Josh Brolin on Playing the President in 'W.'

We're inching closer to Oliver Stone's presidential biopic, W., and we here at The Big Picture have some concerns about what's on its mind. Not that George Bush doesn't deserve in some way the kind of castigation that you would automatically expect an Oliver Stone film to unleash, but rather that there are bigger issues surrounding his ascent and leadership that deserve the spotlight even more. In particular, we're not big fans of the marketing, which features the tagline "A Life Misunderestimated," and shows Bush as a bumbling moron. Not exactly a bolt out of the blue there. Hopefully, the movie's smarter than that and takes the subject more seriously. The man in the center of all of this is Josh Brolin, who had a fantastic 2007 and is following up here as George Bush. He sat down with New York Magazine and says, in no uncertain terms, that the Bush in the script (and by extension, I guess, the Bush in his performance) is not just a caricature.

"At first I had the same leftist, cosmetic view that everybody has—that this guy’s an idiot making the wrong decisions, that he’s a puppet. But this is an amazingly compelling story about a guy who was flailing. He was a mouse in a labyrinth, just lost, looking for that cheese and not finding it. And then he became president of the United States."

Brolin tells the magazine that he passed on the role at first, giving Stone the names of other actors, before sensing he could give the performance something extra.  "I wanted to fuck around and have a good time with the gestures and voice and all that, but I wanted a Bush that was sustainable," he says. As for the mistakes Bush has made in office, Brolin reveals that it's not a pivotal part of the story. "We don’t have to create that, it’s all out there," the star insists. "We concentrate on the compelling nature of someone who has no real deep interest in or training for the presidency, but who did it twice." You can read more of the interview in New York Magazine, including Brolin's response to his arrest while filming in Louisiana. And while I doubt it would ever happen - honestly, would you watch a movie about yourself directed by an obvious opponent of your ideals? - Brolin would like to think Bush will watch W. some day."Ultimately," he says, "the hope is that Bush himself will see the movie and say, 'Heh, that’s purty good.'" At this point, I'll take any audience member having that reaction.

Comments

[Brandon]

"I wanted to fuck around and have a good time with the gestures and voice and all that, but I wanted a Bush that was sustainable."

That quote just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside about the movie. A credible person thats somewhere in the middle on things should be directing a movie like this.

How are we going to know what is fact and what is fiction, what is blown out of proportion, and what is underplayed? I guess thats the problem with this movie.

This movie will be a surpise if there is no biast in it at all.

[JK]

I hope it isn't a smear job as it would devalue all those involved. Does Oliver Stone make decent movies anymore? I'll probably see it just to see where they went with the story.

[Lost Wilson]

Dude's Step-mom...correction...dude's dad married Barbara Streisand. SO... if 43 is the son of 41 on the right, Brolin is pretty much 43 on the Left.

Right?