Josh Brolin as George W? See It, Believe It
Director/madman Oliver Stone has started production on the strangestand possibly coolestmovie of the year, a big-time biopic of President George W. Bush, set for release (maybe) before the November election.
It's called W, it stars Josh Brolin as The Decider, and Entertainment Weekly snagged the low-down by visiting the director of JFK and Nixon on his new flick's Louisiana set.
"Bush may turn out to be the worst president in history," Stone tells EW. "But that doesn't mean he isn't a great story…The fact that he had to overcome the shadow of his father and the weight of his family nameyou have to admire his tenacity."
Brolin, hot off No Country for Old Men, is joined by Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush andthis is awesomeRob Corddry as Ari Fleisher. Rumored to be in talks are Paul Giamatti as Dick Cheney and Thandie Newton as Condoleezza Rice. EW peeked at the script, too, and describes scenes jumping between Bush's reckless youthdrunken driving, yelling at H.W.and his reckless presidency.
So what do you think, will W be greeted with flowers and chocolates, or is it a disaster waiting to happen?
Thandie Newton to Play Condoleezza Rice in Oliver Stone’s W. Iaon Gruffudd in Talks For Tony Blair
Oliver Stone’s Dubbya biopic W. continues to stack on cast members like intelligent pancakes, with the latest editions being Iaon Gruffudd (Mr. Fantastic in The Fantastic Four), who’s in the final stages of signing on to play former British prime minister Tony Blair, and British actress Thandie Newton as Bush’s long-time Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. You may have heard that Rice is now in the running to be presidential hopeful John McCain’s VP running mate, so Newton’s portrayal could become that much more relevant.
Newton played it sort of mean and icy in The Pursuit of Happyness and recently starred in Run Fatboy Run. She’ll also appear in Guy Ritchie’s (remember him?) new, um, Guy Ritchie movie RocknRolla. Stone has not filled in Dick Cheney or Karl Rove but Vulture eavesdropped on a coffee talk between Paul Giamatti and the director not too long ago. The film begins shooting shortly, so expect answers to these questions. Remember answers?
W. Casting Rundown: Josh Brolin/George W. Bush, James Cromwell/Bush Sr., Elizabeth Banks/Laura Bush, Ellen Burstyn/Smoking Hot White Haired Barbara Bush.
UPDATE: HR sent the script out to four Bush biographers. Here’s one of the verdicts. Sounds amazing! “It leaves you with the impression that the White House is run as a fraternity house with no reverence for hierarchy, the office itself or for the implications of policy,” said Robert Draper, author of Dead Certain: The Presidency of George Bush. Here’s another snippet from another biographer: “This notion that [Bush’s] schedule is driven by what’s on ESPN is ludicrous.” Yes! Highlight: The biographers were split on the accuracy of some eye-popping details in the screenplay, including scenes in which Bush nearly crashes a plane while under the influence of alcohol…
Source Link: HR
Shoot ‘Em Up Red Band Movie Trailer
I was able to catch a sneak peak of Shoot ‘Em Up last week in San Diego, and can’t say enough good things about the film. Shoot’em up is like Crank but with guns. It’s non-stop action, no questions asked, no plot needed, and no apologies offered. It knows what it wants to be and goes for it. It’s intense, insane and improbable. Clive Owen eats Carrots while kicking ass, in an attempt to save the life of a little orphaned baby. Paul Giamatti is the evil bad guy from every comic book I read as a kid.
And now New Line has released a red band trailer for the film on the official website. The new trailer gives you a much better example of the intense action sequences featured in this fun flick. Check it out now at ShootEmUpMovie.com.
Note: For those of you who don’t know, most movie trailers begin with a green band. That is the all-green graphic that you see at the beginning of movie trailers. This signifies that the trailer adheres to the standards for motion picture advertising outlined by the MPAA, which includes limitations on foul language and violent, sexual, or otherwise objectionable imagery. Trailers that do not adhere to these guidelines may be issued a red band, and may only be shown before an R-rated, NC-17-rated, or an unrated movie. But most movie theaters won’t even run them.
So studios sometimes release these trailers online with an age verification system. Unfortunately these age verification systems are very flawed. For instance, I’m well over the age of 21, yet if I enter my information, it does not allow me access to the clip. So a little while ago I wrote an article which tells you how to access a Red Band Movie Trailer. Check it out if you’re having trouble.
Early Box Office Tracking: War, Nanny Diaries, Mr. Bean, September Dawn, 3:10 to Yuma, Shoot ‘Em Up
This coming weekend (8/24-26) offers 5 movies, and 1 of them stands out in early industry tracking. WAR (Lionsgate), from rap video director Phillip J. Atwell (he’s worked with 50 Cent, Xzibit and Eminem), is at just 45% Total Aware, but its Awareness with Males Under 25 is 64%. The Let Li/Jason Stathan action flick has the best Definite Interest of the 5 new releases with a decent 36%. Again, Under 25 Males lead the way as 42% say that they are interested. If Lionsgate plays this right with 2,200 screens and a late TV push, $10M-$12M is likely and $15M is a possibility.
MGM/Weinstein’s THE NANNY DIARIES has a Total Aware of 55%, but 67% of Females Under 25 and 72% of Females 25 Plus know about it. Based on the bestselling novel by Emma McLaughlin an Nicola Kraus and starring Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Chris Evans and Paul Giamatti, this picture has a slight chance of an upside surprise, but with Definite Interest is at just 21% (Males Under 25 – 6%, Males 25 Plus – 10%, Females Under 25 – 34%, Females 25 Plus – 23%) it looks like it’ll open somewhere between IN THE LAND OF WOMEN ($4.7M) and BECAUSE I SAID SO ($13.1M).
I can’t quite figure out who the audience for MR. BEAN’S HOLIDAY (Universal) and SEPTEMBER DAWN (Slowhand Releasing). On just under 1,600 screens, the Rowan Atkinson comedy has dim prospects with that deadliest of tracking scenarios – good Awareness (61%) with low Definite Interest (19%). Hard to imagine more than $5M-$8M for this HOLIDAY. Meanwhile, Jon Voight is the star of the late summer feel-good period Morman massacre film from Slowhand. 850 screens is very ambitious, but probably not warranted. SEPTEMBER DAWN’s Total Aware is just 17%, its Definite Interest is 13%, and it has a 0% First Choice. This one is doomed to a $1M-$3M opening.
The tracking isn’t especially food for Yari Film Group’s RESURRECTING THE CHAMP starring Josh Hartnett, Samuel L.Jackson, Alan Alda and Teri Hatcher, but this Rod Lurie-directed film is getting spectacular reviews reminiscent of last summer’s Yari pic THE ILLUSIONIST. This awards-caliber movie is hitting 1,550 locations Friday, and its 35% Total Aware and 26% Definite Interest will improve thanks to a slew of positive reviews. CHAMP has a chance to score in the $4M-$7M range for its opening 3-day.
Variety has weighed in on 3:10 to Yuma (Lionsgate), and it’s a good solid review from Todd McCarthy with raves for Russell Crowe, Christian Bale kid actor Logan Lerman and Peter Fonda. Meanwhile, Michael Rechtshaffen from the Hollywood Reporter is also very positive.
3:10 TO YUMA is set for wide release on September 7, but New Line’s SHOOT ‘EM UP, starring Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti and Monica Belucci, is also going wide that day and seems to have more early traction in industry tracking. SHOOT ‘EM UP is at 25% Awareness (Males Under 25 – 36%, Males 25 Plus – 27%, Females Under 25 – 19%, Females 25 Plus – 17%) compared to 20% for YUMA (Males Under 25 – 18%, Males 25 Plus – 33%, Females Under 25 – 11%, Females 25 Plus – 18%). The New Line action pic wins in Definite Interest in a walk 32% (Males Under 25 – 35%, Males 25 Plus – 37%, Females Under 25 – 23%, Females 25 Plus – 26%) to just 23% for the western (Males Under 25 – 20%, Males 25 Plus – 27%, Females Under 25 – 17%, Females 25 Plus – 20%).
It’s still 2 1/2 weeks until this showdown happens with “guns a blazin’,” but right now SHOOT ‘EM UP has the edge. My hunch is that more reviews like those of McCarthy and Rechtshaffen will drive a late surge in the tracking and still lift YUMA to a weekend win.
Read More at Fantasy Moguls.com.