Oliver Stone: George Bush movie is 'Capra-esque'
Friday, 09 May 2008 12:00
Oliver Stone says George Bush film W is "Capra-esque" tale
US In Focus
The race to find the two party nominees for this autumn's White House race is approaching its dramatic final stages. Full Story
Oliver Stone has described his upcoming film W, about the life of US president George Bush, as a "Capra-esque" tale.
Having courted controversy with his films about Richard Nixon and John F Kennedy, Stone is to dramatise the life of a living - and still in office - president, with No Country For Old Men actor Josh Brolin attached to play the 43rd president of the United States.
And though the film has not yet begun shooting, Stone is rumoured to be considering an October release date, to coincide with the electoral race for Bush's successor.
In an early preview interview for Entertainment Weekly magazine, the Alexander director admitted that the film will not be a rose-tinted look at the Bush administration, saying: "Bush may turn out to be the worst president in history... That doesn't mean he isn't a great story.
"It's almost Capra-esque, the story of a guy who had very limited talents in life, except for the ability to sell himself," Stone added, referring to the unlikely heroes of the films of It's A Wonderful Life director Frank Capra.
"The fact that he had to overcome the shadow of his father and the weight of his family name - you have to admire his tenacity.
"If [F Scott] Fitzgerald were alive today, he might be writing about him. He's sort of a reverse Gatsby."
Though 1991's JFK addressed the conspiracy surrounding the president's death while 1995's Nixon examined the complexities of the president whose reign was tarnished by the Watergate scandal, W does not have an agenda as such, Stone explained.
"Bush is not a complex and dark man, so it's different. This movie can be funnier because Bush is funny," he said.
"He's awkward and goofy and makes faces all the time. He's not your average president. So let's have some fun with it. What are they going to do? 'Discredit' me again?"