first question: "People have said that you are being too cozy with him, that you believe him too easily. What do you say to people who say that yours is a fawning interview of a brutal dictator?"
To which Stone replied: "You have to be polite, because it was a two-year deal. To catch up with him, he has a busy schedule. He's worked 12 hours a day for almost 16 years now. It's politeness, it's curiosity, and it's the way you ask the questions. I think he respected me and he respected my work and he knew I would give him a fair hearing."
And things continued to get tense from there. At one point, Stone says he thinks Putin has been "insulted and abused," a comment which drew boos from the audience.
Which prompted Colbert to ask what should have been an easy answer: "Anything about him negative you found? Anything? Or does he have your dog in a cage someplace?"
Oliver didn't have an answer. Thankfully, Colbert kindly reminded the director that Putin is an "oppressive leader of his country who suppresses the free press and arrests his enemies."
