W. (film)
W. | |
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Directed by | Oliver Stone |
Written by | Stanley Weiser |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Emperor Motion Pictures |
Distributed by | Lionsgate |
Release dates |
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Running time | 129 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $25.1 million[1] |
Box office | $29.5 million[1] |
W. is a 2008 American biographical comedy-drama film based on the life of George W. Bush. Directed by Oliver Stone and written by Stanley Weiser, it stars Josh Brolin as Bush. The supporting cast includes Elizabeth Banks, James Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Thandiwe Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Scott Glenn, and Richard Dreyfuss. Filming began on May 12, 2008, in Louisiana, and the film was released on October 17, 2008.[2]
Plot
In 1966,
In 1971, "Junior" reveals his real aspirations in a father-son talk: working in professional baseball. Bush is accepted into
In 1977, Bush announces he will run for Congress to represent Texas's 19th district. At a barbecue, Bush meets his future wife, Laura Lane Welch. During a debate, Bush is criticized by his Democratic opponent, Kent Hance, who says that Bush is not a real Texan and has spent campaign contributions to throw an alcohol-fueled party for underage Texas Tech University students. Bush fares poorly in the debate and loses the election, but nevertheless receives the highest number of votes for a Republican candidate in the state's history.
In 1986, Bush becomes a
In
In March 2003, the
Cast
- Josh Brolin as George W. Bush: Stone's original idea for the main role was to propose it to Harrison Ford, who he said had "a pretty similar face as of George Bush". Stone then cast Christian Bale, who spent months researching for the role, but dropped out after he was not satisfied with the prosthetic makeup tests. Stone remarked, "Christian's a very methodical actor and he has to have the makeup thing work for him."[3] (Bale later went on to portray Dick Cheney in 2018's similarly-themed Vice.) Brolin, cast at the "last minute",[3] spent months working on Bush's distinctive vocal style, calling hotels in Texas and talking to the people at the front desk, listening to their accents. The actor also watched videos of Bush walking. Brolin said, "It changes over the years, how he walks in his 30s, how he walks in foreign lands, before 9/11 and afterward. People hold their emotions in their bodies. They can't fake it. Especially him."[4]
- Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush: Banks said she would not do an impression of the first lady. "I just want to honor her voice, her stillness, and her hairstyle".[4]
- James Cromwell as George H. W. Bush, Bush's father and the 41st president of the United States.
- Ellen Burstyn as Barbara Bush, Bush's mother and first lady of the United States
- Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney: Stone was interested in Robert Duvall as Cheney, but Duvall turned down the role.[5] Dreyfuss and Stone did not get along well during filming, and Dreyfuss was harshly critical of the director during the film's press junket, noting Stone had attacked him right before the tour began. Dreyfuss also told film critic Nathan Rabin in an interview that he did empathize with the former Vice President, calling him "true to himself", and saying that the real villain of W. was the American public, because it never responded with outrage to the Bush Administration's actions.[citation needed]
- Jeffrey Wright as U.S. Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell
- Scott Glenn as U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
- U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice
- Toby Jones as Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove
- Bruce McGill as Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet
- Ioan Gruffudd as British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Much of Gruffudd's intended scene was cut. The scene depicted Blair revealing his intentions to convert to Catholicism, and his desire to give the United Nations and British and U.S. allies more time and greater involvement before the Iraq invasion.
- Noah Wyle as U.S. Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans
- Rob Corddry as White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer
- Dennis Boutsikaris as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz
- Randall Newsome as Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority
- Jason Ritter as Jeb Bush
- Michael Gaston as General Tommy Franks
- Tom Kemp as David Kay
- Paul Rae as Congressman Kent Hance
- Jesse Bradford as Thatcher, Bush's college buddy
- Marley Shelton as Fran, one of Bush's girlfriends
- Anne Pressly as Anchorwoman
- Sayed Badreya as Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq
- William Chan as Hospital Doctor
- Teresa Cheung as Miss China
- Colin Hanks as David Frum
- Bryan Massey as Skeeter
- Brent Sexton as Joe O'Neill
- Charles Fathy as the voice of Jacques Chirac
Production
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.
– Oliver Stone[8]
W. was Oliver Stone's third film in a trilogy he made about the presidency, set in the time from the 1960s to today: the set began with
The film, originally titled Bush,[8] was re-titled W. to draw distinction between him and his father.[12] Filming began on May 12, 2008, in Shreveport, Louisiana,[13] and completed filming on July 11, 2008.[14] On May 13, 2008, the New York Post published excerpts from an early draft of the script. The column, written by Cindy Adams, stated "Pro-Bushies will hate it, antis will love it."[15]
The film was released on October 17, 2008, timed just before that year's presidential election.[2] W.'s producers reportedly ran television spots for the film opposite Republican Party presidential nominee John McCain's ads in the fall of 2008.[4]
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 58% based on 222 reviews, with an average rating of 6.01/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A surprisingly sympathetic portrayal of the 43rd American president, W. is fascinating in spots, but merely rudimentary as a whole."[16] At Metacritic, the film has an average weighted score of 56 out of 100, based on reviews from 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17]
In his review, Roger Ebert wrote that it was "fascinating" and praised all the actors, noting that Richard Dreyfuss was "not so much a double as an embodiment" of Dick Cheney.[18] In contrast, Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post called the film "a rushed, wildly uneven, tonally jumbled caricature."[19] Film critic James Berardinelli negatively compared the film with Saturday Night Live skits, saying of the actors that "None of them are as dead-on as Tina Fey as Sarah Palin."[20]
The Bush administration never officially commented on the film. Former
The film appeared on some critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008. Joe Neumaier of the
Box office
The film opened No. 4 behind The Secret Life of Bees, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and Max Payne, respectively, with $10,505,668 from 2,030 theaters, with a $5,175 average.[25] The film had a budget of $25.1 million and grossed $25.5 million in North America, and $3.4 million internationally.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "W. (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ a b Fleming, Michael (May 8, 2008). "Lionsgate books Oliver Stone's W". Variety. Retrieved May 9, 2008.
- ^ a b Larry Carroll (October 15, 2008). "What Do Batman And George W. Bush Have In Common? Oliver Stone Explains ..." MTV. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f Benjamin Svetkey (May 7, 2008). "First Look: W., Oliver Stone's Bush Biopic". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
- ^ Sperling, Nicole (March 26, 2008). "Oliver Stone's George W. Bush biopic coming together". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
- ^ "Bush and Earle Hudd – Bible Study Group". Lionsgate. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ISBN 0-688-17441-8. NOTE: Citation is for list of influential figures.
- ^ a b c d Michael Fleming (January 20, 2008). "Oliver Stone votes for 'Bush' project". Variety. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
- ^ Stephen Galloway; Matthew Belloni (April 7, 2008). "Bush biographers mixed on script for Oliver Stone's W.". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 11, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
- Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
- ^ Mike Goodridge (May 30, 2008). "Interview: Oliver Stone". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on June 28, 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
- ^ Fleming, Michael (March 26, 2008). "Oliver Stone casts parents of W". Variety. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
- ^ Michael Fleming (May 8, 2008). "Lionsgate books Oliver Stone's W.". Variety. Retrieved May 9, 2008.
- ^ "Brolin, Wright arrested in pub fight". Variety. July 13, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
- ^ Cindy Adams (May 13, 2008). "Film Has A Few Words About Our President". New York Post. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
- ^ "W. (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
- ^ Roger Ebert (October 15, 2008). "W". rogerebert.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2008.
- ^ Ann Hornaday (October 17, 2008). "'W': Mission Not Accomplished". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 17, 2008.
- ^ James Berardinelli. "W". ReelViews. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- ^ "Jeb Bush calls 'W' movie 'Hooey'". Washington Times. October 17, 2008. Retrieved October 20, 2008.
- Slate Magazine. Retrieved October 20, 2008.
- ^ "Screen Test - Josh Brolin". The New York Times. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
- ^ a b "Metacritic: 2008 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Archived from the original on February 24, 2010. Retrieved January 11, 2009.
- ^ "Weekend Box Office Results from 10/17 to 10/19". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 20, 2008.
External links
- Official website
- The Official Film's Guide
- W. at IMDb
- W. at AllMovie
- W. at Rotten Tomatoes
- W. at Box Office Mojo