Ahmadinejad agrees to Oliver Stone film on his life

[Marcus Marulus]

Ahmadinejad agrees to Oliver Stone film on his life

By IANS

Wednesday August 29, 03:31 PM

Tehran, Aug 29 (RIA Novosti) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has agreed to let Oscar-winning US film director Oliver Stone make a documentary on his life.

Ahmadinejad told journalists: 'In principle I have no objections to featuring in such a film, but all the details have to be agreed with my advisors.'

The president had earlier refused to allow filming to go ahead, saying the director was part of the 'Great Satan', a term used in Iran to describe the US since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when the despotic US-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown.

Iranian authorities in the past have accused Hollywood of distorting the country's history and international image.

Stone's 2004 epic 'Alexander' provoked criticism from the Islamic Republic, which objected to the portrayal of Alexander the Great as a hero, who invaded, looted, and possibly deliberately burned down the ancient Persian capital Persepolis in around 333 BC.

The director has previously made documentary films about Cuban President Fidel Castro, and US former presidents Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. Like Ahmadinejad, he is known to be a strong opponent of US President George W. Bush, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Ahmadinejad, 50, became Iran's leader in 2005, having worked his way up through the country's Revolutionary Guards, the largest branch of Iran's military. His insistence on pursuing a nuclear energy programme has made him highly unpopular with the US leadership, which accuses Tehran of developing atomic weapons.

Ahmadinejad's alleged support of Shiite militant groups in Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and Afghanistan is also a cause of dispute with the US.

[source]