W. (New Oliver Stone movie)

[Bodhi]

just saw a trailer for this movie...looks EXTREMELY lame...done way too soon in my opinioin..however I now like George Bush even more than I already did...

[GeraldFord]

A Manhattan movie

The McCain campaign was put in an awkward situation Tuesday night when it held a fundraiser across the street from the Ziegfeld Theater. The theater was hosting the New York City premiere of ?W.,? Oliver Stone?s new film about President George W. Bush.

The red carpet was filled with members of the ?W.? cast who were less than supportive of the current Republican administration and of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

?I would not appreciate and not welcome? McCain to this premiere, said Richard Dreyfuss, who plays Dick Cheney in the film. Perhaps playing a vice president gave Dreyfuss a unique perspective on McCain?s veep pick, Sarah Palin. ?She?s not prepared," he told Yeas & Nays. "God help us if they get elected.?

James Cromwell, who played George Bush Sr., thinks Bush 43 ran the country like ?imperial Rome? and said that all he needs after being president ?is a good lawyer.?

But some cast members spoke more positively about the first couple.

Elizabeth Banks, who played Laura Bush, watched countless interviews of the first lady ?when [Bush] finally let her guard down.? She said she learned that Laura Bush was really ?the ying to Bush?s yang.?

?The movie is more about the relationship between Laura and George,? Banks said, ?which both Josh Brolin and I believe was very supportive.? (Brolin played the 43rd president in the flick.)

Brolin actually went as far as to say that ?yes, Bush is smart? but thought that January should definitely be the last time we really hear from Bush.

When asked what Bush should do when his term ends, Brolin said: ?Go hang out at the ranch!?

Also in attendance: Ted Danson, Colin Hanks, Ellen Burnstyn, Diane Lane, Cedric The Entertainer, Rosario Dawson, Julia Stiles, Russell Simmons.

http://www.dcexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/YeasandNays/W_premieres_in_NYC.html

[D]

Can u say "Audit?"

[GnFnR87]

Stone has stated himself, and i've seen reviews that also say that this will be a fair portrayal of Bush. Brolin is an awesome actor, i'll be seeing this at some point.

[Drew]

Stone has stated himself, and i've seen reviews that also say that this will be a fair portrayal of Bush. Brolin is an awesome actor, i'll be seeing this at some point.

How else would Stone comment on this film? You think he'd say something like, "The film isn't a fair portrayal, it's completely biased, bullshit to the extreme, and a waste of everyone's time and money, so don't go see it." 

Gimmie a break! 

[GnFnR87]

Stone has stated himself, and i've seen reviews that also say that this will be a fair portrayal of Bush. Brolin is an awesome actor, i'll be seeing this at some point.

How else would Stone comment on this film? You think he'd say something like, "The film isn't a fair portrayal, it's completely biased, bullshit to the extreme, and a waste of everyone's time and money, so don't go see it." 

Gimmie a break! 

you are right, and i was expecting it to be biased too but i've read reviews saying that it is a balanced and fair take on Bush.  we'll see.

here is what Stone said:

"I want a fair, true portrait of the man. How did Bush go from an alcoholic bum to the most powerful figure in the world? It's like Frank Capra territory on one hand, but I'll also cover the demons in his private life, his bouts with his dad and his conversion to Christianity, which explains a lot of where he is coming from. It includes his belief that God personally chose him to be president of the United States, and his coming into his own with the stunning, preemptive attack on Iraq. It will contain surprises for Bush supporters and his detractors."
Oliver Stone

[GeraldFord]

W.
Don't say "yes" until
I'm finished talking

Release Date: 2008

Ebert Rating: 4 stars (of four)

Oct 15, 2008

by Roger Ebert

Oliver Stone's "W.," a biography of President Bush, is fascinating. No other word for it. I became absorbed in its story of a poor little rich kid's alcoholic youth and torturous adulthood. This is the tragedy of a victim of the Peter Principle. Wounded by his father's disapproval and preference for his brother Jeb, the movie argues, George W. Bush rose and rose until he was finally powerful enough to stain his family's legacy.

Unlike Stone's "JFK" and "Nixon," this film contains no revisionist history. Everything in it, including the scenes behind closed doors, is now pretty much familiar from tell-all books by former Bush aides, and reporting by such reporters as Bob Woodward. Though Stone and his writer, Stanley Weiser, could obviously not know exactly who said what and when, there's not a line of dialogue that sounds like malicious fiction. It's all pretty much as published accounts have prepared us for.

The focus is always on Bush (Josh Brolin): His personality, his addiction, his insecurities, his unwavering faith in a mission from God, his yearning to prove himself, his inability to deal with those who advised him. Not surprisingly, in this film, most of the crucial decisions of his presidency were shaped and placed in his hands by the Machiavellian strategist Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss) and the master politician Karl Rove (Toby Jones). Donald Rumsfeld (Scott Glenn) runs an exasperated third.

But what made them tick? And what about Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright) and Condoleezza Rice (Thandie Newton)? You won't find out here. The film sees Bush's insiders from the outside. In his presence, they tend to defer, to use tact as a shield from his ego and defensiveness. But Cheney's soft-spoken, absolutely confident opinions are generally taken as truth. And Bush accepts Rove as the man to teach him what to say and how to say it. He needs them and doesn't cross them.

In the world according to "W.," Bush always fell short in the eyes of his patrician father (James Cromwell) and outspoken mother (Ellen Burstyn). He resented his parents' greater admiration for his younger brother Jeb. The film lacks scenes showing W. as a child, however -- probably wisely. It opens at a drunken fraternity initiation, and "Junior" is pretty much drunk until he finds Jesus at the age of 40. He runs through women, jobs and cars at an alarming speed, and receives one angry lecture after another from his dad.

While running for Congress for the first time, he meets pretty Laura (Elizabeth Banks) at a party, and love blossoms. She was a Gene McCarthy volunteer. Did she turn conservative? I imagine so, but the movie doesn't show them discussing politics. She is patient, steadfast, loving, supportive and a prime candidate for Alanon, the 12-step program for spouses of alcoholics. After Bush quits cold turkey, the movie shows him nevertheless often with a beer at his hand, unaware of the ironic AA curse for someone you dislike: "One little drink won't kill you." [In an interview conducted after this review was posted online, Oliver Stone told me that Bush was not drinking real beer in the later scenes, but the non-alcoholic O'Doul's.]

Dried out, Bush is finally able to hold down jobs. The movie is far from a chronological record, organizing episodes to observe the development of his personality, not his career. Even several spellbinding scenes about the runup to the Iraq war are not so much critical of his decisions as about how cluelessly, and yet with such vehemence, he stuck with them through thick and thin. At a top-level meeting where he is finally informed that there are no WMDs in Iraq and apparently never were, he is furious for not being informed of this earlier. Several people in the room tried to inform him, but were silenced. Colin Powell spends a lot of time softly urging caution and holding his tongue. There is no indication that he will eventually resign.

The movie's Bush is exasperating to work with. At his Texas ranch, he takes the inner circle on a march through the blazing sun, misses a turn and assures them it's only a half-mile back. Cheney, after three heart attacks, and Rice, wearing inappropriate shoes, straggle along unhappily. His parents are apparently even more disturbed by his decision to run for governor of Texas than by his drinking. Cheney is lectured at a private lunch to remember who is president. He quietly forgets.

Many of the actors somewhat resemble the people they play. The best is Dreyfuss as Cheney, who is not so much a double as an embodiment. The film's portrait of George Senior is sympathetic; it shows him giving Junior the cuff links that were "the only real thing" his own father, Sen. Prescott Bush, ever gave him. The name and the oedipal complex were passed down the family tree.

One might feel sorry for George W. at the end of this film, were it not for his legacy of a fraudulent war and a collapsed economy. The film portrays him as incompetent to be president, and shaped by the puppet masters Cheney and Rove to their own ends. If there is a saving grace, it may be that Bush will never fully realize how badly he did. How can he blame himself? He was only following God's will.

Cast & Credits

G.W. Bush Josh Brolin
Laura Elizabeth Banks
Barbara Ellen Burstyn
George Sr. James Cromwell
Dick Cheney Richard Dreyfuss
Rumsfeld Scott Glenn
Karl Rove Toby Jones
Rev. Hudd Stacy Keach
Powell Jeffrey Wright
Rice Thandie Newton

Lionsgate presents a film directed by Oliver Stone. Written by Stanley Weiser. Running time: 129 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for language, sexual references, alcohol abuse, smoking and brief disturbing images of warfare). Opening today at local theaters.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081015/REVIEWS/810150285&template=printart

[AxlsMainMan]

Jason Ritter is playing Jeb Bush, should be interesting.

[polluxlm]

Seems like this will be a good flick. But no revisionist history (what does that even mean?) Stone? Come on, what happened to you? Simply got old, and perhaps afraid?

Although...

At a top-level meeting where he is finally informed that there are no WMDs in Iraq and apparently never were, he is furious for not being informed of this earlier. Several people in the room tried to inform him, but were silenced

I could play around with that one all night, so perhaps it's simply the reviewer lacking the clue. Probably.

[The Dog]

haven't seen it yet, but i've heard viewers come away feeling sympathy for Bush and sadness that someone like him was able to become president.

[GeraldFord]

Saw it and loved it!

[D]

Movie bombed

big surprise

finished 4th

[GeraldFord]

Movie bombed

big surprise

finished 4th

The film opened #4 behind Max Payne, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and The Secret Life of Bees respectively with $10,505,668 from 2,030 theaters with a $5,175 average.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._(film)#Reception

Not bad. Ebert liked it, that's all that counts!