On 18 Oct 1976, Publishers Weekly announced that film rights to Ron Kovic’s autobiography, Born on the Fourth of July (New York, 1976) , were sold to Artists Entertainment Complex. Al Pacino was set to star as “Ron Kovic,” and Martin Bregman was attached to produce, with filming scheduled to begin in Jun 1977, according to a 1 Nov 1976 New York brief. HR confirmed the summer 1977 start date on 7 Mar 1977, and stated that Paramount Pictures would distribute. The project was delayed, and a 1 Jun 1978 HR item reported that United Artists had taken over as distributor. A 22 Jul 1978 LAT item later claimed that Born on the Fourth of July was originally set up at Universal Pictures, and noted that Daniel Petrie was hired to direct once United Artists took over; however, United Artists had since dropped out, and Orion Pictures was reportedly considering the project.
       According to production notes in AMPAS library files, writer-director Oliver Stone first met Ron Kovic in the late 1970s, and the two bonded over their shared experiences as Vietnam War veterans. Stone had also been wounded in action, and both men had received Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals. According to a 22 Sep 1988 Rolling Stone item, Stone took over the option on Kovic’s book in 1978, and the two collaborated on the screenplay, but obtaining financing proved difficult, “even with Al Pacino cast in the lead.” Although German investors agreed to fund the project, as noted in a 17 Dec 1989 LAT article, they fell out four days before shooting was set to begin.
       According to the 17 Dec 1989 LAT, Martin Bregman became convinced that the film was “impossible to make,” partly because the Academy Award-winning Coming Home (1978, see entry) dealt with similar subject matter and had utilized Kovic as a consultant. The producer was no longer involved with the project when Stone came back to it in 1986, following through on a promise to Kovic that he would revisit the project if he ever “made it” as a director. With the success of his first Vietnam film, Platoon (1986, see entry), which won several Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Stone felt he finally had the ability to get Born on the Fourth of July made. Although Tom Cruise was “connected with the revived project from the start,” according to production notes, his casting was officially announced in a 25 May 1988 LAT news brief. The 17 Dec 1989 LAT stated that Sean Penn, Charlie Sheen, and Nicolas Cage were also considered for the role.
       Items in the 24 May 1988 HR and DV stated that Hemdale Film Corporation would fund the $20 million picture, its most expensive project to date. However, Universal Pictures replaced Hemdale as the financier, as stated in the 17 Dec 1989 LAT, after the studio’s new president, Tom Pollock, decided that Born on the Fourth of July was one of the best unproduced screenplays of the past fifteen years. Pollock offered to finance the film for $14 million. Although both Stone and Cruise agreed to forgo their salaries in exchange for profit participation, the project still went over budget, with production costs amounting to $17.8 million.
       Twelve to fourteen weeks of principal photography were expected to begin Sep 1988. However, 26 Oct 1988 Var production charts listed the start date as 12 Oct 1988, while the 8 Nov 1988 HR cited the first day of principal photography as 11 Oct 1988. According to a 17 Dec 1989 NYT article, former Marine captain Dale Dye led the actors portraying Marines on two training missions, each a week long, in the U.S. and the Philippines. Meanwhile, Abbie Hoffman, an antiwar activist who appeared in the film as a "strike organizer" but died before the film was released, was hired to educate cast members about the peace movement. Kovic visited the set daily and sometimes participated in rehearsals with Cruise.
       Filming locations included the Philippines, which stood in for Vietnam and Mexico, and Dallas, TX, which doubled as Massapequa, NY. Nearly 12,000 extras were utilized for Fourth of July parade sequences, presidential conventions, and student protests, with background actors recruited from organizations like the Campfire Girls, American Legion, and National Paralysis Foundation. As stated in a 22 Jan 1989 LAT article, the Dallas Convention Center doubled as the site for the Republican National Convention in Miami, FL, and one and a half weeks of shooting took place at the Oak Parkland Hospital, which stood in for the Bronx, NY, veterans hospital where Kovic convalesced. Cruise stated that the hospital sequences, in which he was strapped to a bed for a large part of the time, were the “most grueling” to film.
       A 6 Aug 1989 LAT item stated that, after viewing a rough cut of the film, Universal ordered a re-shoot of the 1976 Democratic National Convention, which originally included a crowd of 600 extras. Requesting that Stone make the sequence “bigger and better,” the studio provided a $500,000 budget, and 6,000 extras were hired. The re-shoot was accomplished in one day at the Forum arena in Inglewood, CA.
       As stated in an 11 Dec 1989 DV brief, the film opened on 20 Dec 1989 in five theatres in Los Angeles, CA; New York City; Chicago, IL; and Toronto, Canada. A 2 Jan 1990 NYT item, which described the opening as “strong,” noted that the release date coincided with the U.S. invasion of Panama. The film’s gross box-office earnings had reached $67 million as of 3 Apr 1990, according to an LAT article of the same date.
       Critical reception was largely positive, and Tom Cruise’s performance widely praised. Academy Awards went to Oliver Stone for Directing, and David Brenner and Joe Hutshing for Editing. Additional Academy Award nominations included: Actor in a Leading Role (Tom Cruise); Cinematography; Music (Original Score); Sound; Writing; and Best Picture. Born on the Fourth of July won Golden Globe awards for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama (Tom Cruise), Best Director – Motion Picture, and Best Screenplay – Motion Picture, and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score – Motion Picture.
       In a syndicated article that appeared in the 28 Feb 1990 NYP, former White House Communications director under President Ronald Reagan, Patrick J. “Pat” Buchanan, detailed the ways in which Stone’s film deviated from Kovic’s book, including the following examples: while in the film, Kovic’s Vietnam commander dismisses his claim that he may have killed a fellow Marine, the real-life officer found Kovic innocent after an investigation; Kovic visits the dead soldier’s grave and family in Venus, Georgia, in the film, however Venus was a made-up location and no such trip took place; Kovic is seen as a victim of police brutality during a protest at Syracuse University in the film, while in real life Kovic did not attend the peaceful protest, nor did police break it up; similarly, Kovic was not assaulted at the 1972 Republican National Convention in Miami, FL, as the film portrays, although he was removed after making “a five-minute ruckus.” Buchanan concluded by calling Stone a “propagandist” in the “artistic elite[‘s]…war of subversion against popular culture.” One month after the article was published, a 28 Mar 1990 LAT brief, which noted that Stone and Kovic had received criticism for “liberarlly dramatizing” the screenplay, reported that Stone apologized to the Syracuse police department for unfairly depicting the Syracuse University protest.
       An 11 Jan 1990 DV news item reported that at least ten moviegoers had fainted or received medical treatment for shortness of breath while viewing Born on the Fourth of July in theaters.
       Items in the 4 Jan 1990 DV and 5 Jan 1990 LAT announced that producer Mel Goldberg sued Ron Kovic for breach of contract, claiming that Kovic sold him the rights to his book for $10,000 in 1985 and promised to set up meetings with actors and financiers. Claiming that Kovic did not arrange meetings as promised and failed to “allow renewal of the movie option,” Goldberg sought $1 million in general damages, in addition to “unspecified punitive damages.” The outcome of the lawsuit has not been determined as of the writing of this Note.
       After extensive editing, a network television-friendly version of the film was scheduled to debut 21 Jan 1992 on the Columbia Broadcasting System television network (CBS), according to the 28 Dec 1991 issue of TV Guide, which stated that the picture was originally set to air one year earlier but was not shown due to impending war in the Persian Gulf.
      The following dedication appears after cast credits in the end credits of the film: “In Memoriam, Abbie Hoffman, November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989.” End credits also include the following statement: “The producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation and assistance of: Everest and Jennings Wheelchairs; Rand McNally; Miller Beer; Pepsi-Cola; Waveframe Digital Audio Workstations; Philippine Airlines; Department of National Defense, Philippines; Stoneleigh Hotel; the people of the city of Dallas; the people of the republic of the Philippines.”