http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/21/AR2006052100817.html
Reuters Sunday, May 21, 2006; 7:00 PM
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday that Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone was planning to film a movie about the 2002 coup in Venezuela that briefly ousted the former army officer.
Chavez, a harsh critic of the United States, says U.S. authorities were behind the botched coup that toppled his government for less than two days. U.S. officials dismiss his accusations.
Stone, who won best-directing Oscars for Vietnam War movies "Platoon" and "Born on the Fourth of July," and directed a 2003 documentary, "Comandante," about his meeting with Cuban President Fidel Castro, a Chavez ally, would team up with British producer John Daly, who worked on "The Last Emperor," Chavez said.
"Top news -- two filmmakers join forces to make movie about the coup in Venezuela," Chavez said during his weekly Sunday broadcast. He said his government had given them permission to announce plans for the movie at the Cannes film festival.
An alliance of politicians and dissident military officers assumed power in Venezuela on April 12, 2002, following reports Chavez had resigned after more than a dozen people were killed when gunmen opened fire during a huge opposition march.
Chavez insisted he never resigned and he was returned to power by supporters and loyal troops on April 14. The coup has been a recurring theme in Chavez's war of words with Washington, which portrays the Venezuelan leader as a menace to democracy.
Relations between the United States and oil supplier Venezuela remain tense, particularly as Chavez cultivates alliances with U.S. foes like Iran and Cuba and blasts U.S. foreign policies as "imperialist domination."
The State Department announced last week the United States would no longer sell arms to Venezuela, insisting the South American nation had failed to cooperate in global efforts to fight terrorism.
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Colin Brace
Amsterdam