Hollywood director Oliver Stone is starting work on his next blcokbuster movie - based on the life of US President George W Bush. The controversial director, behind such movies as The Doors and Platoon, will focus on the personal life and the presidency of Bush.
Actor Josh Brolin, who is currently getting praise for his role in the drama No Country For Old Men, has signed on to play the lead role of Bush.
No word yet on who will play Bush's wife and First Lady Laura.
Stone has already begun quietly shopping around the script, written by his Wall Street co-writer Stanley Weiser, to the major studios.
One need only Google the words "Stone" and "Bush" to find plenty of the director's critical comments about the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq.
Despite that, the director, who previously directed a movie about another US president - Nixon - said he's not looking to make an anti-Bush polemic.
His goal is to use seminal events in Bush's life to explain how he came to power, using a structure comparable to "The Queen."
"It's a behind-the-scenes approach, similar to 'Nixon,' to give a sense of what it's like to be in his skin," Stone said.
"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."
Stone also declined to give his personal opinion of the president.
He added: "I can't give you that, because the filmmaker has to hide in the work.
"Here, I'm the referee, and I want a fair, true portrait of the man. 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."
Filming is expected to begin later this year.
By Owen Williams, Jan 21 2008 © Copyright 2008 - Showbiz Spy
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