Claim: Tom Cruise has been nominated for Academy Awards.

Born on the Fourth of July is a 1989 American biographical war drama film based on the best-selling autobiography of the same name by Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic .   Tom Cruise plays Ron Kovic , in a performance that earned him his first Academy Award nomination . Oliver Stone -LRB- himself a Vietnam veteran -RRB- co-wrote the screenplay with Kovic , and also produced and directed the film . Stone wanted to film the movie in Vietnam , but because relations between the United States and Vietnam had not yet been normalized , it was instead filmed in the Philippines . The film is considered part of Stone 's `` trilogy '' of films about the Vietnam War -- following Platoon -LRB- 1986 -RRB- and preceding Heaven & Earth -LRB- 1993 -RRB- .   Born on the Fourth of July was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won two , for Best Director and Best Film Editing ; it also won four Golden Globe Awards and a Directors Guild of America Award . The film was a critical and commercial success , grossing $ 161,001,698 worldwide .