W.

[Sleepless]

[Stefen]

I think Cron pretty much locked GT into having to like this movie by asking him what he thought of it in the second post. GT answered in essay fashion. He's not one who enjoys wasting time, so I predict 6 stars from him (out of 5)

[Alexandro]

It looks perfect. Dreyfuss seems to be eating everyone alive and he doesn't even speak in the trailer.

[Gold Trumpet]

I think Cron pretty much locked GT into having to like this movie by asking him what he thought of it in the second post. GT answered in essay fashion. He's not one who enjoys wasting time, so I predict 6 stars from him (out of 5)

I most definitely do like wasting my time writing, but as much as I look forward to this project, I don't know how much I'll like it. By Stone's admission this film is a chamber piece compared to his bigger projects and he's a filmmaker who does better with size because it increases his ambition. How the script works as far as capturing the Bush the public knows will determine a lot of the success. I doubt W. will be the best film of the year, but it could be my favorite since I do admit geekiness in loving Stone's work. But hell, Iron Man will be tough to beat, haha.

[MacGuffin]

New 'W' trailer: A walk on the wild side with Bush
Source: Los Angeles Times

It was just a couple of weeks ago that conservative commentators were all saying that liberals were humorless dolts, offering as Exhibit A the outraged reaction to the New Yorker's hilarious Barack Obama as Muslim terrorist cover cartoon. So I'm betting those same commentators will heartily embrace Lionsgate's first teaser trailer for Oliver Stone's "W," which just posted today on YouTube (with the admonition: "This is not a fake"), focusing on the young Dubya, acting like he's starring in a boozy remake of "Old School."

The reason "W" got turned down at every big studio in town wasn't because anyone was politically nervous about making the movie--Bush is too unpopular today to worry even the most timid Hollywood studio chief. In fact, the studio that came closest to saying yes was the Rupert Murdoch owned 20th Century Fox, which figured that having Fox release a wild-eyed anti-Bush movie would cause so much buzz that it would be a unique marketing ingredient unto itself.

The real worry has always been that the story itself was HBO docudrama material, with too many talky scenes set in White House war rooms. The Lionsgate trailer shrewdly explodes that notion. It opens with Dubya (played by Josh Brolin) being dressed down by his dad ("I remember correctly, you didn't like the sporting goods job...") before careening off into hard-partying, tail-chasing territory, ending up with the infamous drunken-driving incident that prompts another stern lecture from Bush Sr. (played by James Cromwell), who says derisively: "Who do you think you are, a Kennedy? You're a Bush. Act like one." To make sure we get the point, the scenes are accompanied by George Thorogood's version of the roadhouse standard "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer."

The music then shifts to the serene "It's a Wonderful World," which plays as the trailer poses a question that could perhaps make us curious enough to see the movie in a theater. It asks: "What Drove George W. Bush ... From Here ..." (Dubya brawling with his old man) "To Here?" (Dubya in the Oval Office, cowboy boots cockily propped up on his desk). Movie executives always preach, ad nauseam, that a successful film needs a hero who overcomes a series of obstacles, making him a very different person at film's end from what he was at the beginning. "W" sounds like it fits the bill quite nicely, as long as you grade on a curve when it comes to the part about overcoming the obstacles. 

[MacGuffin]

[The Perineum Falcon]

"We just have a few questions for your hair, Mr. President!"

[MacGuffin]

admin edit: even better pics

[Gold Trumpet]

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/w/behind-the-scenes


Behind the scenes footage. Get to see Brolin more at length speaking as Bush, but you can't tell much. Unlike Hopkins as Nixon, he does sound like Bush which (for a comedy) is probably important.

[picolas]

clip: w meets laura
http://www.traileraddict.com/clip/w/george-met-laura

i'm really liking brolin.

[New Feeling]

fuck yeah, this is looking pretty good. 

[hedwig]

fantastic clip.

my most anticipated film right now.

[Gold Trumpet]

It's a good clip, but still way early to tell. The surprise is that the film has the interest in realism that it does. A tragic-comedy usually has a staged feel. I say that because the stories usually take notice of their artificiality and play with it. Dr. Strangelove has as much to say about genre as it does about the socialogical implications of its story.

But Stone makes the filmmaking flow with the nuances of the scene. The actors have very naturalistic dialogue. It's odd to see the approach in the Queen will be done to fit a comedy. It looks like themes in the story will either be entirely personal or political, but still focused within the story. There will not be any overt style considerations. It will be interesting because a number of scenes in the film are insane. I haven't read the script, but I've read about numerous scenarios. The clip here is pretty standard because the film does become pretty comedic. If the film keeps with the tone and approach in this clip it will enter some very interesting tonal structures as it goes along.

I think a very memorable film is going to be made. I also think it will alienate half of the audience.

[MacGuffin]

'W' actress: Laura Bush's beauty isn't appreciated

NEW YORK - Elizabeth Banks, who portrays Laura Bush to Josh Brolin's George in the upcoming film "W," considers the first lady an underrated beauty.

"For some reason, I don't think people appreciate just how beautiful a woman that she is," said Banks, sitting pretty in a party room at Manhattan's Gramercy Park Hotel, where Women's Health magazine honored the 34-year-old actress' October cover Monday night.

"I think it's partially just because I think she needs a mini-makeover — but if she were wearing super stylish Phillip Lim dresses and had long, blond hair, I think you'd really be stunned by just how gorgeous a woman she is," Banks said.

Plus, Banks gushed, "She has everything that goes into a great face: great cheekbones, beautiful eyes, great smile."

Oliver Stone's film about the life and presidency of George W. Bush is to be released Oct. 17. Banks and Brolin head a cast that includes Richard Dreyfuss, who portrays Dick Cheney and Thandie Newton, who plays Condoleezza Rice.

Banks said Brolin, son of actor James Brolin, is "perfectly cast."

"I mean, people forget that he is a sort of cowboy who went into the same profession as his own father and lived in his dad's shadow, and is now creating his own career outside of the family."

Banks, whose credits include "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and the upcoming "Zach and Miri Make a 34, Porno," has breezed through New York Fashion Week, making appearances at the Fashion Rocks concert at Radio City Music Hall and Peter Som's runway show.

On Monday, the slim, blond actress channeled Audrey Hepburn in a black sheath, headband and heels to mingle at the Women's Health party. She's the first-ever celebrity to grace the cover of the lifestyle magazine, which hits stands Sept. 16 and will now feature famous faces rather than hard bodies to represent its message of promoting a positive body image.

"I'm really glad it's not like a picture of my super-flat abs, which I don't have," said Banks, who was otherwise pleased with the shot of her looking fresh in jeans and a white tank top. "I don't work on my abs. So I'm glad it didn't make a big deal out of me being a workaholic at the gym — because that's not the case."

What's her secret?

"I have nice, natural genetic good looks and I try and lead an active lifestyle and eat healthily," said Banks, who stays fit by taking walks, swimming in her pool and playing tennis with her girlfriends.

She said she avoids soda, ice cream and fried food, but admits to three other vices: cheese, cupcakes and cookie dough.

"Every once in a while my craving for cookie dough overwhelms me, and I will stay up late and make cookie dough," she said. "But I will just eat the dough, put it away in the fridge and cook it over the next couple days!"

[Gold Trumpet]

New TV spot:

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=49038

Shocker? The film will be rated PG-13.