From The Hotline Latest Edition for Thursday, May 8,2008

BUSH

Hips Don't Lie

Thu. May 8, 2008


The 5/16 issue of Entertainment Weekly does a cover story on Oliver Stone's "dark, comic and already controversial" Pres. Bush biopic, "W." Stone is "preparing" to start filming with Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Banks starring as Bush and FLOTUS Laura Bush. The movie itself "premieres late this year," while Bush is still in office -- perhaps as early as Oct.

Stone: "Bush may turn out to be the worst President in history. 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 'Face in the Crowd.' There's a quality of 'Death of a Salesman' to him. If Fitzgerald were alive today, he might be writing him. He's sort of a reverse Gatsby."

Stone "denies rumors" that Robert Duvall turned down the VP Cheney role, "and he won't comment on reports that he's talking to Paul Giamatti about the part." But, Stone said "not a single major studio wanted anything to do with the film" as he was shopping it around, and "attracting a cast was also difficult."

Brolin, though, "got over his qualms." Brolin: "When Oliver approached me about George Bush my initial reaction was 'Why would I want to do that?' But Oliver pointed out certain similarities I had with the character."

Brolin has since been "struggling to master the president's inimitable vocal style." Brolin: "I'm talking to myself all day long. Sometimes I'll call hotels in Texas and talk to the people at the front desk just to listen to their accents. And I've been watching a lot of video of Bush walking. It changes over the years, how he walks in his 30s, how he walks in foreign lands, before 9/11 and afterwards. People hold their emotions in their bodies. They can't fake it. Especially him."

Banks, meanwhile, "has taken a more straightforward approach" to portraying L. Bush. Banks: "I don't want to do an impression. I just want to honor her voice, her stillness, and her hairstyle" (Entertainment Weekly release, 5/16 issue).