'W.' watchers say Brolin's Bush is uncanny
By JEFFREY RESSNER | 9/24/08 4:46 AM EDT
If there is anyone in Hollywood who is inundated with politics these days, it's Oliver Stone, who will finish editing his George W. Bush biopic any minute now.
If there is anyone in Hollywood who is inundated with politics these days, it is Oliver Stone, who will finish editing his George W. Bush biopic any minute now and is looking forward to a huge publicity push before it opens on Oct. 17. “W.,” starring Josh Brolin as the 43rd president, is shaping up as a hit — if not a blockbuster, at least a moneymaker poised to score multiple award nominations.
People who have seen the film, and there are not many at this point, have said the most astonishing part of the movie isn’t the storyline, which doesn’t contain any shocking new information. And it’s not the liberties the film takes with reality — like any biopic, it includes invented dialogue, and several lengthy real-life events have been telescoped into a few minutes of screen time. Instead, “W.” watchers say that Brolin has positively nailed Dubya, channeling his very soul in the same way Jamie Foxx inhabited Ray Charles’ skin in “Ray,” Joaquin Phoenix captured Johnny Cash in “Walk the Line” and Jim Carrey became Andy Kaufman’s reincarnation in “Man on the Moon.”
Brolin is said to be so impressive that there has been discussion of using his performance to market the entire picture. “He gives off such an amazing vibe that Lionsgate should promote the movie as a great dramatic piece, instead of hyping it as another Oliver Stone controversy, because that’s going to happen anyway,” said a source close to filmmakers. While viewers have an awareness of Stone that no other director enjoys, the campaign will be very “Josh-centric,” confirmed a studio insider who requested anonymity.
As a result, expect Lionsgate to move hard for a best actor nomination come Oscar season in order to move more DVDs, with release of the home video version of the film expected to conincide with Academy Awards hoopla early next year.
Brolin wasn’t Stone’s first choice to play the titular role. According to an interview this week in GQ, Stone felt he needed a big “star” and originally went to Christian Bale, who plays the caped crusader in “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight” and enjoys a strong international following. But after thousands of dollars were spent on screen tests using expensive prosthetic makeup, Bale bailed because he didn’t feel he could pull off the part.
Stone said he then chose Brolin, who was “not a star” but felt “more rural Americana.” According to the director, Brolin was “scared sh-tless” at the thought of mocking the sitting president — probably because he remembered the grief that his father, James Brolin, went through after playing Ronald Reagan in a CBS TV movie that ultimately got bumped from the network. But the younger Brolin dove into his work, spending hours perfecting his Texas twang and listening to speeches, press conferences and other material to strike a proper tone.
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