Richard Dreyfuss Speaks Out on 'W.' and Oliver Stone

I give Richard Dreyfuss credit for making these comments about Oliver Stone and W. on The View this week. You might think a guy who wanted impeachment charges brought against George Bush would take his shots about a figure as divisive as Dick Cheney, who Dreyfuss portrays in the film.But Dreyfuss appears to give each question about the film serious consideration and answers them honestly. Elizabeth Hasselbeck asks what he thought of W. and Dreyfuss questions, as have a lot of us who have seen the film, where Oliver Stone was really going with it. The comments that would probably get the most attention in this video are when he says of Stone, "You know, you can be a fascist even when you're on the left." I suppose that means he didn't care for his time on the set, or at least working with Stone. But plenty of directors are known for being taskmasters, Stone included.His answers have generated a lot of attention, particularly from the left, like the reaction in The Huffington Post. But for the most part, I don't see anything either out of character for Dreyfuss, who has always been outspoken, or deliberately unfair. Perhaps the irony here is how great Dreyfuss is as Cheney. If W. had been a film more about the administration and its power plays beneath the highest office in the land, it would have the historical legs Dreyfuss talks about. He did his part in the movie, though, and I have zero objection to a guy saying his movie that's currently in theaters has some problems, particularly when it's a topic of so much discussion anyway.Toward the end of the clip, Dreyfuss discusses one of his current passions, the re-institution of civics classes in public schools. It's a little dry for the talk show circuit, but it gives you a more well-rounded look at his philosophy.

New Angel or Devil Posters for 'W.'

It doesn't appear as though Oliver Stone's W. is going to do a ton of business here in the U.S. It might beat its budget by a little bit from domestic receipts, but more than likely, Stone will need a pretty strong international push for the gamble to really pay off. The good news for him is that his movies do play well in other countries, and George Bush has even less support around the world than he does here at home.The real letdown isn't the box office - because I imagine with home video and TV rights, it should be slightly profitable - but rather the editorial position of the film. It's too soft for Bush's critics, but it's also not supportive enough in any way for what defenders he has left to rally behind it. And what does it say of Oliver Stone, who needs to get his edge back?There are a couple of new posters that play into the duality Stone portrays in the film, and they're better than most of the others.
Posters courtesy of Can MagIf you haven't seen the film, I'm not telling you not to. It's definitely interesting, and Josh Brolin is terrific. But it could've been more interesting if Stone had driven in one lane or the other.

Box Office - Max Brings the 'Payne'

Max Payne did the job it was supposed to do: It won the weekend box office by a wide margin. But there was a hangover for Payne, like there was for a couple other new releases, because Friday was by far its best performance.According to Box Office Mojo, Payne made just over $7 million on Friday and wound up with a weekend total of $18 million. Not bad, but based on the way weekends normally go, the audience for the Mark Wahlberg video game adaptation slid downhill on Saturday and particularly on Sunday. The political biopic W. also began the weekend in robust fashion, but was crawling to the finish line. Friday's numbers would have led you to believe W. could have made $12 million or more this weekend, but the totals on Saturday and Sunday indicate that there was initial curiosity about this film that has already subsided.In a way, the big winner was Beverly Hills Chihuahua, which most analysts thought would drop below Payne, W. and The Secret Life of Bees, but it found a groove and repeated as the number two film of the weekend.On the independent front, both Happy-Go-Lucky and Rachel Getting Married, movies powered by potential Best Actress performances, were the top two finishers when you consider the ever-important per-screen average. Both films will expand over the next few weeks and positive reviews and building word-of-mouth should help them stay in theaters through the holidays.The Top Five: 1 - Max Payne ($18 million)
2 - Beverly Hills Chihuahua ($11.2 million)
3 - The Secret Life of Bees ($11 million)
4 - W. ($10.5 million)
5 - Eagle Eye ($7.3 million)

Box Office - 'Max Payne' Wins Friday Easily

So far so good for Max Payne, the new video game adaptation starring Mark Wahlberg. On Friday, it easily distanced itself from the pack at the box office, taking in just over $7 million, according to Box Office Mojo. That figures to mean a $20 million debut for Payne, a great number considering its $35 million budget. Oliver Stone's W. finished the day in second place, and appears to be headed towards a $12 - $14 million weekend. Like Max Payne, it has a reasonable budget despite its high profile, so W. will have no problem earning a profit, especially considering Stone's worldwide audience, which generally treats him better than American crowds. The Secret Life of Bees is a slight surprise, taking third place on Friday, with Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Eagle Eye rounding out the day's top five. The week's other new release, Sex Drive, should finish in the $4 million range, which is about what was expected from the teen comedy.Though we'll follow it more extensively next week, there are a rash of major box office bombs in theaters at the moment, with films like How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, The Express, Body of Lies, and City of Ember simply failing to connect with enough people. Only one of those films will make $20 million domestically - Body of Lies - while the others will be stuck around $10 million if they're lucky.

Movie Review - 'W.'

W. Starring Josh Brolin, Richard Dreyfuss, James Cromwell, and Elizabeth Banks Directed by Oliver Stone Rated PG-13

When asked in the later stage of W. what his legacy will be, President Bush replies, "In history, we'll all be dead." And history will no doubt judge Bush for his actions during a most difficult time in American history. Some would say Bush brought a lot of those problems on himself, while others will believe he did what he had to do, despite the possibilities of failure that might have existed at the time. The movie lends some credence to the idea that Bush has faced consequences his whole life, and has done just whatever the hell he was going to, anyway.Director Oliver Stone, who I think we can agree is no supporter of the President, nonetheless presents him in a fair light. Perhaps that should be a fair but harsh spotlight, because at no point in his life has George W. Bush been allowed to simply be the regular guy he almost certainly is. The spotlight has always been on him. His grandfather was a senator, his father a congressman, CIA man, Vice President, and President. All W. wanted to do was be around baseball. But he felt that wasn't enough.The film is not strictly about Bush's troubled presidency nor is it strictly about his troubled past as a lazy carouser.  What it is about is how W. has remained himself no matter what obstacles he faced, even the gravest ones. As W., Josh Brolin gives an astonishing performance that never borders on an impersonation. That's tough to do given that Bush is probably the most recognizable person in the world at the moment. Yet Brolin manages to convey a worn-in comfort Bush feels with himself while projecting how much he struggles with the world around him, whether it's seeking his father's approval, or drinking, or torture policy.W. is its strongest and most fascinating in those scenes in which Bush is surrounded by his inner circle - Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss), Condoleezza Rice (Thandie Newton), Donald Rumsfeld (Scott Glenn), Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright), Karl Rove (Toby Jones) and CIA head George Tenet (Bruce McGill). In what is painted as Cheney's signature moment of influence, when the decision is made to invade Iraq over the objections of lack of evidence and even members of the administration, Stone captures one of the defining moments of our time with perfect clarity and intelligence. Though there are other good scenes, this is clearly when the director, writer Stanley Weiser, and the cast is firing on all cylinders.Most of the cast is good, particularly Dreyfuss and Wright. Thandie Newton never seems at ease, but maybe Rice herself is never at ease. The politics at work is powerful stuff, but I understand that Stone wanted to show how we got here rather than just critiquing the current landscape. The film is satirical without going for cheap jokes or being nonsensical. I didn't love how Bush's more memorable quotes were thrown in seemingly willy-nilly to punctuate how over his head he might be. Maybe he told Dick Cheney in private that he's the decider, but we remember that quote differently, and placing these Easter eggs throughout the script didn't enhance the overall message.Like Bush, Oliver Stone has his fans and detractors. Maybe that's part of the reason he was drawn to the subject. He is sympathetic to this man throughout the film, and never veers into the territory of stealing the 2000 election or failing to respond to Katrina or even making "the wrong decision" about Iraq. It's a glancing blow - more of a stinging portrait of the people who held sway over Bush from a personal and professional standpoint -  but it isn't savage.