Farah on Stone’s Lifestyle

Joseph Farah’s “Oliver Stone: Far From the Malibu Crowd” (Column Right, March 7) is another calculated slander of the man, so typical of the right-wing pundits that fill every issue of The Times. The misrepresentation begins with the first four words “he makes anti-capitalist movies.” The rest of the article builds on this false assumption.

I have seen all of Oliver Stone’s movies and would not characterize them as “anti-capitalist.” My guess is that when he created “Wall Street,” he probably felt, as I do, that the junk-bond speculation and leveraged buyouts that pillaged the financial community--and ultimately the taxpayers--and destroyed our manufacturing base, did not remotely resemble capitalism as theorized by Adam Smith, hence deserving of criticism.

Farah’s article drips with envy--I’m almost embarrassed for him. The critical difference is that Stone has talent and ability. Sorry, Joe.

WAYNE WILEY

Huntington Beach