Born on the Fourth of July

**Born on the Fourth of July** is a 1989 American biographical war drama film directed by Oliver Stone which was released on December 20, 1989 by Universal Pictures.

It is based on Ron Kovic's 1976 autobiography of the same name.

## Plot

The film follows the life of Ron Kovic over a 20-year period through his childhood, his military service & paralysis during the Vietnam War, and his transition to anti-war activism.

## Cast

* Tom Cruise as Sergeant Ron Kovic
	+ Bryan Larkin as Young Ron
* Kyra Sedgwick as Donna
* Raymond J. Barry as Mr. Kovic
* Jerry Levine as Steve Boyer
* Frank Whaley as Timmy
* Willem Dafoe as Charlie
* Caroline Kava as Mrs. Kovic
* Cordelia Gonzalez as Maria Elena
* Ed Lauter as Legion Commander
* Richard Grusin as Coach
* Stephen Baldwin as Billy Vorsovich
* Jason Gedrick as Martinez
* Richard Panebianco as Joey Walsh
* Anne Bobby as Susanne Kovic
	+ Jenna von Oÿ as Young Susanne
* Josh Evans as Tommy Kovic
	+ Seth Allen as Young Tommy
* David Warshofsky as Lieutenant
* Lili Taylor as Jamie Wilson

## Production

Al Pacino expressed interest in portraying Ron Kovic after watching his televised appearance at the 1976 Democratic National Convention and reading his autobiography. Pacino turned down the starring roles in the 1978 film, "Coming Home" and the 1979 film, "Apocalypse Now" (the former which Kovic would act as a consultant).

Ron Kovic met with Pacino in New York where they discussed adapting the book to film. In September of 1976, Pacino's manager, producer Martin Bregman contacted Kovic's agent and entered into negotiations for the film rights. The following October, Bregman's production company Artists Entertainment Complex acquired the rights for $150,000.

Filming was scheduled to begin in June of 1977 with Paramount Pictures acting as distributor; however, the project fell apart. Bregman and Pacino were unhappy with the script and the studio dropped the film.

In 1977, Bregman hired Oliver Stone, also a Vietnam veteran, to help write the screenplay; at the time, Stone had been developing the 1986 film, "Platoon" and an unproduced sequel script titled "Second Life" that was inspired by his own life after the war.

He and Ron Kovic bonded over their experiences during the war, and they began working on a new script in 1978 after Stone optioned the book.

Oliver Stone also discussed the adaptation with William Friedkin, who turned down an opportunity to direct in favor of helming the 1978 film, "The Brink's Job." After Bregman secured financing from German investors, the film briefly continued development at United Artists before moving to Orion Pictures. Daniel Petrie was hired to direct, but several weeks before rehearsals, the investors withdrew from funding the film.

After the project moved to Universal Pictures, Bregman and Pacino left the film. Bregman deemed the project impossible, and felt it would be overshadowed by the success of "Coming Home." Stone and Kovic grew frustrated with the troubled pre-production and dropped the project, though Stone expressed his hope to return and make the film at a later time.

Olvier Stone promised Ron Kovic that if his career took off, he would return to Kovic to revive the project. Kovic stated that after the release of "Platoon", Stone called him and said that he was ready to return working on the film.

In April of 1987, John Daly (the chairman and CEO of the English-based Hemdale Film Corporation) announced that it was producing "Born on the Fourth of July" (which would act as a sequel to "Platoon").

The studio entered into negotiations to finance "Born on the Fourth of July" in May of 1988 with a $20 million budget, but it later withdrew from funding the film. In June of 1988, Oliver Stone was announced as director and his Ixtlan Productions banner was enlisted as a production company.

Tom Pollock (the president of Universal Pictures) read the script for "Born in the Fourth of July" as Oliver Stone was developing the 1987 film, "Wall Street." The studio allocated a $14 million budget on the condition that a major star appears in the lead role.

Stone and Kovic then revised the script, adding the latter's appearance at the 1976 Democratic National Convention.

### Casting

Sean Penn, Charlie Sheen and Nicolas Cage were among those considered by Oliver Stone to portray the role of Ron Kovic.

In 1987, Stone's agent Paula Wagner had shown "Platoon" to Tom Cruise, after he had expressed interest in working with the director. Cruise met with Stone to discuss the role in January of 1988.

The studio was concerned over the prospects of Tom Cruise appearing as a dramatic film lead. Oliver Stone had dismissed Cruise's previous film, "Top Gun" as a *"fascist movie"* but expressed that he was drawn to the Cruise's "Golden Boy" image.

Stone said: *"I saw this kid who has everything and I wondered what would happen if tragedy strikes, if fortune denies him ... I thought it was an interesting proposition: What would happen to Tom Cruise if something goes wrong?"*

Ron Kovic was also wary of Tom Cruise's casting, but he relented when the actor visited him at his home in Massapequa, New York.

Tom Cruise spent one year preparing for the role. He visited several veterans' hospitals, read various books on the Vietnam War and practiced riding in a wheelchair.

At one point during pre-production, Oliver Stone suggested that Tom Cruise be injected with a chemical drug that would render him paralyzed for two days; the director believed that the drug would help him realistically portray the difficulties of being a paraplegic; however, the insurance company responsible for the film vetoed the idea, believing that the drug would cause permanent incapacitation.

Ron Kovic visited the production daily and would often participate in rehearsals with Tom Cruise. On July 3, 1989 (following the end of reshoots), he gave Cruise his Bronze Star Medal as a birthday present and in praise of his commitment to the role.

Casting directors Risa Bramon Garcia and Billy Hopkins sought more than 200 actors for various speaking roles. They auditioned 2,000 child actors in Massapequa and hired 8,000 extras for scenes shot in Dallas, Texas.

For the Fourth of July parade sequences, student protests and presidential conventions, the production employed nearly 12,000 people from the National Paralysis Foundation, Campfire Girls and American Legion to appear as extras.

To help prepare the actors portraying Marines, military advisor Dale Dye organized one-week training missions, one in the United States, and the other in the Philippines where the battle sequences were to be filmed.

Abbie Hoffman (a Yippie activist) acted as a consultant who educated the cast about the peace movement. He also makes an appearance as a protestor in Syracuse, New York.

"Born on the Fourth of July" is dedicated to Hoffman, who died on April 12, 1989.

### Filming

Principal photography for "Born on The Fourth of July" was scheduled to begin in September of 1988, but did not commence until mid-October of that year.

Studio executive Pollock planned an initial budget of $14 million, but the film went over budget. The high production costs prompted Oliver Stone and Tom Cruise to waive their salaries and instead receive a percentage of the box office gross. The final production cost of the film was $17.8 million.

The film was cinematographer Robert Richardson's fifth collaboration with Stone, and their first to be shot in the anamorphic format. Richardson shot the film using Panavision cameras and lenses along with primarily utilizing 35 mm film stocks; 16 mm and Super 16 mm stocks were also used to film the scene of Kovic demonstrating at the 1972 Republican National Convention, blended with archive footage of the actual event.

Filming began in Dallas, Texas for the scenes set in the United States. The Elmwood neighborhood of Oak Cliff doubled for Massapequa, New York.

The Dallas Convention Center was used to re-create the 1972 Republican National Convention in Miami, Florida. The filmmakers also shot scenes at the Parkland Memorial Hospital, which stood in for the Bronx Veterans Hospital in New York.

They also filmed on soundstages at Los Colinas Studios in Irving, Texas The Philippines stood in for scenes set in Vietnam and Mexico. Oliver Stone originally wanted to shoot on location in Vietnam but was unable to do so, due to unresolved conflicts between that country and the United States.

Principal photography for "Born on the Fourth of July" wrapped in December of 1988 after 65 days of filming.

After viewing a rough cut of the film, Universal demanded that the ending, which depicted Ron Kovic's appearance at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, be reshot.

The original scene was shot in Dallas, with 600 extras, but the studio was dissatisfied with the filmed footage, and requested that Stone make it "bigger and better." The scene was reshot in July 1989 at The Forum arena in Inglewood, California. Filming lasted for one day, with 6,000 extras. The reshoot ended up costing $500,000.

## Box Office

"Born on the Fourth of July" grossed $172,021 during its opening weekend and ranking at #1 at the North American box office.

Overall, the film grossed $70,001,698 and $161,001,698 worldwide. It was the 17th-highest grossing film of 1989 in the United States & Canada; the 10th-highest grossing film of 1989 worldwide; and Universal Pictures' second highest-grossing film of 1989 (behind "Back to the Future Part II").

## Critical Reception

"Born on the Fourth of July" has a certified "Fresh" rating of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 48 reviews with an average rating of 7.40\10. The website's consensus reads: *"Led by an unforgettable performance from Tom Cruise, Born on the Fourth of July finds director Oliver Stone tackling thought-provoking subject matter with ambitious élan."*

Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on 16 reviews from critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.

David Denby of New York magazine, stated that the film was *"a relentless but often powerful and heartbreaking piece of work, dominated by Tom Cruise's impassioned performance."*

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said: *"Nothing [Tom] Cruise has done will prepare you for what he does in Born on the Fourth of July. His performance is so good that the movie lives through it. [Oliver] Stone is able to make his statement with Cruise's face and voice and doesn't need to put everything into the dialogue."*

Writing for Time magazine, Richard Corliss said: *"The movie's uniqueness is in its tone. Stone plays director as if he were at a cathedral organ with all the stops out. Each scene, whether it means to elegize or horrify, is unrelenting, unmodulated, rabid with its own righteousness."*

Gene Siskel from the Chicago Tribune wrote: *"The writing in the film seems a bit purple at times, but watching [Tom] Cruise disappear into character carries the picture over its rough spots."*

Vincent Canby of The New York Times said the film was *"the most ambitious nondocumentary film yet made about the entire Vietnam experience."*

Also writing for The New York Times, Janet Maslin praised Oliver Stone's direction, writing that he *"reaches out instantly to his audience's gut-level emotions and sustains a walloping impact for two and a half hours."*

Internet reviewer James Berardinelli felt that the film's greatest accomplishment was *"its contrasting of the glorious illusion of war as seen from thousands of miles away to the barbarity of it up-close."*

Writing for The Washington Post, Hal Hinson called the film "alienating" while Desson Howe was critical of Tom Cruise's "*whiny*" performance. Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times felt that Tom Cruise's portrayal of Ron Kovic was lacking in character development.

Jonathan Rosenbaum derided the storytelling for *"brimming with false uplift"* and Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called it *"2 1/2 hours of self-righteousness masquerading as art."*

In her review for The New Yorker, Pauline Kael said: *"It's almost inconceivable that Ron Kovic was as innocent as the movie and the 1976 autobiography on which it's based make him out to be ... Kovic's book is simple and explicit; he states his case in plain, angry words. Stone's movie yells at you for two hours and twenty-five minutes."*