Oliver Stone’s biopic on George W. Bush has suddenly beaten long time fan-favorites like G.I. Joe and The Dark Knight this week for press time. With some major casting decisions announced this week, almost everyone is talking about the movie. In fact, it’s now entered that phase where rumors are being spread, including some interesting other casting choices.
Entertainment Weekly has added a few names that have yet to be confirmed to the project’s development. According to the magazine’s website, Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale) is currently in negotiations to play Colin Powell, while the pivotal role of Vice President Dick Cheney may be going to Robert Duvall. Of course, Duvall’s people say no contact has been made yet, but that’s why were classifying these as rumors.
I don’t know tons about Jeffrey Wright and he seems appropriate enough, but if we’re thowing names out here, let’s have Cheney played by Robert De Niro. I really have no real justification for that pick, but I could se De Niro playing the no-nonsense political mind better than Duvall, who seems a little too Civil War in my mind, mostly because of his participation in movies like Gods and Generals. Obviously an actor can stretch beyond one part, and I can picture Mr. “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” as a more laid back VP, but De Niro would be an interesting pick as well.
Part of the reason for the rapid-fire information coming about W is that the movie starts filming in under a month. Rumor or not, expect to get solid names behind these roles soon.
