bill clinton Tagged Articles at Cinematical

When it comes to sifting through all actors responsible for portraying the most powerful man on the planet, there's no shortage of options. John Travolta did a great Bill Clinton impersonation in Primary Colors and Timothy Bottoms delivered a near-perfect imitation of George W. Bush in both D.C. 9/11: Time of Crisis and That's My Bush! Neither one comes across as particularly flattering, so presidential nominee Barack Obama has chosen a safer bet: At a recent party in Los Angeles, Obama revealed that he prefers Jeff Bridges' conflicted commander-in-chief in The Contender. Granted, he may have said this simply to keep his audience happy -- in this case, Contender director Rod Lurie, one of the attendees who was willing to plop down $28,000 for the event. "'I just plugged your movie," Obama told Lurie, according to a report the director sent to Hollywood Elsewhere's Jeffrey Wells.

Still, when you're under the kind of intense scrutiny that Obama currently endures, Bridges actually seems like a pretty safe choice. Choose Anthony Hopkins in Nixon and it sounds like you're endorsing the bad guy. Choose Kevin Kline in Dave and you come across as disingenuous. Choose Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove and somebody will call you incompetent. Bridges, on the other hand, plays a fierce leader bound to his moral convictions. Of course, Obama also expressed sympathy over Lurie's short-lived television show Commander-in-Chief, which featured Geena Davis as the first woman president. Perhaps it's no coincidence that he and Hillary have publicly made amends.

Ever the astute observer, both of movies and of real life, Roger Ebert posted on his shiny new blog today a great post wondering what Hillary and Bill: The Movie might look like. Ebert talks about great political movies of the past, especially noting two of my own faves, Barry Levinson's Wag the Dog and Warren Beatty's fantastic Bulworth (two of the best political movies ever made). He ponders what a movie -- a narrative, not a documentary -- following the private moments of Hillary and Bill Clinton, during the last days of this seemingly endless primary campaign, might look like. Ebert writes:

Yet there must have been private moments of despair. The two realists, as able as anyone to read the trends, must have spoken privately about their shrinking options. And on Tuesday night, as Hillary's double-digit lead in Indiana dwindled to very small single digits, there must have come a time when one of them said, "We've lost this thing."

What were those moments like? What kept them going between themselves? Did they encourage one another, or was there an unspoken pact not to voice the unspeakable? Was there blame when Bill had one of his unwise moments? Did their shared past, of success and scandal, enter into it, or were they absorbed in this moment?

In answering those questions, there you would find the movie.

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"This summer...hold on to your crown...The Queen rules again bitches!" Yes, Variety is reporting that writer Peter Morgan is working on a follow-up to last year's Oscar-winning hit, The Queen. The Queen was a very British story, but this time he's bringing America into the mix, specifically Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The new film will deal with their relationships to Prime Minster Tony Blair (played wonderfully in The Queen by Michael Sheen, who is expected to return for the sequel). The film "will focus on Blair's reaction to the handover of power between Clinton, a natural liberal ally, and Bush, who came from the other end of the political spectrum." The project will actually be the third in Morgan's series of films about Blair, which began with the Channel 4 telepic The Deal.

The most intriguing aspect of this film might just be its casting. Who can effectively capture the good old boy charisma and charm of Bill Clinton? John Travolta did a very nice job playing a highly Clintonesque character in Primary Colors. I sure wish Phil Hartman was still alive (for a variety of reasons), I don't think anyone's nailed Clinton better, and I always sensed Hartman could have easily handled drama. Who can get across the thick layer of bluster, blind confidence, and -- what's a nice word? -- naivete present in a George W. Bush speech? Something tells me they won't go the Will Ferrell route. My pick for Dubya would be the great William H. Macy, he's got the "shifty dude whose world is crumbling around him" thing down pat. What do you guys think? Assuming they don't go with unknowns, who would you cast as two of the most recognizable figures in politics -- Bush and Clinton?

Apparently super-suave Oscar-winner George Clooney doesn't want to follow in the footsteps of other actors-turned politicians -- including everyone's favorite Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Senator Fred Dalton Thompson, former Congressman and "Gopher" Fred Grandy, and of course, the gipper himself, former President Ronald Reagan. Instead, he wants to continue his career and the life his success and fame allows him to have. Not a huge surprise, really, as the spotlight of politics is not exactly forgiving to a single male actor who, shall we say, likes to have his fun and has a taste for the ladies. Although, I'm sure if Clooney did decide to settle down and wanted to get married to help his political career (or for love), there would be no shortage of volunteers for the Mrs. Clooney role.

Clooney made his statement about his lack of desire for the political life at a recent gathering of celebs who came together to honor him as part of the American Cinematheque awards. As Kim already told us in her fine coverage of the event, Clooney's award was the 21st time this award has been given by the American Cinematheque, a group devoted to the preservation and restoration of films. Guests in attendance included many of Clooney's friends and co-stars such as Don Cheadle, Morgan Freeman, Salma Hayek and (my favorite and yours) Julia Roberts, who presented the award to Clooney.

Even though Clooney seems to be shunning the political arena, it didn't stop big-time politicians from sending him well-wishes and congratulations on his award. Gov. Schwarzenegger, Senator John McCain and former President Bill Clinton all sent taped messages to him. For someone who has no desire for politics, Clooney seems to have quite a few friends in that world and his recent films do seem to be exploring it, especially in the case of Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck. Maybe it's all just a coincidence? Or maybe this is a case of what people in the political game refer to as a "non-denial denial?"

Whatever his plans, I think Clooney would make an interesting politician but I don't blame him in the least if he decides to shun the entire process in favor of his "normal" life. However, if he did decide to go into politics, I would be very interested to hear what he had to say. How about you?

Related Clooney:

George Clooney Feted for American Cinematheque Benefit

Vote Your Favorite Actor ... Into Office?

I reported last week about the upcoming screen version of Richard Clarke's Against All Enemies, to be directed by Crash's Paul Haggis, and wondered at the time who on earth would play the real-life politicians who figure so prominently in the story. Jeffery Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere has had a look at a late (possibly final) draft of the script and answers one of my questions - George W. Bush appears only off-screen, so at least he doesn't need to be cast.

Wells came away deeply impressed by James Vanderbilt's screenplay, which he describes as "gripping" and "pared-to-the-bone." And, despite the fact that the movie's action consist primarily of "men and women in suits jawing with each other about strategy", he feels it has the potential to be a truly great political film, on par with Alan J. Pakula's stunning All the President's Men. So yeah, it's safe to say that he liked it.

One interesting tidbit in Wells' article is his sincere suggestion that Bill Clinton consider playing himself in the movie - according to Wells, the Clinton "character" is so well-written (he's not portrayed as a hero by any means, but nevertheless comes across as a warm, intelligent person) that no one who isn't the former president could convincingly play him. While this seems incredibly unlikely, I have to admit that it's an engaging idea. And hey, if Clinton agreed to appear, maybe they could get Condoleeza Rice to play herself too! And Dick Cheney!