Straight Dope

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A member of the W. team who's been on the set of the Oliver Stone film says that Josh Brolin, who's playing George W. Bush, "is giving a stellar performance -- acting without a speck of irony, a purely interpretive performance. I also think that Elizabeth Banks, as Laura Bush, will turn some heads." He wrote because W. is "presumed to be a comedy in some quarters, which it isn't. Yes, it is rife with black humor here and there -- how could it not be? -- but it is not a lampoon of Bush, but an exploration of the manÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s psyche and an attempt to capture his essence."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 13, 2008 at 4:30 PM

comment #1

Geoff says ...

Thanks Jeff. I'll take any news I can get on this thing. I hope it's great.

Posted by Geoff at June 13, 2008 5:44 PM

comment #2

SmilingPolitely says ...

Stone has said in several interviews that "W" is going to be a satire.

Posted by SmilingPolitely at June 13, 2008 8:14 PM

comment #3

Craptastic says ...

I've got a feeling this is going to be his Strangelove

Posted by Craptastic at June 13, 2008 8:40 PM

comment #4

SmilingPolitely says ...

From a Screen Daily interview with Stone:

Stone says the tone of the film is "ideally in the vein of Network or Dr Strangelove. I was a young man when I saw Dr Strangelove and it still stays with me. It took a very grim subject and turned it into a serio-comic story and it worked. So those would be great models for the movie to live by."

Posted by SmilingPolitely at June 13, 2008 10:06 PM

comment #5

markj says ...

Let's hope it's better than World Trade Center. That was one of the worst movies i've ever seen, TV movie-bad. I still can't believe Stone was behind the camera on that one.

Posted by markj at June 14, 2008 12:52 AM

comment #6

Rich S. says ...

Alexander was one of the funniest movies I've seen in awhile. Sadly, only Val Kilmer seemed to be in on the joke.

Posted by Rich S. at June 14, 2008 4:24 AM

comment #7

le corbeau says ...

"I've got a feeling this is going to be his Strangelove"

I've got a feeling this is going to be his Wrong Is Right

Posted by le corbeau at June 14, 2008 5:52 AM

comment #8

The Pope says ...

If W is satire and Brolin is playing it without a hint of irony, it is the right way to go. Jokes are always funnier when the character is unaware of the humour. Strangelove was blissfully ignorant as to how silly he sounded.

Posted by The Pope at June 14, 2008 6:21 AM

comment #9

Josh Massey says ...

I've got a feeling this is going to be his Salvador.

Posted by Josh Massey at June 14, 2008 6:43 AM

comment #10

polarbear2 says ...

If Stone really announced that this is going to be a satire, he has already made his first mistake. He should read Twain's introduction to Huck Finn. Great Satire always pretends to be something other than satire, and it never announces its intention up front.

Stone's Strangelove? "Burn, Hollywood, Burn" was once somebody's Strangelove too.

Posted by polarbear2 at June 14, 2008 10:34 AM

comment #11

/3rtfu11 says ...

"I've got a feeling this is going to be his Wrong Is Right"

And that's a bad thing because?

Posted by /3rtfu11 at June 14, 2008 10:46 AM

comment #12

SaveFarris says ...

I've got a feeling this is going to be his Lions for Lambs

Posted by SaveFarris at June 14, 2008 4:45 PM

comment #13

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comment #14