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Stone, Time, seek ways
to end case
Oliver Stone and Time Warner Entertainment are
seeking summary judgement to end the long-running
Louisiana case that contends a teenage girl was
inspired to shoot a convenience store clerk after
watching Natural Born Killers, which was directed
and co-written by Stone and distributed by Warners.
In an affidavit filed with the motion, Stone stated
that the film is a satire, and his purpose was
“to encourage the audience to think critically
about society’s contradictory relationship
to violence: We rightfully condemn and moralize
about it, yet at the same time are fascinated
by it.”
Harkening back to Jonathan Swift, Stone added
that the 18th century satirist was not encouraging
his readers to actually eat children in his famous
work ‘A Modest Proposal’.
Hinting that the plaintiffs’ case has run
out of steam without finding a smoking gun, Stone
and Warner pointed out that in three years of
discovery, the plaintiffs only took Stone’s
deposition and failed to follow up on offers to
depose other witnesses.
The motion, which was filed earlier this week
in the Parish of Tangipahoa in state court in
Louisiana, advanced several legal arguments. Stone
and Warner argued that the plaintiffs must prove
that the defendants specifically intended that
violent crimes be committed by viewers of the
movie and have failed to do so.
Stone and Warner also argued that speech is protected
unless it is spec
ifically intended to incite imminent lawless action.
Stone and Warner pointed out that Sarah Edmondson
did not shoot Patty Byers until three days after
she saw Natural Born Killers and that she did
so at the behest of her boyfriend. Finally, they
argued that the film is not obscene.
Said Stone’s attorney David Wood, “At
the heart of this motion are First Amendment issues
that could affect filmmakers, writers, artists
and the entire creative community in the country.”
Attorneys for the plaintiffs were not available
to comment.
Argument on the motion is scheduled for March
12. The lawsuit began when the estate of Byers
filed a wrongful death action against Edmondson.
In 1996, Warner and Stone were added as defendants
on the theory that they knew or should have known
that the film would cause people to commit crimes.
A Louisiana trial court — the same court
that will decide the current summary judgement
motion — dismissed the claim against Stone
and the studio, but a Louisiana appellate court
reversed, holding that the plaintiffs could try
to prove through discovery that the filmmakers
intended to incite unlawful behaviour.
The Louisiana Supreme Court declined to hear the
case, as did the U.S. Supreme Court in March 1999.
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