This week's
Entertainment Weekly has a very interesting piece about Oliver Stone's upcoming movie,
W, starring
Josh Brolin as President Bush and
Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush. It's probably no big surprise that he's having trouble finding a Dick that's worthy of bringing Cheney to life. Too bad the late
Rodney Dangerfield isn't available. I'm wondering if he's considered
Louie Anderson?
Wayne Knight? (Of Newman fame in
Seinfeld) I think I need to get these suggestions to Stone ASAP.
Stone's movies on presidents have generated plenty of controversy in the past, and this one promises to be the most sensational one of all, without question.
To begin with, Stone says in the
EW piece that the film "could be ready" before the election. Who's he think he's kidding? There's no question, barring a major setback, that the film will be ready before Nov. 3. It doesn't take a studio executive to figure out that the film is going to have a whole lot more appeal before the election than it will after it. Strictly from a financial standpoint, it's not a bold prediction that it will in theaters before Halloween.
I've always been a very big fan of Stone's - from
Scarface to
Platoon and
Nixon, he hasn't made many movies I haven't liked, save
JFK. In fact,
Nixon is one of my favorite political movies
ever. Here's the trailer...
The film is superbly cast -
Anthony Hopkins as
President Nixon,
Paul Sorvino as
Henry Kissinger,
Powers Boothe as
Alexander Haig and
James Woods as
H.R. Haldeman. Anyway, check it out - it's that good, if you're a political junkie.
Anyway, back to
W. ...
Many are already accusing Stone of playing politics by filming the movie this year, and he's already taking a combative tone about it:
...not a single major studio wanted anything to do with W. "When push comes to shove, all these media companies are chickens---," Stone says. "They're all part of conglomerates."
As far as Stone making this movie this year to somehow influence the election, I hope he disagrees with that contention half as much as I do. After all, Bush isn't running for re-election - John McSame is running for his third term. Anyway, I think voters are smarter than that. And even if Stone admits that he is intentionally making the film this year, it would be no worse than
Sinclair Broadcasting Group's decision in the fall of 2004 to run the anti-John Kerry documentary
Stolen Honor: John Kerry's Record of Betrayal, which was a totally transparent attempt to smear and slander Kerry just two weeks before the election.
In the interview, Stone give more insight into why he's making the movie:
"Bush may turn out to be the worst president in history," he declares as he peeks into room after room [looking at a possible shooting location for the film]. "I think history is going to be very tough on him. But that doesn't mean he isn't a great story. It's almost Capra-esque, the story of a guy who had very limited talents in life, except for the ability to sell himself. The fact that he had to overcome the shadow of his father and the weight of his family name — you have to admire his tenacity. There's almost an Andy Griffith quality to him, from A Face in the Crowd. If Fitzgerald were alive today, he might be writing about him. He's sort of a reverse Gatsby."
Honestly, it sounds as if the movie could almost be a comedy in some ways, if there weren't such life and death decisions made by this administration. To wit:
In one Strangelove-like moment, [Bush] tries to sell Tony Blair on the idea of provoking war with Iraq by flying a U.S. plane painted with U.N. colors over Baghdad, baiting Saddam to shoot it down. "Plan B is assassinate the sonofabitch," Bush informs the horrified prime minister.
I've read words to this effect in other books about Bush, most notably Bob Woodward's third book on Bush's presidency,
State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III, so it's not completely out of the question.
Fortunately, it doesn't sound like the whole movie is going to be dark and serious. I mean, it's President Bush (at right, depicted by Brolin) we're talking about here. A sample of the film's lighter poignant and shocking moments from the script:
Oedipal Wreck After his father is elected president, Bush tells Laura, "I'll never get out of Poppy's shadow.... I wish he'd LOST.... No matter what I do, it's never going to be good enough."
Tough Talker Bush, 26, drunk-drives his car onto the lawn of his parents' D.C. home, and challenges his dad to a fight, "Let's go mano a mano! Right here. Right now!" Then, in 2003, when France fails to back the U.S. on its invasion of Iraq, Bush says of French president Jacques Chirac, "I'd like to stuff a plate of freedom fries down that slick piece of s---'s throat."
Practical Joker During a prep meeting on Iraq, Bush playfully locks Colin Powell out of the room. He then steals a mint from Condoleezza Rice and tells Paul Wolfowitz to trim his ear hair.
Man of Faith In 1999, Bush confesses to a televangelist, "The truth is, I really don't want to run [for president].... But I feel that God wants me to do this, and I must do it. I MUST."
Brother in Arms In a 2003 sit-down with Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar, Bush explains that he has given up sweets since the beginning of the Iraq war. "This is my personal sacrifice to show support for our troops," he says.
That last one's a doozy, and no doubt a comfort to the Americans who are strung out from the stress of combat, many of them Stop-Lossed or given extended tours of duty. Seems like an equitable equation to me - the man who sent soldiers off to die has given up sweets.
Like Bush, the movie sounds tragic, funny, dark, complicated and at times downright silly. Since
Nixon and
JFK were worlds apart as far as reception, it's tough to predict how
W will be received, but one thing's for sure - there will be lots of press and controversy. And I'm looking forward to all of it.
Labels: 2004 election, Elizabeth Banks, JFK (Movie), Josh Brolin, Nixon (Movie), Oliver Stone, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Stolen Honor: John Kerry's Record of Betrayal (Movie), W (Movie)
