The question is, if you're going to make a political movie based on a true story, how "true" do you have to be, and is it fair play to make such a film that works as purely entertainment, even if you fudge the facts a little? There are two things going on within Charlie Wilson's War, which stars the affable Tom Hanks as the title character, a liberal Democratic congressman from Texas with an affinity for single-malt scotch whiskey and women. The first thing is an entertaining story about a good ol' boy from Texas, a hard drinking skirt-chaser who, if we're to believe Hanks' take on the character, wasn't so bad, really. Oh, maybe he called his staff of sexy, all-female all-stars "jailbait," drank heavily, and partied in Vegas with Playboy models while surrounded by cocaine, but heck, y'all, that doesn't make him a bad guy, does it? Shoot, he's just a rascally sort, and after all, he's from Texas, where the good ol' boys are, so that makes it all okay.

But, okay, let's toss that aside and say that in spite of his flaws, he really did, underneath, care about his job, at least enough to look up from the nekkid women in the hottub in the first scene of the film long enough to notice that Dan Rather is wearing a turban, and astute enough to realize it might be interesting to know why. The second thing that's happening in Charlie Wilson's War is the story of what happened after Wilson gets interested in Afghanistan: In the summer of 1980, Wilson reads a dispatch about the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing Afghanistan in the wake of the Soviet invasion; Wilson, newly appointed to the Defense Appropriations subcommittee, casually orders the CIA funding for Afghanistan doubled from five million to ten million, and presto, it's done. But not quite finished.

I didn't leave Charlie Wilson's War, the new film from director Mike Nichols, dissatisfied or unamused. I walked out of Charlie Wilson's War angry. No reasonable person expects a film -- any film -- to capture the complexity and scope of real events with absolute precision; adaptations are translations, and as the old Italian saying goes, "The translator is a traitor." It's one thing to compress, combine and fictionalize a story to fit the sprawling, ugly mess of it onto the big screen; it's another to take only the best, shiniest parts of a real, ugly story and turn it into a feel-good comedy. Translation may be traitorous, but Charlie Wilson's War feels like a conscious act of treason against reason itself. As film critic David Thompson has said, "We learn our history from movies, and history suffers ...." Charlie Wilson's War isn't just bad history; it feels even more malign, like a conscious attempt to induce amnesia.

Based on George Crile's 2003 book of the same name, Charlie Wilson's War follows the exploits of Charlie Wilson, a Democratic Congressman from Texas who, during the '80s, had as much fun with his position as you could, which was a lot. As Charlie Wilson's War opens, we see Charlie hot-tubbing in a Vegas hotel suite; the room's full of booze, broads and blow. But Charlie, played by Tom Hanks, can't look away from the news; as one of his new acquaintances notes her apathy to world events, Charlie boils it down: "Dan Rather's wearing a turban; you don't want to know why?" Dan Rather's in a turban because Dan Rather's in Afghanistan, among the Afghan mujahideen -- the Islamic rebels trying to drive the Soviet Union out of their country by any means necessary. This sight sparks something in Charlie, so he sets out to increase the C.I.A.'s funding for the Afghan rebels -- from $5 million a year to 10. It's a lot of money. It's going to be much more.

ComingSoon now has the exclusive first look at the teaser poster for Charlie Wilson's War (click on the image to the right for a larger version). War stars Tom Hanks as the 'unconventional' congressman Charlie Wilson, who with the help of a Texas socialite and a rogue CIA agent managed to organize a "covert war" in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion. Hanks is joined by Julia Roberts as the socialite Joanne Herring and Philip Seymour Hoffman as CIA agent, Gust Avrakotos.

Wilson's good-time-guy image was only one aspect of his personality and more importantly he considered himself a staunch patriot with a clear sense of right and wrong. Wilson was once quoted as saying '"The US had nothing whatsoever to do with these people's decision to fight...But we'll be damned by history if we let them fight with stones." Charlie Wilson's War is based on the book, Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History by George Crill III -- I guess for the sake of billboard space they decided to shorten the title just a little.

The trailer for the film was just released a few weeks ago, and I think most of us were a little 'underwhelmed' by the whole thing. It's a solid cast, and it does have Oscar written all over it, but for such a fascinating story I guess I was just expecting a little more 'oomph' in the preview. Although for those of you out there worried that this is just another boring political drama, don't worry, the trailer works in a few genuine laughs -- but that could just be me. Much like the trailer, the poster for the flick isn't going to blow you away but it gets the job done -- mainly reminding you that there are three Oscar winners in the film. Considering you have mega-stars like Roberts and Hanks in the cast, it's a pleasant surprise that Hoffman made it on the poster at all. Charlie Wilson's War is scheduled for release on Christmas Day.

The World Entertainment News Network (WENN) is reporting that Natalie Portman has second thoughts about doing a nude scene for Wes Anderson's short film Hotel Chevalier, which will play in front of The Darjeeling Limited when it expands to nearly 800 theaters tomorrow. According to WENN, Portman said: "I'm really sorry I didn't listen to my intuition. From now on, I'm going to trust my gut more. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is say no." Portman also says she'll never appear nude on screen again -- cue thousands of pervy men crying out like Darth Vader in Revenge of the Sith: "Nooooooooooo!!!"

You might recall that Portman had second thoughts about nudity in the past. She played a stripper in Mike Nichols' Closer but then evidently convinced Nichols to cut out footage that was too revealing. Then rumor had it that she appeared in the buff in Milos Forman's Goya's Ghosts, but the naked bits were provided by a body double -- and it was an unpleasant torture scene anyway.

What surprises me about her latest regret is that Wes Anderson financed Hotel Chevalier out of his own pocket. He's not exactly known as a hound dog director, exploiting actresses by making them take off their clothes, though most of his films (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) have included nudity. Is it possible that she's more concerned now because the interest in Hotel Chevalier has been driven almost entirely by her exposed bits? (All due respect to Anderson, but there's no way half a million people would have downloaded the short off iTunes if not for her appearance.) Or possibly she's tired of all the cute headlines calling her "Naked Natalie." (Guilty as charged.) Maybe we can all get it out of our system this weekend.

UPDATE: It was all a big misunderstanding. WENN based their news item on a press release by PARADE, touting Portman's first-person article, "What I've Learned (So Far)," which will appear in print on Sunday. In a statement that has been forwarded to Cinematical by a publicist representing Portman, PARADE states: "In the release, we say that Portman regrets doing a nude scene in the movie Hotel Chevalier. This is wrong. When Portman writes about this in PARADE, she does not mention a specific movie title. However, she tells us she was referring to a torture scene with a body double in Goya's Ghosts, which was taken out of context and leaked onto the internet. Portman is very happy with Hotel Chevalier and proud of her work in the film. PARADE apologizes for the error." The entire article is now available online.

You may have noted my mention of a playwright named Beau Willimon last week. If not, it was in a post about a remake of the British miniseries The Jury, which Finding Neverland's Marc Forster will direct. I pointed out that Forster actually handpicked Willimon to be the screenwriter of that project after reading the guy's play Farragut North. The political drama is set to open on Broadway early next year with Jake Gyllenhaal starring and Mike Nichols directing, and I figured that eventually there'd be a movie in the works, possibly with that prestigious duo re-teamed for the big screen version. But no, it seems Gyllenhaal and Nichols just aren't good enough for Warner Bros., who owns the film rights. Instead they've cast some guy named Leonardo DiCaprio for the lead and are hoping to sign on some old television has-been named George Clooney to direct.

According to Variety, the project is also being produced by DiCaprio's company, Appian Way (The Aviator), and Clooney's company (with Grant Heslov), Smoke House (Leatherheads); both companies apparently teamed up after reading the script (were they at the same party as Forster?) and then together brought the thing to Warners. In the film, DiCaprio will play a young idealist working on a presidential campaign who ultimately ends up resorting to bad tactics like backstabbing and trickery. Basically, it sounds like the sad story of the common politico who still thinks there's room for Mr. Smith's out there, only to wake up and discover the real world of Washington. But as much as it sounds familiar, or obvious, or otherwise trite, it seems the play is somewhat autobiographical, as Willimon based it on his experience working on Howard Dean's 2004 campaign. Certainly the film would be a great timely release for 2008, but right now the film, which Willimon is adapting himself, doesn't have a clear start date. Hopefully Warners can grab DiCaprio as soon as he's done with Ridley Scott's Body of Lies and Clooney as soon as he's done with the Coen Brothers' Burn After Reading for a just-in-time Fall opening.

When you consider the star power behind the film version of George Crile's book, Charlie Wilson's War; I'm a little surprised it took this long to finally get a trailer. Worst Previews is hosting a clip from Entertainment Tonight who had a first look at the real life story of democratic senator Charlie Wilson, as played by Tom Hanks (unfortunately it also has an ET commentator rattling on in the background). In the early 80's, Wilson conspired with a Texas socialite and a rogue CIA agent to fund an Afghan resistance to the Soviet invasion. Tom Hanks stars as the coke-snorting, stripper-loving senator congressman with Julia Roberts filling in as socialite Joanne Herring, and Philip Seymour Hoffman as CIA agent Gust Avrakotos. The film has Oscar bait written all over it; three winners in one film? Someone has got to get a nomination out of this one. Directed by Mike Nichols, the film marks Aaron Sorkin's first screenplay in almost a decade; now that Studio 60 on The Sunset Strip is no more, maybe he can get to work on that script about the '68 Democratic convention for Spielberg.

Charlie Wilson's War is set for release this Christmas and opening the same day as Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, as well as the kiddie flick The Water Horse. Neither of which seems like much of a challenge to the drama when it comes to ticket sales since they aren't exactly vying for the same audiences. The only fly in the ointment come Christmas weekend could be the Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson life affirming weepy, The Bucket List. It looks like it's gearing up to be a battle of the "Hollywood heavyweights," but my money is on Hanks and company. The man seems to have the magic touch, after all. Charlie Wilson's War opens December 25th.

UPDATE: The official trailer has just arrived over on Yahoo, so head on over there to check it out.

If Alfred Hitchcock taught us anything, it's that sometimes suspense can occur in the most unlikely of places: cornfields, brightly lit motels, and even Mount Rushmore. But I have to admit, I wouldn't necessarily count a parking garage as one of them -- they're kind of spooky, but only when you don't tip the attendant for bringing you your car. Shock Till You Drop now has the exclusive poster for the indie-thriller P2. The horror was created by the team behind the French thriller High Tension, Franck Khalfoun and Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes). This time, Khalfoun is at the helm, and he also contributed to the script along with Aja. Next up for Aja will be the horror flick Mirrors with Tension writer Grégory Levasseur, and starring Kiefer Sutherland and Amy Smart.

P2 follows a successful businesswoman who is kidnapped by a creepy security guard with an ax to grind over his spurned affections. Wes Bentley (who has been relatively absent from the movies since his big break in American Beauty) stars as the wacko parking attendant, and Rachel Nichols is the career girl on the run. Nichols is a relative unknown to most, but for fans of Alias, her face might ring a bell as 'Rachel Gibson'. Next up for Nichols is a role that is probably a little more high profile; she has a part in the Tom Hanks film Charlie Wilson's War directed by Mike Nichols (no relation). P2 was shot on location in Toronto, Canada last January and is set to hit theaters on November 9th.

It was just announced by Variety that Aaron Sorkin has made a deal to write three films for DreamWorks. This would have filled me with excitement a couple years ago, but after watching an entire season of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, I don't know what to feel. I guess everyone should be allowed a misstep, but few shows have angered and frustrated me like Studio 60. Dreamworks CEO Stacey Snider remains confident, stating: "The quality of (Aaron's) work speaks to the kind of movies we want to make here at DreamWorks and we couldn't be happier to have him in our filmmaker family." Sorkin's three film scripts have all been pretty great -- A Few Good Men (an adaptation of his stage play), Malice, and The American President. This Christmas will mark his return to feature films with Charlie Wilson's War, which Mike Nichols is directing.

The first project Sorkin will write for DreamWorks is a drama called The Trial of the Chicago Seven. It "focuses on the trials of protestors at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, where clashes between demonstrators and police made it one of the defining events of the '60s." OK, Sorkin and politics, I'm intrigued. And making the project all the more exciting is its potential director -- none other than Steven Spielberg. Apparently Spielberg has been developing the project with Sorkin for a while, and hopes to direct the film. Charlie Wilson's War, from Sorkin's first screenplay in over a decade, stars Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Emily Blunt, and Amy Adams. That film will be a drama about covert dealings in Afghanistan. Hey, you know what would work well in a serious drama about Afghanistan? A look behind the scenes of a late-night sketch comedy show! Sound ridiculous? Then why did you think it would work the other way, Sorkin? Why? I'm sorry, I'm still recovering.

Hollywood "Brit Girl" Emily Blunt has just signed on to play Queen Victoria in The Young Victoria. The movie is reported to chronicle the turbulent early years of Queen Victoria's rule, as well as her romance with Prince Albert, which yielded nine children. Martin Scorsese is producing the film with Graham King. (King accepted the last Oscar of the night this year, as producer on Scorsese's The Departed). Julian Fellowes wrote the screenplay, he's no stranger to Oscar himself, having won for his script for 2001's Gosford Park. Blunt was nominated for a Academy Award Golden Globe for her cute turn in The Devil Wears Prada -- perhaps seeing Helen Mirren clutching that trophy for The Queen drove her into the regal role?

I'll be Blunt with you -- Emily Blunt's in a lot of damn movies. Next month you can see her in the horror flick Wind Chill. This Christmas she'll be in Mike Nichols' Charlie Wilson's War, with indie darlings Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks. She's also in The Jane Austen Book Club, (Zzzzzzz!), cool-sounding magician pic The Great Buck Howard with Hanks again and John Malkovich, Dan in Real Life with friend of comedy Steve Carell and foe of comedy Dane Cook, and the independent Sunshine Cleaning with Alan Arkin and the adorable Amy Adams. Whew! In conclusion, if you go to see a movie in the next couple years, there's a 50% chance Emily Blunt will be in it. No studio is attached just yet to The Young Victoria, but it sounds like a very classy affair. King, Scorsese, Fellowes, there's a lotta Oscar folks working on this thing! Might we have a contender?

See, that's what you get for playing around with missiles. As is usually the case with any film that deals with explosives and missiles that are launched from helicopters, unfortunate accidents will sometimes occur. With that said, a special effects assistant was injured on the set of Charlie Wilson's War when a simulated stinger missile accidentally exploded. The man (whose name was not released) was rushed to a nearby hospital where he is currently listed in critical condition.

The film, which is based on the book written by George Crile and scheduled to be released this Christmas, stars Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman and is directed by Mike Nichols. The story follows congressman Charlie Wilson's (Hanks) top secret efforts to assist rebels in Afghanistan during their war with the Soviets. None of the stars were on set during the explosion (which is under investigation), and there's no word on whether the accident will delay production on the film. The incident comes only a few months after assistant propmaster Nick Papac was killed in a motor vehicle accident on the set of The Kingdom.

Odds and ends from Friday:

• Amy Adams is heading off to battle after the actress was tapped to star alongside Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson's War. Directed by Mike Nichols, pic is based on the book by George Crile and tells the true story of a "rogue congressman and CIA operative who conspired to arm Afghan rebels against invading Soviet forces." The cast rocks. The director rocks. I'm certainly pumped up and ready for War.
• One week into his new role as President of Walt Disney Pictures, Oren Aviv spit out a preemptive seven-figure deal for a comedy pitch by Family Man writers David Diamond and David Weissman. Of course, this is one of those top-secret pitches, so all we know is that it's being described as a raucous adult comedy built for two male stars a la Wedding Crashers. After cutting back most of its staff, Disney has supposedly assigned the project to its fleet of brand new state-of-the-art robots.
• According to The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Fox is set to release X-Men: The Last Stand on October 3, with not one, but two special edition DVDs loaded with tons and tons of X-citing goodies. Among the features are: Three alternate endings, commentary from Brett Ratner, writers and producers, 10 deleted scenes and two hidden "Easter eggs" which, once found, unlock a scene where Beast recites Shakespeare and another showing the X-Jet landing in Washington. Oh, but that's not all -- Fox also plans to release a collector's edition that features "an exclusive 100-page commemorative book with an all-new story penned by Marvel Comics master Stan Lee." Time to start counting the seconds, X-fans.

It's not a surprise to anyone, of course, but that "Oscar Winner" line on Philip Seymour Hoffman's business card is really working out for him. Why, just today, Variety has news that he's been cast in not one, but two high-profile new movies -- and one of them even has the Great Tom Hanks in it! I'm sure Hoffman's all a-flutter at the thought of sharing the screen with Forrest Gump himself.

The Hanks flick, AKA Charlie Wilson's War, also stars Julia Roberts and tells the true story of "a rogue congressman (Hanks) and CIA agent (Hoffman) who found the means to secretly arm rebels to fight against invading Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the early 1980s." With a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and the direction of Mike Nichols, it's heading into production this fall and is due out in far-off 2008, mostly likely during the Oscar-friendly end of the year. I can hear the ad copy now: "FOUR OSCAR WINNERS ... ONE INCREDIBLE STORY."

Before he starts protecting Afghanistan from the Commies, though, Hoffman intends to rob a jewelry store with his brother Ethan Hawke. Though he had previously been rumored to be co-staring in Sidney Lumet's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Hoffman has now officially put pen to paper, and will be joining Marisa Tomei (again with the Oscar winners) and Albert Finney in a story about a botched robbery that has major repercussions for the whole family of the thieves. This one stars filming next month, with an eye on a 2007 release date.

   • Big Momma's House 2 - In Martin Lawrence's desperate minstrel show, the comedian reprises his role as undercover FBI agent Malcolm Turner, again donning a fat suit to become the sassy, black Southern matron Big Momma. He has to stop a potentially destructive computer hacker, and the movie is broad, shameless and pandering in most every respect. Lawrence appears to assume that we automatically like him and Big Momma, and does little to endear them to us any further. Incessant mugging, weak slapstick and Teflon catchphrases fill in the many cracks of its already shaky foundation, leaving a hammy house of horrors that should have been condemned when it was still a half-baked pitch.
    • Grandma's Boy - Adam Sandler's longtime second-banana, Allen Covert, gets his shot at a lead in this stoner comedy, but despite his appealing, aw-shucks demeanor, the movie, about a 36-year-old video game tester who moves in with his grandmother and her two roommates, is just irredeemably stupid. It is sad to see three lovely ladies like Doris Roberts, Shirley Jones and Shirley Knight stooping for laughs like this, though based on the fact that practically no one saw it in theaters (or will go out of their way to rent the DVD), it is a very minor tragedy.

George Crile's Charlie Wilson's War is an incredible-but-true story about the CIA's work with the mujahideen in Afghanistan during the 1980s. The property was optioned by Universal in 2003, and they have a screenplay - by Aaron Sorkin, no less - and star (Tom Hanks) ready to go, but until recently, the film was still lacking a director. Now, despite rumors that Sam Mendes would take the job, news comes that Mike Nichols is in negotiations to fill the role. Whatever you think of Nichols, even his bad films tend to be box office successes - the man clearly knows what audiences wants, which is probably making Universal very happy right about now.

And, if Variety can be believed, Hanks might also be about to land himself a costar - a big, big one. Julia Roberts, whose retirement from Hollywood has been rumored over the past six months or so, is reportedly in the proverbial "early talks" to play "Joanne Herring, a big-haired and beautiful Texas socialite who influenced Wilson to support the rebel cause."

The movie, which is sounding more and more interesting, is due to begin filming later this year.