In defense of the timing of his latest movie World Trade Center, US film director Oliver Stone said in Beijing on Wednesday that the "pain" of the 9/11 attacks needed to be expressed.

 

"It's a shame but part of our lives,” the award winning director told journalists. “Maybe there would be another movie about it (if I hadn't shot it). To see it can be painful and you can cry in the movie but pain and crying are sometimes good." 

 

World Trade Center, starring Nicolas Cage, is based on the true story of two policemen who were trapped in the rubble of the Twin Towers in 2001 and supported each other for 12 hours before their rescue.

 

Stone said he’d attempted to accurately portray the disaster. He shot a third of the film in New York but used a Los Angeles set for the Twin Towers and chaotic street scenes. He also persuaded witnesses to recall their experiences.

 

"It was a nightmare (to make the movie) because you want to be as realistic as possible but you can’t really show the pain,” said Stone. ”It's too much. The audience would go screaming from the theater." 

 

The two policemen portrayed in the movie were among 20 people rescued from the rubble in an incident which cost 2,749 people their lives. Stone said he chose them as the main characters because their story was coherent.

 

"They were not only together but cooperated with each other,” he said. “They're maybe better stories than the others." 

 

Stone is known for his politically-themed films such as JFK, Nixon and Platoon but he said his latest film had nothing to do with politics but related to humanity and responsibility.

 

"We have the true story now,” says the director. ”We have a moment-by-moment, hour-by-hour account which we know is true. I'm still scarred and wounded but the story should be told as quickly as possible."

 

He explained to reporters the movie was a method of telling a big story from a narrow angle in which two people help each other and others help them.

 

World Trade Center has taken over US$146 million around the world since its release in North America on August 9 will open in China on November 10.

(Xinhua News Agency November 2, 2006)