His Pinkville may have been spiked by United Artists, but Oliver Stone isn’t wasting time moving on to his next project — one that his detractors will be happy to learn has the potential to be every bit as polarizing has they’d expect.
The film in question, titled simply Bush, will star Josh Brolin as George W. Bush. According to Variety, the script — penned by Stone’s Wall Street co-writer Stanley Weiser — will focus on Bush’s “life and presidency.” Of course, as Variety points out, Stone’s low opinion of Bush’s foreign policy is well documented — but the director says that will have no bearing on his film:
“It’s a behind-the-scenes approach, similar to ‘Nixon,’ to give a sense of what it’s like to be in his skin. But if ‘Nixon’ was a symphony, this is more like a chamber piece, and not as dark in tone. People have turned my political ideas into a cliche, but that is superficial. I’m a dramatist who is interested in people, and I have empathy for Bush as a human being, much the same as I did for Castro, Nixon, Jim Morrison, Jim Garrison and Alexander the Great.
“How did Bush go from an alcoholic bum to the most powerful figure in the world? It’s like Frank Capra territory on one hand, but I’ll also cover the demons in his private life, his bouts with his dad and his conversion to Christianity, which explains a lot of where he is coming from. It includes his belief that God personally chose him to be president of the United States, and his coming into his own with the stunning, preemptive attack on Iraq. It will contain surprises for Bush supporters and his detractors.”
Brolin, currently riding a post-No Country for Old Men hot streak that has him currently filming the role of Harvey Milk’s assassin in Gus Van Sant‘s Milk, “won’t make a formal deal until financing is sealed,” but barring any last-minute setbacks, he’ll be ready for Bush‘s April start — despite Stone’s contention that his star is “actually better-looking than Bush.” Sharpen those pens, right-wing pundits!
Source: Variety
