You wouldn’t think a movie about George W. Bush would carry all that much emotional weight. After all, most of the entertainment industry has used the president for comedic effect. Oliver Stone is certainly assembling a cast to give his movie, W, some serious gravity though. First he cast Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Banks as George W. and Laura Bush, and now he’s moving on to the parents.
For the former presidential figure, Stone has turned to veteran actor James Cromwell. The actor doesn’t’ exactly strike me as a George Bush figure, but Stone isn’t making a parody or a movie full of caricatures. Instead he’s putting an actor in the patriarchal role that can convey the seriousness of Stone’s story... whatever that is. According to Variety, Stone has gone with an equally talented actress for Barbara Bush, who will be played by Ellen Burstyn.
I still can’t figure out what story Stone is planning on telling with this movie, but he’s assembling one hell of a cast to tell it. Whatever the story is, Stone apparently has competition. Moviehole reports that there’s another movie with a portrayal of George W. Bush (or, at the very least, a “Bush” type) being played by C. Thomas Howell. The project, titled Commander-and-Chief is more what you’d expect from a Bush movie, played as a political satire.
Stone’s W is expected to hit theaters prior to Bush’s departure from office.
