JFK is an American film directed by Oliver Stone. The film was released on December 20, 1991. It examines the events leading to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and alleged subsequent cover-up, through the eyes of former New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison (played by Kevin Costner). Garrison filed charges against New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee Jones) for his alleged participation in a conspiracy to assassinate the President. The film was adapted by Stone and Zachary Sklar from the books On the Trail of the Assassins by Jim Garrison and Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy by Jim Marrs. Stone described his fictionalized film as a "counter-myth" to the "myth" of the Warren Commission.
The film became embroiled in controversy even before it was finished filming, after Washington Post national security correspondent George Lardner showed up on the set. Based on the first draft of the screenplay, he wrote a scathing article attacking the film. Upon JFK’s theatrical release many of the major newspapers in the United States of America ran editorials criticizing what they perceived as liberties that Stone took with historical facts, including the film’s implication that President Lyndon B. Johnson was part of a coup d’etat to kill Kennedy. After a slow start at the box office, Stone’s film gradually picked up momentum, earning over $205 million in worldwide gross. Garrison’s estate subsequently sued Warner Bros. for a share of the film’s profits, alleging a book-keeping practice known as "Hollywood accounting". JFK went on to win two Academy Awards and was nominated for eight in total, including Best Picture.