W.

[MacGuffin]

Oliver Stone votes for 'Bush' project
Josh Brolin to play embattled president
Source: Variety

Oliver Stone has set his sights on his next directing project, "Bush," a film focusing on the life and presidency of George W. Bush, and attached Josh Brolin to play the title role.

The director has begun quietly shopping a script by his "Wall Street" co-writer Stanley Weiser.

Pic will be produced by Moritz Borman, who teamed with Stone on "World Trade Center" and "Alexander," and Jon Kilik, a producer of "Alexander" as well as "Pinkville," the pre-strike project about the Army's investigation of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam that Stone expected to direct until United Artists pulled the plug late last year.

Borman said Weiser's script was completed before the WGA strike and was ready to shoot and that many of Stone's "Pinkville" crew jumped right into "Bush." If financing materializes quickly enough, the film could start production by April and could be in theaters for the election or the inauguration.

One need only Google the words "Stone" and "Bush" to find plenty of the director's critical comments about the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq. Despite that, the director said he's not looking to make an anti-Bush polemic. His goal is to use seminal events in Bush's life to explain how he came to power, using a structure comparable to "The Queen."

"It's a behind-the-scenes approach, similar to 'Nixon,' to give a sense of what it's like to be in his skin," Stone told Daily Variety. "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 cliche, but that is superficial. I'm a dramatist who is interested in people, and I have empathy for Bush as a human being, much the same as I did for Castro, Nixon, Jim Morrison, Jim Garrison and Alexander the Great."

Stone declined to give his personal opinion of the president.

"I can't give you that, because the filmmaker has to hide in the work," Stone said. "Here, I'm the referee, and 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 said his NYU classmate Weiser did a lot of research as they worked for more than a year on the project before setting the script aside when Stone committed to "Pinkville." While UA partners Paula Wagner and Tom Cruise said they pulled the plug on that movie because of the WGA strike, Stone seemed to support widespread speculation that the strike was an excuse to kill another war-themed movie that UA was wary of making after its first release, "Lions for Lambs," flopped.

"On 'Pinkville,' I had a great script and one of the best casts on any of my films, with 40 young actors and Bruce Willis," Stone said. "It's a shame they lost faith in the film, and that they unemployed 500 people right before Christmas. We were three weeks from shooting."

Stone hopes to get his script back so he can revive "Pinkville" down the line.

Stone, Weiser and Borman had kept the "Bush" script under tight wraps, developing it under "POTUS" (President of the United States) and "Misunderestimated." Now they're aiming for a quick ramp-up to production, though both Stone and Borman believe the project will remain viable even after the presidential election.

"We've just gone out with it, and April is just around the corner," Borman said. "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 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."

Stone looked carefully at actors before setting his sights on Brolin, whose career has drawn recent traction from memorable roles in "No Country for Old Men" and "American Gangster." Brolin just began work on the Gus Van Sant-directed "Milk," playing Dan White, the San Francisco pol who gunned down Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. While Brolin won't make a formal deal until financing is sealed, he can be ready for an April start.

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

[cron]

easily my most anticipated film right now. what do you think , GT?

[Gold Trumpet]

easily my most anticipated film right now. what do you think , GT?

I'm kind of conflicted. While it is an immensely more interesting project than Pinkville, Stone could be regressing by working with Stanley Weiser. He was the co-writer of Wall Street and my initial fear is that they could be working to make a film equal to their original success. Stone is well beyond Wall Street and should try to be more ambitious. If he makes a morality play as simple as Wall Street it could be lost in the shuffle the way John Sayles's attempt to define Bush was with Silver City.

On the other hand, Stone's description of the film is inviting. The events he describe that will take place in the film extend over much of his political life. Sayles (the mininamlist he is) allowed himself to be obscured when he only took on one part of Bush's political personality. He dealt with a subject that had larger interest for political buffs and cinephiles than the overall public. I think Stone will take on broader and deeper issues with Bush.

Ambitious also doesn't mean epic. I love love that he referenced The Queen. That film still astounds me for its ability to put so much into such a little story. It was one of the best filmed dramas of the last few years. And if Stone committs to a drama focused on the writing intangibles over the filmmaking intangibles it will show a clear progression for him. In a lot of ways he is his own version of Sam Peckinpah. He understands the greater dramatic purposes necessary within a film, but isn't always able to get past his cinematic tricks to show filly illustrate his understanding and appreciation of drama. Peckinpah wanted to progress beyond the action element of his filmography but couldn't. Stone has but he hasn't made simplified films that were able to match the talent of his filmmaking opuses in Natural Born Killers, JFK, Nixon and even Alexander Revisted.

I applaud him though for taking on a great subject. When he first described this film I thought he was going to make the story of Bush a comic affair, but I'm glad he's reconsidered the tone. It doesn't need to be as dark as Nixon, but it certainly doesn't need to be a new version of Natural Born Killers with lackluster characterizations and a focus on stereotypes.

[cron]

i was unconsciously waiting for a new rivele /wilkinson collaboration with newspaper -film energy, so am not too excited about weiser either. i'm very happy with just the thought of stone MAYBE coming back to his personal-storytelling mode. the man's such a commited director when he wants to. nixon's so good it's daunting. this could be better because the world needs this movie. more american filmmakers need to prove right now that they haven't lost touch with reality. i  haven't seen 'the queen' because i want to check out 'the deal' first, but i guess i'll see both soon.

[SiliasRuby]

This sounds awesome. Another contemporary political character drama type movie from Stone coming up.....CAN NOT WAIT!!!!

[Gold Trumpet]

i was unconsciously waiting for a new rivele /wilkinson collaboration with newspaper -film energy, so am not too excited about weiser either. i'm very happy with just the thought of stone MAYBE coming back to his personal-storytelling mode. the man's such a commited director when he wants to. nixon's so good it's daunting. this could be better because the world needs this movie. more american filmmakers need to prove right now that they haven't lost touch with reality. i  haven't seen 'the queen' because i want to check out 'the deal' first, but i guess i'll see both soon.

Yea, I'm excited as well. If I could project this as a 2008 release, I'd put it as my most anticipated. Considering the speed he made Nixon, I think he could do it. There is matters to take into consideration though. Stone always reminds people he has a hard time making political films about current subjects because this isn't his generation, but he's been so outspoken about Bush and current policies that it will open up his imagination. And unlike World Trade Center, he's not bound to strict interpretation of just one event. The politicial biography is his strong point.

I have a worry though. He's rushing this project so he can release the film at a topical date, but is the world ready for a major film about George W. Bush? Oliver Stone did make his film on Nixon some twenty years after the event so he was able to have a greater perspective of how the world came to be after Nixon left office. One political pundit said that Bill Clinton was a fascinating President in that he was popular but it would be hard to forecast what his legacy would end up being. The tides changed for Harry Truman as he left office and information about his Presidency started to come out over the years. Is there enough information about Bush to make a definitive film about him?

I ask that question because political films about our current situation and President have come out. I don't want this film to be another Lions for Lambs that considers itself important for the questions asked, but has a viewpoint and vision as limited as a 5 page essay. Nixon had a novel's worth of perspective. It was an encompassing portrait of a man. The hope is that he could somehow do the same for Bush even if he means to do it other ways.

[Gold Trumpet]

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/2008-01-27-DGA_awards_N.htm

[A portion of the article]


Brolin was surprised to see director Oliver Stone, who recently cast Brolin as President Bush in his upcoming biopic, Bush, set to go before the cameras in April.

Stone said he cast Brolin in the role after seeing his 2007 body of work. "He's very rural, very American," said Stone, adding that the film will portray the president from his 20s through his early 50s, before the end of his presidency.

Brolin initially didn't want the role. "I was really against it — extremely," he said. "I came from a (anti-Bush) bias, like most people in this town. Plus it was Oliver, and I thought Oliver would be extremely biased, and I thought he had an agenda. He was telling me he didn't, and I didn't believe him. And then I read the script."

Brolin began flipping through the pages (written by Wall Street screenwriter Stanley Weiser) at 5 a.m. while on vacation with his family. "I was utterly blown away," he admitted. "It's a very unbiased bio about a guy who became president. You follow his life, and you're interested in his life. You feel for him, and you despise him and you love him and you're amazed how smart he is. And you're amazed how he's stumbling through."

Brolin said he has not yet discussed the film with his stepmother, staunch Bush criticizer Barbara Streisand. And what about the possibility of his father, James Brolin, playing the elder George Bush? Brolin got a wicked grin on his face and said, "No comment."

-------------------------------------------

Brolin chatted up THR about his latest project, "Bush," a biopic about George W. by Oliver Stone, while he waited for Lane to finish her red carpet entrance. Knowing Stone's rep as a conspiracy theorist of sorts, Brolin was hesitant to play the president, despite his political leanings or that of his famous father and stepmother. "I looked at the script and told Oliver, 'I can't do this.'" But Stone persisted, handing Brolin a refreshed script that he couldn't ignore and that apparently has something for every blue donkey or red elephant. "If you're a Democrat, you're going to say, 'I can't believe he's president.' And if you're a Republican, you're going to say, 'This is why he's president,'" Brolin said. The biopic follows Bush from his 20s to age 55 when he entered the White House, and includes his days as an oil executive, a baseball team owner and governor. Stone also tackles Bush's bout with alcoholism and becoming a Born-Again Christian.

[Alexandro]

this is exciting.

[Pwaybloe]

Isn't it?  Seriously.

[Gold Trumpet]

Boo-yah! Film has been financed!


http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117979833.html?categoryid=13&cs= 1


In a move that makes the Oliver Stone-directed "Bush" a reality, QED has closed a deal to fully finance a drama that will begin production in April.

...

QED will finance a budget north of $25 million in partnership with Aramid, the U.K.-based hedge fund. Pic gives QED two plum titles, as the company is also financing "Peter Jackson's District 9," the sci-fi film that director Neill Blomkamp and producer Peter Jackson hatched after Universal and Fox unplugged their plan to team on "Halo." That also starts production in the spring, and Sony will distribute.

[MacGuffin]

Elizabeth Banks joins 'W' as Laura Bush
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Elizabeth Banks is going from the world of adult films to the White House.

The actress, who recently wrapped shooting Kevin Smith's "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," is in final negotiations to portray Laura Bush in "W," Oliver Stone's biopic on the life and presidency of George W. Bush.

Josh Brolin already is on board to play Bush in the biopic, which begins shooting in late April in Shreveport, La.

Stone wrote the screenplay with his "Wall Street" co-writer Stanley Weiser.

Moritz Borman, who worked with Stone on "World Trade Center" and "Alexander," is producing, as is Jon Kilik.

[Gamblour.]

Sorry, I just saw the news and had no idea this was even in the works. WTF? This is like hearing that Mel Gibson is going to South America to make a movie about the Mayans. Stone has lost it. How will anyone take this movie seriously? I am very excited at the same time because I love Brolin and think he'll be great no matter what. But this has me nervous.

[SiliasRuby]

This is an interesting development. I'm still optimistic though.

[MacGuffin]

Oliver Stone casts parents of 'W'
Cromwell, Burstyn to play Bush Sr., Barbara
Source: Variety

Director Oliver Stone has set James Cromwell to play George Herbert Walker Bush and Ellen Burstyn to play former first lady Barbara Bush in "W," a drama about the formative years of their son, President George W. Bush.

Josh Brolin is playing the title character, and Elizabeth Banks will play first lady Laura Bush.

Stone will direct from a script by his "Wall Street" co-writer Stanley Weiser. Moritz Borman is producing with Bill Block and Jon Kilik.

Block's QED International is financing the film, which will begin shooting Shreveport, La., at the end of April.

Cromwell recently made another fact-based foray in a film about an iconic political figure: He played Prince Philip alongside Helen Mirren in "The Queen."

Stone was calling the project "Bush" when he began showing it to buyers (Daily Variety, Jan. 21), but the filmmakers are now calling it "W." The film is expected to be ready for distribution possibly by the November presidential elections and certainly before Bush leaves the White House in January.

[Kal]

Director Oliver Stone has set James Cromwell to play George Herbert Walker Bush

best casting ever