Oliver Stone says nuclear power is ‘the only option’ for society

‘The truth is, we had solutions, and we f***ed it up,’ said the filmmaker

Filmmaker Oliver Stone has voiced his ardent support for nuclear power in the face of the mounting climate crisis.

The JFK director’s latest film project, Nuclear Now, is adapted from the book A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow by US scientists Joshua S Goldstein and Staffan A Qvist.

Nuclear Now is a documentary looking at the nuclear industries in the US, France and Russia, making the case for further investment in nuclear energy globally.

“We’re getting it all wrong, and in the face of climate change, nuclear isn’t only an option –it’s the only option,” said Stone, in an interview with The Guardian.

“The truth is, we had solutions, and we f***ed it up.”

The filmmaker blamed the conflation of nuclear energy and nuclear warfare in mid-20th century popular culture.

“The movie business has not been kind to nuclear at all from Silkwood, The China Syndrome, and all the horror movies of the Fifties,” he said.

“There’s not an issue [with nuclear waste], it’s completely handleable, especially compared to the waste of gas, oil, and coal, my God,” Stone claimed.

Filmmaker Oliver Stone pictured in September 2022 (Getty Images)

“Politicians could get votes by making people afraid. And then it’s hard to reverse yourself after many years and say: ‘Well, actually, we’ve changed our mind now. And we see that climate change is the bigger threat and that actually what we told you about [nuclear] is sort of overhyped.’”

Elsewhere in the interview, Stone, a longtime defender of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, reiterated his support for the controversial figure.

“I think Russia is doing a great job with nuclear energy,” he said. “China is also a leader in that field, although I never was able to penetrate into China, which was a shame for the movie I wish we had. But Putin is a great leader for his country and the people love him.”