Josh Brolin to Play George W. Bush in Oliver Stone-Directed ‘Bush’ Film

HollywoodChicago.com — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 21:56:58 -0700

CHICAGO – Announced during our politically charged primary elections and potentially for release around the 2008 presidential election or inauguration, the legendary Oliver Stone on Sunday revealed his next directing gig: a biopic about President George W. Bush aptly titled “Bush”.

Josh Brolin from the acclaimed “No Country For Old Men” has attached himself to play the embattled 43rd U.S. president while Stone has discreetly begun shopping the script to studios. The screenplay has already been penned by Stone’s “Wall Street” co-scribe Stanley Weiser.

Before simply deciding on “Bush” as its title, the film was aliased “POTUS” (president of the United States) and separately “Misunderestimated”. Filming could begin as soon as April.

From left to right: Oliver Stone, George W. Bush and Josh Brolin.
Photo credits (from left to right): IMDb; blog.apocalypse.org; WireImage.com on Nov. 27, 2007

Though Stone in his interview with Variety declined to offer his personal opinion of the president, he clearly outlined his objective intentions for the film.

I can’t give you [my opinions about Bush] because the filmmaker has to hide in the work. Here, I’m the referee. 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.

Stone discussed with Variety his influences for the film:

It’s a behind-the-scenes approach similar to “Nixon” to give a sense of what it’s like to be in his skin. But if “Nixon” was a symphony, this is more like a chamber piece and not as dark in tone.

People have turned my political ideas into a cliché, but that is superficial. I’m a dramatist who is interested in people. I have empathy for Bush as a human being much the same as I did for (Fidel) Castro, (Richard) Nixon, Jim Morrison, Jim Garrison and Alexander the Great.

“Bush” producer Moritz Borman expressed to Variety his thoughts on the timing of the film’s release:

We’ve just gone out with it and April is just around the corner. If we can get it done as an independent or with a studio, we can do it quickly, but nobody really knows what is happening with the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) situation.

We’ve found locations in Louisiana, but we will have to build sets (especially the White House). We could do it later because it’s not a film that has to be timed with the election. It’s a character study of a man.

As would be expected, the casting decision for who to play Bush was meticulous. While “Brolin won’t make a formal deal until financing is sealed, he can be ready for an April start,” according to Variety. Stone added:

Josh is actually better looking than Bush but has the same drive and charisma that Americans identify with Bush. [Bush] has some of that old-time, movie-star swagger.

Discuss this film on our discussion boards here!

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

News You Need: WGA Says Pencils Down, ‘Nailed’ Being Fashioned, Stallone’s Comeback

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 01:25:20 -0700

Pencils Down: The Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike went official at 12:01 a.m. EST on Monday.

Eleventh-hour talks ended when the WGA, which has been fighting the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers) primarily for more residuals in DVD and extra media sales, refused to delay the strike past the start date set last Friday.

Variety has the rundown. Ultimately, movies will not have an immediate effect and most scripted television shows have a backlog of five episodes.

However, daily talk shows like “The Tonight Show” and “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” will go into re-runs. “The Daily Show” and host and executive producer Jon Stewart is reportedly showing a sign of solidarity by paying his picketing writing staff two weeks’ salary from his own pocket.

The WGA is expecting high-profile picketing. Some high-status writers including John August (“Big Fish,” “Go”) and Jane Espenson (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Battlestar Galactica”) have posted on their blogs where they’re picketing on Monday.

Members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) are expected to join the picket lines since their contract along with the Directors Guild of America (DGA) expires in June. Both SAG and the DGA’s prominent bargaining points are identical to the WGA’s.

In Chicago, ReelChicago.com says one casualty of the strike will be Lifetime’s planned series “Family Practice”.

Meanwhile, Greencine Daily has posted an interesting link to mark the occasion: a 1945 Atlantic Monthly essay on screenwriting by classic noir novelist Raymond Chandler (“The Big Sleep”). Chandler wrote:

To me, the interesting point about Hollywood’s writers … is not how few or how many they are but how little of worth their talent is allowed to achieve.

For among the best reporting on the strike, check out Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily. An immediate settlement is not expected.

8:19 a.m. update on 11/6/07: Illinois Sen. Barack Obama had this to say in reaction to the WGA strike:

I stand with the writers.

The guild’s demand is a test of whether media corporations are going to give writers a fair share of the wealth their work creates or continue concentrating profits in the hands of their executives.

I urge the producers to work with the writers so everyone can get back to work.

I Heart Political Satire: The great Class of ’99 member David O. Russell is in negotiations to co-write and direct “Nailed”. He’s making a noble effort to have more projects in the works than Steven Spielberg.

David O. Russell (on right).
Photo credit: Lester Cohen, WireImage.com
“Nailed,” which will star Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Biel, is about a bizarrely injured woman who crusades to Washington. It’s being co-written by Kristen Gore (the daughter of Al Gore and a former “Futurama” writer).

There’s currently no word on Russell’s proposed adaptation of Kristen Gore’s autobiographical novel “Sammy’s Hill,” the “The H-Man Commeth” (which is set to star Vince Vaughan as a radio host) or his proposed White Queen “X-Men” spin-off.

Let’s not waste an opportunity to link to Russell’s most recent bout with fame. That link, by the way, contains adult language.

Sylvester Stallone’s 468th Comeback: Stallone is in negotiations to direct and star in a remake of “Death Wish” probably because he ran out of old franchises to give a one-off revitalization.

Sylvester Stallone (on left).
Photo credit: Eric Charbonneau, WireImage.com
This “Death Wish” is not to be confused with the other recent unintentional “Death Wish” remake known as “The Brave One”.

By Shane Hazen
Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com