Josh Hartnett Starring in Oliver Stone’s ‘White Lies’

(Left) Academy Award winning director Oliver Stone at the 82nd Academy Awards reception held in the Grand Lobby of the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, CA on Friday March 5, 2010. Credit/Provider: ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S. (Right) Josh Hartnett arrive on the red carpet of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024. Credit/Provider: Mike Baker / ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

Preview:

Oliver Stone has set up his first narrative film in a decade, called ‘White Lies’.
Josh Hartnett will star.
Leila George is also in the cast.

After an absence from narrative filmmaking for a decade (though he has been busy with documentaries and being his usual, outspoken self), ‘Platoon’ and ‘JFK’ filmmaker Oliver Stone is back, and targeting something a little different from some of his past work –– a dysfunctional family drama.

The director has Josh Hartnett and Leila George lined up to star in the movie, which is finally in production via a report from World of Reel.

We say “finally” because this is a project Stone has been trying to make for a couple of years now, with a previous incarnation falling apart despite Benicio del Toro aboard to star.

Related Article: Josh Hartnett Talks ‘Fight or Flight’ and Shooting the Action Sequences

What’s the story of ‘White Lies’?

(L to R) Josh Hartnett as Cooper and Ariel Donoghue as Riley in Warner Bros. Pictures’ crime drama thriller ‘Trap,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Sabrina Lantos. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The movie follows Jack Freeman (Hartnett), a child of divorce now repeating his parents’ mistakes in his own marriage and with his own children.

Feeling trapped, he embarks on a lust-filled journey to free himself — only to find himself more lost than before. When he meets a woman, whose life is the opposite of his own, he begins an unexpected journey of rediscovery.

‘White Lies’: the director and star talk

Three-time Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone (left) and wife Sun-jung Jung attend the 2010 Governors Awards in the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Hollywood, CA, Saturday, November 13. Photo: Matt Petit / ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

Here’s Stone’s statement on his big return:

“After nearly 10 years away from features, I feel really like I’m starting again, as when I made ‘Platoon’ and ‘Salvador’ in 1986. ‘White Lies’ will find its natural home because it’s an eternal story of love.”

And here’s Hartnett on his feelings about the collaboration:

“Oliver explores a universe in ‘White Lies’ that feels personal and entirely new material from a filmmaker I have long admired and am excited to work with.”