video transcript

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) STORY: Director Oliver Stone was in Mexico City on Tuesday (July 10) to promote his latest crime film "Savages", which deals with the ongoing drug trafficking and violence that has swept the country in recent years. At a news conference on Tuesday, Stone said he had always wanted to direct a "Mexico-noir" film set in Southern California. Adding that the film does not attempt to accurately portray the levels of violence currently seen in Mexico, and noted that he believed the American invasion of Iraq influenced the levels of brutality now exhibited by Mexico's warring drug cartels. "Savages" hit U.S. theaters on July 6 and rung up 16.2 million USD in its opening weekend, finishing in fourth place in the box office.