Nixon Pix: Now More Than Ever

Continuing his obsession with American history in the second half of the 20th Century, Oliver Stone will next direct a film biography of Richard Nixon. “Nixon,” until recently at Warner Bros., was apparently stalled when Stone’s financiers, New Regency (which helped finance “JFK” and “Natural Born Killers”), found it too rich for their pockets. Both Columbia Pictures (which reportedly has expressed interest in a Stone project on the life of Larry Flynt) and 20th Century Fox showed interest, and as of last week it looked as though Fox would win the project.

The fate of two other Nixon projects may hang in the balance--one for HBO, possibly produced by David Frost, and a feature from producer Nick Wechsler--depending on the outcome of the Stone version.

Stone has been playing “Nixon” close to the vest, since the movies he doesn’t make often get as much attention as the ones he completes. First there was his aborted musical bio “Evita,” which was to star, at various junctures, Meryl Streep, Madonna or Michelle Pfeiffer--and is still in limbo. More recently, when its budget soared past $40 million, “Noriega” was scuttled despite the commitment of Al Pacino to star as the disgraced Panamanian dictator.

“Nixon” will begin with the Watergate scandal and examine, through flashback, several key events in the life of Richard Nixon that led to his downfall. Though Stone would not comment for this article, he earlier told The Times that he was having trouble finding his leading man because in light of the current conservative climate many actors were skittish about taking on controversial political film roles.

Fortunately, the Welsh-born Sir Anthony Hopkins doesn’t seem to give a hoot about Newt. The Oscar-winning actor had originally passed on “Nixon” because he was doing another film biography, “Surviving Picasso,” which goes into production this summer. But he reportedly changed his mind after reading Stone’s latest rewrite. (Hopkins’ publicist Bob Palmer referred all calls to Stone’s office.)

If Stone’s film gets made, the future of other “Nixon” projects seems less clear. HBO would not comment on its biographical exploration, except to confirm that screenwriter Robert Bolt (“Dr. Zhivago,” “A Man for All Seasons”) has been writing a script for Anglia Television, a British concern that would co-finance, probably with David Frost as producer.

Frost, who conducted a series of TV interviews with Nixon after he left office, has admitted to having a Nixon biography in development. But the HBO project would not be in direct competition with Stone’s feature film.

‘T he Passion of Richard Nix on,” based on a Christopher Cleveland script, however, will not be a feature release if Stone’s film reaches the screen, according to producer Wechsler.

“Passion,” which traces Nixon’s life through his first presidential victory, in 1968, had been in development at Hollywood Pictures for four years, but was recently jettisoned as part of new Disney chairman Joe Roth’s general housecleaning at the studio.

“It’s a psychological examination of what made him tick,” says Wechsler of his project. “Passion” had been under consideration by Tom Hanks. “Tom was definitely intrigued,” says Wechsler. “But he wanted to see who came on as director.” Taylor Hackford (“An Officer and a Gentleman”) had also been briefly attached to the project, says Wechsler.

The chances of any director’s taking on the project in direct competition with Stone is unlikely, Wechsler concedes. And without a director, or star, financing the film is a long shot.

Besides, says Wechsler, “The public isn’t likely to have an appetite for more than one Nixon movie.”