Oliver Stone Son in Iran to Plan Documentary

The son of triple Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone, who annoyed Iranians with his 2004 movie "Alexander," is in Iran to make arrangements for a documentary, Iranian news agencies reported on Tuesday.

"Sean Stone is in Iran to make arrangements for filming a documentary," the ILNA news agency quoted an Iranian film producer as saying. "He will talk about his plans on Wednesday."

The Mehr news agency reported that Sean Stone would start searching for locations soon and was scheduled to be joined by his father in three weeks.

Iran regarded Stone's "Alexander" as an affront to national pride and refused to give it a cinema release.

Stone made a 2009 documentary about the rise of leftist politicians in Latin America entitled "South of the Border," in which he talked to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Cuban leader Raul Castro, Bolivian President Evo Morales and then Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

But in 2008, the entertainment industry journal, Variety, reported that Stone had denied reports he was planning a movie about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Visits by Hollywood figures are a rarity in Iran, whose government dubs the United States the "Great Satan."

The then president of the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organizes the Oscars, Sid Ganis, visited Iran accompanied by a number of Hollywood stars in March 2009.

Iran has a flourishing film industry, which has bagged several prestigious awards at international film festivals in recent years despite complaints of censorship.

Sean Stone, 26, has had minor roles in his father's films, including the Oscar-winning 1989 movie "Born on the Fourth of July."