OLIVER STONE - STONE: 'CRITICS UNFAIRLY RUBBISH ME'

Hollywood director OLIVER STONE finds it difficult to deal with the frosty critical reception his films often receive - and insists no matter what movie he directs, it will still be rubbished by the press. Despite winning the Best Director Oscar twice to date, for PLATOON and BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, Stone admits he doesn't expect to gain critical acclaim, and believes he's unfairly singled out for criticism. He says, "I sometimes feel I am fed up defending my work. It is hard. "After NIXON and ANY GIVEN SUNDAY were trashed by the critics, the message was clear to me that I am never going to be CLINT EASTWOOD or MARTIN SCORSESE and that's okay. "But I can guarantee that if I made a comedy that made you split your sides, the film would still be criticised to hell."