Brolin's Bush

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''Bush may turn out to be the worst president in history,'' W. director Oliver Stone has told Entertainment Weekly . ''I think history is going to be very tough on him. But that doesn't mean he isn't a great story.

Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks as George and Laura in Oliver Stone's W.

"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.''

Again, my reactions to Stanley Weiser's fine script.

comment #1

Jeffrey Kunze says ...

I'm not feeling the vibe at all.

Brolin, whom I will always remember as the big brother from The Goonies (Mikey you little shit!!) is all wrong for this role.

comment #2

K. Bowen says ...

The film might be good, but boy, does Elizabeth Banks look wrong for the part. Laura is older than the President, isn't she?

comment #3

Mgmax says ...

Today's winner of the "how many trite literary references can you make in one paragraph" contest is....

comment #4

115thDreamer says ...

Holy crap...I didn't know we were getting images from this already. Brolin looks pretty good, I must say, but I'm still not sure about Banks as Laura - she just seems too young and, well, "do-able" to play the First Lady.

comment #5

p.Vice says ...

"May" turn out?

comment #6

SaveFarris says ...

Guess it's official: Oliver's done so many drugs he's forgotten the 70's.

comment #7

Joel says ...

We don't need this movie now; I have a feeling it's going to tank. I really wish Brolin was doing something better...he's got a bit of a hot streak going now, and this seems like a waste.

comment #8

JapAdapters says ...

It's good to see John Larroquette working again.

comment #9

SmilingPolitely says ...

Brolin looks great as Bush, I'm surprised. The makeup department did a fine job on him.

comment #10

Jamieson says ...

Camp-classic in the making?

comment #11

BurmaShave says ...

I think it would be an oddly brilliant choice if Josh Brolin played this role as an impersonation of his own father.

comment #12

rockne says ...

What the hell is John Kerry doing on the cover of E.W.?

comment #13

Mark says ...

I actually buy Banks more than Brolin in this picture. I expected Brolin to look more the part. Re Banks, as the movie jumps around more than 30 years, it's not like they could have cast Geena Davis.

comment #14

giantman says ...

Is this the first major studio film released about a President who is still in office, or will have so recently vacated the office? Just curious, it seems very oddly SOON doesn't it? This type of thing generally works better with some freakin' perspective and not just the "in the moment" gut-reaction crowd.

comment #15

dangovich says ...

When 40/50something actresses complain about Hollywood ageism, this should be exhibit A. Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush?

comment #16

Mr. Muckle says ...

Whatever they do, the inherent attractiveness (necessarily) of a film star can only soften the image of depraved cluelessness that Bush embodies. So, in my opinion, this kind of movie will only serve to make Bush more acceptable, relatable within social norms, when he is actually beyond all bounds of civilized respectability.

comment #17

Jay T. says ...

Mrs. Bush must be thrilled to be played by a hot piece of ass. Man, that's some bad casting.

comment #18

vansmith says ...

this will be good, trust me brolin will nail this.

comment #19

Geoff says ...

I agree, Brolin could be great. It's a really good character study. People need to read the script and absorb it.

It's not campy, or over the top, or retarded.

comment #20

BurmaShave says ...

giantman, PRIMARY COLORS was released in 1998, 5 years into Clinton's Presidency. Also it's my understanding this film ends in about the spring of 2004. Being contemporary didn't exactly hurt WHY WE FIGHT or NO END IN SIGHT.I see no reason why fiction can't work just as well.

As for them being too young, I'm still sort of hoping for George and Laura as Mickey & Mallory.

comment #21

storymark says ...

Brolin does look surprisingly good as Dubya.

I agree with Banks looking a bit too "do-able", as well.

comment #22

Spicer says ...

I always hated Stone's "Nixon," where nobody was doing an overt impression of whom they were playing except for Sorvino as Kissinger. At one point Kissinger says of Nixon "Can you imagine how great this man would be if someone had LOVED him." I swear you could hear the eyes rolling in the theater. I predict W will be a train wreck.

comment #23

JChasse says ...

As I think I menetioned in a similar post a few months back, I always thought Joan Allen was pretty hot as Pat Nixon.

comment #24

MilkMan says ...

Josh Brolin and George Bush both have one thing in common: they're fake Texans.

Someone needs to make a movie about men who feel the need to adopt a fake-Cowboy persona, a la Brolin, Bush and Bruce Springsteen.

I'm sure I'm way off base.

This movie looks like it's going to be a howler, just like Nixon, just like everything Stone has done since Salvador with the exception of JFK, which perfectly meshed with his righteous indignation meets coke frenzy persona. It's going to be heavy-handed, symbolically over the top, melodramatic, and acted to within an inch of it's life.

You want to watch a movie about W, go rent Being There. Nothing more needs to be said on the subject that Kosinski, Ashby and Sellers didn't already say. Being There, content-wise, was 20 years ahead of it's time, the story Phil K. Dick would've written had he not been pressed to pay his rent all the time.

comment #25

Rich S. says ...

I thought that Stone said this was going to be a fair and even portrayal of W. From that quote, it sounds like he's pretty much prejudged him to me.

Yes, I know. There's no way you can spin the utter ineptitude and calculating evil of the Bush Administration in a positive light. That's why this is the wrong movie by the wrong person at the wrong time.

comment #26

corey3rd says ...

He looks like either Randy Travis or Andy Griffith after a bender.

comment #27

CinemaPhreek says ...

Wow, are they making a Six Million Dollar Man movie finally?! Or is Lee Majors on the cover for some other reason...?

comment #28

actionman says ...

JFK and Nixon are both masterpieces of filmmaking.

Don't know how this one will turn out but as with anything done by Stone, I'll be there opening day.

comment #29

StoneFan1 says ...

I'm looking forward to this movie more than I was
with "Pinkville."

"Nixon" and "JFK" are among my Top 25 of all-time,
so I'm sure "W." will at least be in that B+ to A-
range.

comment #30

alan says ...

Nixon is a masterpiece. I have doubts about this one, but I'll definitely be there to see it.

comment #31

alan says ...

actionman said what I said, apparently while I was saying it.

comment #32

Josh says ...

Another box office winner from Stone!

comment #33

Josh says ...

Worst President Ever? When did Stone announce his Jimmy Carter pic?

comment #34

BurmaShave says ...

Eh, it's neither. Frank Langella as Warren Harding. You know you want it.

comment #35

Arizona Joe says ...

I don't particularly like Jimmy Carter, as a President or a person. He was the chief when America was held hostage in Iran, and when inflation was out of control. But he gets a bad rap for his service.

In point of fact, President Carter started in motion the economic turnaround that Reagan got full credit for. For instance, the reduction in the size of the federal government actually started during the Carter administration.

More importantly, President Carter installed Paul Volcker as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Volcker was the man who instituted austere measures which whipped inflation, ended stagflation and set the stage for American prosperity of the last 25 years.

To say that President Carter was a bad president like Bush is just ridiculous.

comment #36

D.Z. says ...

Sounds like Stone's gotten soft. Would've loved to see a Bush 9/11 conspiracy film, but I'll have to settle for http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/182158 . Anyway, we already got "That's My Bush", so what's the point?

Josh: "Worst President Ever? When did Stone announce his Jimmy Carter pic?"

Not really, since Carter could come up with a peace agreement in the Middle East...

Joe: "I don't particularly like Jimmy Carter, as a President or a person. He was the chief when America was held hostage in Iran,"

And Reagan was the chief who sold Iran weapons for hostages.

"and when inflation was out of control. "

That's Nixon's fault.

comment #37

D.Z. says ...

Though Maher did make a good point about 9/11 not being a Bush thing, because "it worked".

comment #38

MPNeeb says ...

Bush 2 is hardly the worst president ever.
No way can he take Buchanan or Hoover from that role (well, there are nine months left in the term).
Worst modern president is far more apt...

comment #39

tommysunshine says ...

Burma, further to your post yesterday which reminded me of the outpourings of one of those inebriated vagabonds one encounters in the subway at dead of night, do you classify anybody who will vote for john mccain as a twat?!

comment #40

BurmaShave says ...

Yes. Yes I do.

comment #41

BurmaShave says ...

Also, tommy,I'm glad conservatism has found its Ian Sinclair.

comment #42

SmilingPolitely says ...

Hell, they aren't just a mere twat; even worse, they are a twat with shit coming out of it.

I'll make an exception for McCain's mother and wife.

comment #43

Mgmax says ...

Once a month I agree with D.Z. and this month's is:

Yeah, I'd much rather see a full-on crazy Oliver Stone Bush movie than a trite, movie of the week one. I'm not going to believe he has any real insight either way, so it might as well be fun.

As I said a while back, you either need to make this in the heat of the moment (2003 or 2004) or seven years after when the memoirs have come out and explained things, but right now is the worst possible time.

comment #44

StoneFan1 says ...

Box office winner? His last three films have
grossed nearly $450 million. I think Stone is doing
just fine with what the system will allow him to
do.

comment #45

Hickenlooper says ...

I think Oliver said the same thing about Reagan until he made his Nixon movie.

comment #46

moorish says ...

Banks is too hot to be Laura Bush (avoids obvious Banks' bush joke).

comment #47

JBM... says ...

"I agree, Brolin could be great. It's a really good character study. People need to read the script and absorb it.

It's not campy, or over the top, or retarded."

I hope you're not talking about that (since-rewritten) piece-of-shit draft that THR put up.

comment #48

SmilingPolitely says ...

I'm so there if Stone includes a hot three-way between Condi, Luara, and Georgie. Cheney can be in the scene to watch, jerk off, and administer the spankings.

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