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Stone Models W. after Nixon
Will one of America’s most famous directors catch the cultural zeitgeist of the upcoming election, or flop at the box office?
Josh Brolin is George W. Bush in Oliver Stone’s new biopic, W.
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As the waning weeks of George W. Bush’s presidential tenure approach, it’s odd that maverick director Oliver Stone would come out with a biographical film about Dubya when, it’s safe to say, a majority of America is a bit tired of him. W., starring Josh Brolin as the commander-in-chief, Jeffrey Wright as Powell, Richard Dreyfuss as Cheney and Thandie Newton as Condi, will probably either catch the popular zeitgeist of the upcoming election or become quickly buried.
In preparation for writing the script, Stone and his screenwriting partner read 17 Bush-related books, and Brolin spent months perfecting the president’s mannerisms and distinctive accent. Stone has said that he didn’t want to make an anti-Bush polemical film, and that this will be a “fair, true portrait of the man,” more in the manner of The Queen or Stone’s own Nixon. However, given the current political polarization in the US, while a “fair” portrait might be what is needed to bring people together, it might also be exactly what many people don’t want to see.
Opens Oct. 17.