Note of Concern

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HE to that self-amused New York "Vulture" writer who tapped out yesterday's item about how Stanley Weiser's script of W, the basis of Oliver Stone soon-to-shoot George Bush biopic, sounds like the comedy hit of '09 that perhaps should costar Will Ferrell and Seth Rogen, etc.

Have you read Weiser's script or merely Stephen Galloway and Matthew Belloni's 4.7.08 Hollywood Reporter story about the reaction of four Bush biographers to it, and perhaps also that link to the first four pages of an October draft of the W/Bush script?

If you've read Weiser's script then I don't know what to say to you. Your reaction suggests an incredibly thick head and an oafish sensibility. If you haven't read it but would like to, send me an e-mail and I'll fire it off to you. Keep in mind, naturally, that the draft is about six months old and has since undergone the usual revisions and refinements.

I ran my reactions to the script on 4.2.08. I didn't see any comic aspects except for the darkly comedic, bordering-on-demonic ones that go with the territory of the Bush presidency. It is, as I said, "tightly written and clear of mind -- everything is very choice and precise, and it never wavers from its focus of delivering a well-honed portrait of who this guy is, what's driven him, what he's always wanted, how he's gotten to where he is, and what the central themes of his life seem to be (i.e., the drag-downs and the uplift).

"It seems," I wrote, "to have its ducks in a row and is carefully shaped and ordered, because the dialogue is very tight and pruned down, because Weiser seems to have captured Bush's speech style perfectly. Not once did I sense the presence of Hollywood far-left liberals getting off on skewering Bush because it's in their blood. I sensed a real submission to documented or reliably sourced fact.

"Boiled down, W is a cogent dramatic summary of the significant chapters and stages in the life of an aw-shucks, smart-but-dumb, silver-spoon fratboy who, like all of us, has had his issues and limitations and hang-ups and challenges to deal with, but nonetheless managed to grow into a donkey demagogue of the first order."

comment #1

Mr. Muckle says ...

Sent this to Jeff a bit ago. Sorry if it's off topic, but I wanted to put it out here, too.
_______________

muckle to gruver1: I'm sorry you felt dissed and had to take the post with your picture down. I greatly enjoyed seeing it. My comment was meant only as an affectionate tease, as were the others, I suspect. Surely, if we didn't like H-E, we wouldn't hang out here. It's one of the most fun blogs on the web, IMO. I have to re-examine my slight addiction to it.

I appreciate the degree of self-revelation it takes to make all this interesting, and to me that takes courage. You may not feel so, but I couldn't do it.

For my first post on your site you responded with a kind comment and I never forget that. Also, you succeeded in turning me on to Obama, which I would not have thought possible given my presumed immunity and relative lack of familiarity and interest.

I would say this publicly on one of your new posts, but there isn't one there yet. Maybe later. Anyway, thanks for your generosity in the work you do.

comment #2

DavidF says ...

I read those first few pages and I STILL can't believe it's not an April Fool's joke. I hope it gets more interesting than that. Seems very weak and superficial at first glance.

Also, the unnamed "Senior Speechwriter" who suggests "Axis of Evil" in the first scene is David Frum. I don't know why the name of the person who comes up with the phrase would be left out of the scene about coming up with the phrase but, there you have it.

comment #3

rockne says ...

Yeah, FilmDrunk linked to the biographers and what they said. I don't understand why Bush gets a pass in the media and from most everyone else.
He drove businesses and one very sad baseball team into the ground when he controlled them. He speaks like an autistic third grader.
No, wait, they're smarter.
So with all the proof of what a slow wit he is; why does he get a pass?
If this was a democrat, he would be vilified.
This is a right-leaning country. McCain will be elected and Condoleeza Rice will be his V.P.
Liberals are all afraid of something and Bush, being what he is, gets a pass.
Does anyone NOT believe he was being fed lines in the debates?
And if Cheney doesn't run the country, as the Bush biographers say that script suggests...then why are there so many instances of Cheney doing things that no other VP has ever done? In the sense that..."Hey...are VP's supposed to do that? Do they have that much power?"
I just can't understand it.

comment #4

JustThisGuy says ...

Ah, if only the offer to receive a copy of the screenplay were extended to everyone...

comment #5

Edward says ...

I hate to say this is film is too soon. I don't want to dismiss it before it's even in the can (although there are plenty of films I've dismissed site unseen -- see my comments RE: Love Guru), but I can think of so many more ways I'd rather spend two hours then to spend it with this loathsome President. I've sent letters to both my Congressperson and the Speaker asking for Bush and Cheney's impeachment. I expected a response from my Rep. (she has responded to other issues I've had), but have heard nothing. I shouldn't be surprised, but I am disappointed.

This is a long winded way of saying I may check it out, because it's Stone. I thought United 93 was too soon, but was glad I saw it. Maybe I'll feel the same about "W."

comment #6

LYT says ...

However tight and dark the script is, the chance that Stone will play it so over-the-top that it verges on hilarity strikes me as pretty high.

Just remember Colin Farrell's He-Man wig in Alexander.

comment #7

T. Holly says ...

Stone does have "nice plugs" though, which Jeff does not. Shoulda left the picture up, just deleted the comments. Can't wait to read about the class, hope you're working up an angle.

comment #8

BurmaShave says ...

My favorite reaction to the script was the one where the former colleague said that the "There's a darkness that follows me" was bunk and sounded like "something from a Springsteen song". They actually consider a lack of self-examination a point of pride. And of course Springsteen is an evil superlib, naturally.

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