W. (2008)

A chronicle of the life and Presidency of George W. Bush.

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writer:

Stanley Weiser

Stars:

Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Ioan Gruffudd

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Josh Brolin	...	George W. Bush
Colin Hanks	...	Speechwriter #1
Toby Jones	...	Karl Rove
Dennis Boutsikaris	...	Paul Wolfowitz
Jeffrey Wright	...	Colin Powell
Thandie Newton	...	Condoleezza Rice
Scott Glenn	...	Donald Rumsfeld
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Dick Cheney
Bruce McGill	...	George Tenet
Wes Chatham	...	Fraternity Enforcer
Jesse Bradford	...	Fraternity President
Sean Stone	...	Fraternity Pledge #1
Ben Mayer	...	Fraternity Pledge #2
James Cromwell	...	George H.W. Bush
Juan Gabriel Pareja	...	Oil Worker

Storyline

Oliver Stone's biographical take on the life of George W. Bush, one of the most controversial presidents in USA history, chronicling from his wild and carefree days in college, to his military service, to his governorship of Texas and role in the oil business, his 2000 candidacy for president, his first turbulent four years, and his 2004 re-election campaign.

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Plot Keywords:

banana | ape | talking monkey | monkey | family relationships | 

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Taglines:

A life misunderestimated.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language including sexual references, some alcohol abuse, smoking and brief disturbing war images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Oliver Stone Site Production Notes

Country:

USA Australia Hong Kong Switzerland China

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

17 October 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bush

Filming Locations:

Millennium Studios- 300 Douglas Street, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,100,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,505,668, 19 October 2008, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$25,534,493, 4 December 2008

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$29,434,429, 29 March 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate, QED International, Omnilab Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The White House speechwriter named "Mike" (Colin Hanks) is based on two real speechwriters for George W. Bush, David Frum, who wrote the "Axis of Evil" speech, and Michael Gerson, who was Bush's chief speechwriter from 2001 to 2006.

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Goofs

At Bush's 40th birthday party, when the cake is finally rolled out, the candle on the right is not lit. When it cuts (almost instantly) to the wait staff putting the cake on the table, it is lit.

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Quotes

Reporter: [about carrier landing] You know, Jack, it's really stunning. I mean, he's landing on a boat at 150 miles per hour. I can't think of a democrat that would do that.

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Crazy Credits

At the very end of the credits, you see a Christian cross with a period. It morphs into the W-period logo of the movie.

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Connections

Features NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (1970)

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Soundtracks

Robin Hood
Written by Carl Sigman
Performed by Dick James
Courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Less about his presidency than about how he got there

Enter the theatre with the wrong expectations and you will be disappointed. I was excited to see the movie because I thought it would be a chronicle of George W Bush's presidency (2001-2008) as well as a biography of his life before assuming office. Unfortunately, the movie does not extend past 2003 and most of the screen time is given to his earlier life and his love/hate relationship with his father. Easily the most interesting scenes in the movie are the ones with him and his Cabinet. One significant flaw in the movie is the casting, particularly the ones for Dick Cheney, Colin Powell and George Bush Sr., who either do not have the proper voice (the former two) or bear any physical resemblance (the latter). Josh Brolin's performance in this movie is one of the best things about this movie and he should deserve an Oscar nod as he should have gotten for his outstanding performance in the Coen Brother's masterpiece No Country For Old Men. This movie could have been better had Stone waited for the real Bush to complete his presidency and then painted a complete portrait of his Presidency instead of just the first 3 years and if he had changed some of the cast around. The father-son relationship is interesting but becomes redundant. The writing, acting and craftsmanship are impressive, however. 8 out of 10.