Kristian Fraga’s docuseries Citizen Stone is currently undergoing post-production with no release and distribution plans. The series will focus on renowned director Oliver Stone and the media circus surrounding his controversial film JFK, which polarized critics due to its content.
In JFK, Stone focuses on New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) and his allegations that the JFK assassination was part of a conspiracy involving businessman Clay Shaw. Stone intended the film to be a counter-narrative against the Warren Commission’s statement that the shooter, Lee Harvey Oswald (Gary Oldman), acted alone. Despite its massive success at the box office at $280 million internationally, many critics railed against its portrayal of history and Stone for seemingly giving a platform to a baseless conspiracy theory.
Using never-before-seen archive footage, Fraga planned on illustrating this story from its conception to the fallout in Stone’s career. Through this exploration, the director hoped the series would show “the layers of where Hollywood, the media, and Washington intersect and highlights the unholy alliance between fact and fiction and the fight for who ‘owns’ history.” While Stone is not involved in the documentary, he still has offered to act as a consultant for Fraga if needed.
According to Fraga and producer John Battsek, Stone’s filmography had a lasting impact on the cinematic world, and they hope to recapture this awe in their documentary. Fraga expressed his admiration for the filmmaker, claiming that “he continues to evolve and develop other styles of filmmaking.” Battsek also shared this love for Stone and how his films impacted him when he was “a young man.” He even admired JFK for pushing “the boundaries of visual language, and blurr[ing] the lines between fact and fiction with the use of Hollywood filmmaking.”
Fraga previously directed the Sopranos Session documentary trilogy, which covered the making of the hit show The Sopranos from multiple angles. Under his company, Sirk Productions, Fraga earned the Special Jury Prize for Cinematic Excellence at the Rome International Film Festival for Severe Clear, a documentary showing First Lieutenant Mike Scotti’s experiences on the frontlines of Baghdad.
Alternatively, Battsek has produced many documentaries through Ventureland, including his Critics Choice nominee The Real Charlie Chaplin, Werner Herzog’s TIFF-selected Theater of Thought, and Netflix’s The Deepest Breath.
Neither one has announced its release date, but Battsek is currently producing the series under his production banner Ventureland.
Leave a Comment