“Want to see my Bush impression?”
UPDATE: EW now reports that Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale) is in talks to star as Colin Powell, James Cromwell (Babe) is in talks to portray George Bush Sr. and Robert Duval (The Godfather) has been contacted for the frightening role of Dick Cheney. This flick is really shaping up. Here’s how the film is being described to insiders:
“W is the improbable story of a man who went to the White House despite getting fewer votes than his opponent; who became commander-in-chief despite having avoided military combat himself; and who became the least popular president ever elected to a second term. W will shock and surprise you and leave you questioning everything you believe to be true.”
Idi Amin and Pol Pott just put on scorched parkas and cuddled, because for the first time in my life I find First Lady Laura Bush hot. Actress Elizabeth Banks is in final talks to play the wife of current U.S. President George W. Bush (to be played by Josh Brolin) in Oliver Stone’s controversial and fast-moving 2009 biopic W. Banks has five films due this year, the most notable being Kevin Smith’s raunchy Zack and Miri Make a Porno with Seth Rogen and least notable being the Eddie Murphy Pluto Nash-esque Meet Dave. Here’s her possible Oscar shot.
W was announced back in January and recent buzz has Brolin as an absolute dead ringer for the 43rd American president. As much as I liked Stone’s Nixon and Anthony Hopkins’s performance therein, the actor’s only passable superficial likeness in the biopic took some convincing, so I’m glad to hear Brolin looks the double-take. Stanley Weiser, who previously collaborated with the director on his classic Wall Street, co-wrote the screenplay with Stone. The role of Vice President Dick Cheney has not been announced.
What do you guys and gals think? Can Banks pull this off? The only drama I’ve seen her in, excluding, you know, the Spider-Man movies, is Daltry Calhoun, but I was too busy cringing at Johnny Knoxville imitating Easy Pieces-era Jack Nicholson to notice her skills. This role is a tall challenge. All of Texas is watching.
Source Link: HR
March 26th, 2008 at 10:13 am
I can’t wait to see someone playing Bush in this movie getting arrested for drunk driving, sniffing coke, ditching military service, and getting a free MLB team for his birthday.
Should be great.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Also, maybe they’ll show bush and Kerry playing Rock, Ppaper, Scissors for the presidency at a skull and bones meeting in college. Unfortunately, it would be like betting against Rocky in Part 2 to pick Kerry as the winner, but hell I’ll take Bush in that bet against you Hunter.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Banks can pull it off. She had great dramatic roles in Seabiscuit and Heights. It’s an excellent opportunity for her and she deserves the break.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:34 am
@ GB
You said this week’s magic word: Seabiscuit!
@ The Jezzus
Uh, no deal. Hah.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:39 am
That’s like Brad Pitt playing Nixon. She’s too hot to be Laura.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Ha…That will be very interesting. The wonders of makeup these days.
A little too soon though isn’t it? Not that I’m a fan of Bush, but if Stone waits a few more years I’m sure more crap will come out about his Awful Presidency.
Also, Danny DeVito needs to reprise his role as The Penguin/Cheney
March 26th, 2008 at 11:32 am
I can’t wait to see who plays Scooter Libby and Karl Rove. Johnny Depp for Rove!! (someone will probably suggest it lol)
March 26th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
We just lived through 8 years of president W., good, bad or whatever. Do we really need a biopic on him? As for Banks, I guess it could work. Hopefully I can separate her (visually) from the shower head.
March 26th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
@ Quenfis
I don’t really grasp this argument, though there are many who feel as you do.
Personally, I want to see Stone’s take on this [expletive] [expletive][expletive] after living through his reign of power. I hope the film is the craziest party hat of a presidential biopic we’ll ever see, and I think that W. could be cathartic, showing us who the hell this guy was/is and explaining those eight years of whip lash in two hours right as he’s leaving office (and I’m drinking a keg and getting a massage in celebration.). I want some old school Stone fireworks, and I don’t think Brolin will let us down either.
March 26th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Banks is hot. But. The absolute last thing I want to spend $$ on is a film in which I’m forced to contemplate the existence of the single worst thing to ever happen to my country. Sorry.
I’ll wait for 20 years and catch it at 2:30am to fall asleep after I’ve started to lose bladder control. Bush sucks. He lied us into a war that sucks. There is not one single thing in the universe that improved under Bush. Unless this film is a complete and total tear-down of every last thing Bush is still revered for (by the 19% of Americans that still have their head up their asses) the movie will tank.
But, it will do will kill overseas.
Wait, will there be a flight suit doll tie-in?
March 27th, 2008 at 6:05 am
“All of Texas is watching.”
No, we’re not. It’s bad enough that I’m going to have to live in the same county as his official historical revisionist center… errr. presidential library. As if I don’t have enough reasons to avoid going to Highland Park.
Back on topic. The casting sounds good. A pity Paul Winfield is dead. He did a spot-on impression of Powell in ‘Mars Attacks’ and it would have been great to see him tackle it again.
A bit off-topic. Where is Stone going to shoot this? I vividly recall when he shot ‘JFK’ down here. It was nearly impossible to get through downtown and the women would talk about nothing but Kevin Costner sightings.