Script review for Oliver Stone's "W" now online

[Cheap_Trick]

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/script_review_oliver_stones_george_bush_biopic_w


>snip<
For a quick opinion of the script I can tell you I liked it, but have major reservations. The biggest issue is going to be disconnecting with the George W. Bush we all picture. Bush has become a punch line, everyone has an imitation of our current president; he isn't difficult to mock. This fact will make it difficult to realize that the guy stumbling through his speeches is the frat boy swigging screwdrivers from a trash can and swearing like a sailor in the Oval Office.

People are used to seeing Bush mocked and made fun of for his poor grammar and for the dimwit he appears to be. There are instances of improper grammar in the script such as the infamous "is our children learning?" line, his pronunciation of nuclear as "nu-cu-lar" is used often, Machiavellian as Michievellian and his inability to correctly say such a common phrase as "Be that as it may" in a one-on-one conversation with Tony Blair (Blair helps him out). Traditionally these kinds of things would be laughed at, but in this script you almost pity the man.

>snip<
Everything presented adds up to one thing -- Bush comes off as a guy that simply doesn't want to be beat -- by anyone. He doesn't want to live in his father's shadow. He doesn't like to be challenged. He jumps the gun and it ultimately backfires on him time and time again. Early on it is his drunken care free nature that gets him into trouble. Later on it is his refusal to lose and attempts to show up his father that come back to bite him. The story doesn't do any finger pointing of its own, but it does allow for several instances where an audience member can easily make up their own mind.

>snip<
Some interesting roles are still left open including Dick Cheney (Robert Duvall is rumored), Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright is rumored) and Donald Rumsfeld (Tommy Lee Jones is rumored). It will also be interesting to see who gets the role of Tony Blair, perhaps Michael Sheen would consider joining the cast for one day.




For Tony Blair, I thought Micheal McKean would be perfect.

[CJCRANE]

1. Interesting.

I can see Tommy Lee Jones as Rumsfeld.

But IMO the film should only deal with his life before the presidency because living through that once is enough.

[bryant69]

2. it should be interesting

And yeah it is a careful line to balance; make him a bumbling buffoon and you kind of miss the whole point.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[DearAbby]

3. I would like to see this movie

sounds interesting.