Oliver Stone Tells The Secret History Of America

In addition to working on the sequel to Wall Street, Oliver Stone is creating a ten-part documentary series for Showtime called The Secret History of America. The series purports to uncover the true stories that "at the time went under-reported, but crucially shaped America's unique and complex history of the last 60 years." Stone will narrate.

THR reports that subjects will, perhaps predictably, largely be drawn from the latter half of the 20th century. Stone will delve into "President Harry Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan, the origins of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, 'the fierce struggle between war and peace in America's national security complex'... [and] 'the great changes in America's role in the world since the fall of Communism in the 1980s'." Among other sources, Stone is drawing on newly uncovered accounts from the Kennedy administration. Sounds a lot less exciting than those great National Treasure movies. Nic Cage has nothing to worry about.

Seriously, though, in an age when more information is available than ever before, it'll be interesting to see what Stone makes of this, and if he comes up with anything that is actually a revelation. There's a lot to be said for packaging info in one place, sure, so that might be all we get here — old info with a shiny new bow. And if there are new 'revelations', will we trust them when they come from the mouth of Oliver Stone, who hasn't always been convincing with his take on post-WWII history?

Stone said in a press statement that the series is "the deepest contribution I could ever make in film to my children and the next generation. I can only hope a change in our thinking will result." No air date has yet been set for the doc series, for which episodes will each run one hour, but the premiere is planned for next year.