You special kids can stop meddlin’ with your mashed potatoes because the last major bit of casting on Oliver Stone’s W. is close to a done deal: ass tamale Richard Dreyfuss will play elusive veep Dick Cheney. Wow. There wasn’t any question that Stone was going for the president’s jugular with this biopic, but Dreyfuss adds a bubbly new layer of vitriolic spittle. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dubbya chews dip, in both color and Stone’s signature b&w psycho-vision, for the entire running time. Wait, does one chew dip? I guess one dips it.

Moreover, SAG has shined its light on W., giving the Lionsgate production a waiver that allows filming to proceed if/when the strike goes down this summer. Like a ‘roided bull backing into a stable, it seems W. will arrive in theaters this October no matter what, right before the election (oh, that’s not over yet?). And according to the Hollywood Reporter (no linkage) a DVD release is purposely scheduled for Bush’s exit in January. That’s the sound of Indy’s whip!

Dreyfuss joins Josh Brolin as Dubbya, Elizabeth Banks as the smilin’ First Lady, Thandie Newton as Condoleezza Rice, Rob Corddry as Ari Fleischer (\m/), Scott Glenn as Donald Rumsfeld, Ellen Burstyn as Barbara Bush, James Cromwell as Poppa Bush, Jeffrey Wright as Colin Powell, Toby Jones as Karl Rove, and America as Captain Happypants.

Discuss: Who was your choice for Cheney? Does Dreyfuss top it? How successful do you think W. will be at the domestic box office? Is the end near? What will Bush do after he leaves office?