edited by Jonathan Doyle

Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

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October 17

Mary

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What Just Happened

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Fear(s) of the Dark

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Changeling

Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun

High School Musical 3: Senior Year

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The First Basket

Favorite W Scene

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As part of a discussion of John Horn's recent L.A. Times piece about a visit to the set of Oliver Stone's W, Patrick Goldstein posted a page from Stanley Weiser's script. Noting Horn's observation that the film "is heavily focused on the current president's relationship with his father," i.e., ex-President George H.W. Bush, Goldstein chose a scene in which Bush, Jr. tries to comfort Poppy on the night of his electoral loss to Bill Clinton in 1992.

So what the hell -- here's my favorite scene. (I can play this game too...no?) It's basically George Bush, Jr. vs. his mother, Barbara Bush -- Page 92, Page 93 and Page 94.

Reorder Your Thinking<< previous | next >>Good Scrappin'

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 1, 2008 at 5:08 PM

comment #1

Mgmax says ...

On the one hand, this is Stone repeating the same obvious Psych 101 approach he took to explaining Nixon.

On the other hand, this one might actually have some validity to it.

Posted by Mgmax at July 1, 2008 5:27 PM

comment #2

p.Vice says ...

This would be a great scene if W happened to be dressed in diapers and a bib.

Posted by p.Vice at July 1, 2008 6:02 PM

comment #3

D.Z. says ...

Sounds kind of limp to me, considering Kitty Kelley covered the same territory... BTW, the link for 94 uses the same page as the link for 92.

Posted by D.Z. at July 1, 2008 6:08 PM

comment #4

D.Z. says ...

Forgot to add Kitty Kelley and Harold and Kumar 2.

Posted by D.Z. at July 1, 2008 6:09 PM

comment #5

DarthCorleone says ...

That dialogue is WAY TOO on the nose. Seriously, it reads like a bad soap opera to me. I guess good actors can sell it, but color me skeptical.

Posted by DarthCorleone at July 1, 2008 6:14 PM

comment #6

StanGrossman says ...

It's no 1000 words...

Posted by StanGrossman at July 1, 2008 6:25 PM

comment #7

Griff says ...

Reminds me of my script in progress, "The Hope of Audacity", where Barack is talking to Michelle just after he's repudiated Reverend Wright.

Barack: "Michelle, I had to do it. He was keeping us down."

Michelle: "That's what Whitey does! He keeps us down! Reverend Wright doesn't do that."

Barack: "Reverend Wright isn't the Man, honey."

Michelle: "That's because the Man keeps us down! The Man from Hope was trying to keep you down!"

Barack (patiently): "That's what the Man does, Michelle."

Michelle: "As God is my witness, I'll never eat turnips again!"

Posted by Griff at July 1, 2008 7:56 PM

comment #8

DavidF says ...

Ugh.
Every time I see these pages they seem like they MUST be a parody.

They're waaaaaaaaaay beyond "on the nose"

-Why do you want to kill Saddam, Mr Main Character, sir?
-He tried to hurt me daddy and don't no one do that!

-Why, son, would you want to beat popular governor Ann Richards. She's so popular!
-She picked on ma daddy!

It spells everything out, it lies there on the page and it certainly doesn't offer anything interesting to say (unless you count his predeliction for saying "poppy") about a man who may well be one of the worst presidents the USA has ever seen.

Maybe when I see the tone Stone is going for it will all make sense but on the page it's worse than bad soap opera.. I just don't see it at all.

Posted by DavidF at July 1, 2008 8:43 PM

comment #9

BurmaShave says ...

Only works if Ellen Burstyn's Barbara Bush as unhinged as Sarah Goldfarb. Also Griff that's really funny.

Posted by BurmaShave at July 1, 2008 8:45 PM

comment #10

Marcello says ...

It's brilliant! Brilliant I say!

I am referring, of course, to The Hope Of Audacity.

Posted by Marcello at July 1, 2008 9:05 PM

comment #11

aspiringcrackaddict says ...

I only have one thing to say

"Yeah sometimes I use the INTERNETS. I sometimes use it to surf the GOOGLES"

I'm sorry guys but to me, the script reads like fucking SHAKESPEARE considering the way the idiot actually speaks.

"I'M THE DECIDER"

Posted by aspiringcrackaddict at July 1, 2008 10:53 PM

comment #12

MickTravis says ...

Am I completely misinformed or is George W. not Bush Jr.

His father is George Herbert Walker Bush.

There's no Herbert in W's name so I always thought it was inaccurate to call him "Jr."

Posted by MickTravis at July 2, 2008 8:26 AM

comment #13

Dave Polands Gut says ...

A movie that will make as much as Nixon, Alexander, Heaven And Earth, and U Turn. A bomb in the making.

Posted by Dave Polands Gut at July 2, 2008 8:28 AM

comment #14

Joel says ...

This movie is going to be awful.

Posted by Joel at July 2, 2008 9:27 AM

comment #15

Spacesheik says ...

I like the way this movie is panning out...It looks like a semi-tragedy with a sardonic edge.

Throw in some Oliver Stone creative quick cuts, with some grainy flashback footage, a rousing John Williams score, and I'm sold.

I thought NIXON was one of the bst films of the 90s. I found that movie oddly moving, great performances all around as well. Awesome film. I even have the longer Directors version with Sam Waterston in it.

Posted by Spacesheik at July 2, 2008 11:00 AM

comment #16

T. S. Idiot says ...

Dropping the Herbert doesn't stop him from being Jr. He's a daddy's boy if there ever was one.

Posted by T. S. Idiot at July 2, 2008 11:58 AM

comment #17

Markku says ...

Had Sam Waterston been included in the theatrical cut of Nixon, I believe he might well have been nominated for an Oscar. He's in the film for ten minutes, but it's a truly spectacular scene.

W. as a script (at least in the draft I've read) is not quite as impressive as Nixon: the single most memorable character is Dubya himself and there are only a few moments of pathos and high drama. That said, I don't think the script is as bad as it had been made out to be: the most outrageous scenes are pretty much the ones we know really happened.

Posted by Markku at July 2, 2008 2:45 PM

comment #18