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18 articles from 2008

11 October 2008 7:22 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Director Oliver Stone has dismissed suggestions his new movie W is an attempt to undermine U.S. president George Bush's administration.

The movie - starring Josh Brolin as the current leader - is due for release just weeks before the November presidential elections.

But Stone deems his film is a service to voters, rather than a disservice to the Bush administration.

He says,"It was not our intention to bring malice or judgment on George W. Bush and his administration.

"He and his administration clearly speak for themselves. This man has left us with three wars - in Iraq, Afghanistan and the war on

terror - and the legacy of the pre-emptive strike."

He adds, "These are legacies that will haunt his successor for years. It's good for people, before the election, to think about

who they elected eight years ago and about where we are as a country right now."

Dana Perino, a Bush spokesperson, has refused to acknowledge the film, insisting the office has "much more important things to do than comment on this ridiculous movie".

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9 October 2008 7:08 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Moviemaker Oliver Stone has hinted the summer bar brawl that landed his W stars Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright behind bars was racially charged.

The director was with the two actors in Shreveport, Louisiana when both were cautioned and then arrested by local police for being drunk and disorderly during a fracas outside the Stray Cat bar.

Wright and Brolin have maintained their innocence and now Stone suggests the fight started after a barman took a dislike to African-American Wright - and the whole thing was handled by "insane" cops.

He tells the new issue of Men's Journal magazine, "I saw Jeffrey being arrested. I guarantee you, that man was not drunk, and he was not disorderly.

"There was a white bartender who had taken a dislike to him a few days prior... and he's (Wright) not going to take s**t from anybody.

"He was escorted out of the bar and treated in a rough manner by these policemen. That's when Josh and his group went out to protest.

"The cops said, 'Step back, sir!' Josh said, 'Sir, why are you arresting him?' and then, boom, (they) maced him in the eyes. They tasered Jeffrey twice... and they beat up my assistant."

Stone admits he stayed inside the bar because he knew he'd get arrested if he joined the fracas.

He adds, "These people were really rough."

Police officials in Shreveport have conducted their own internal investigation following the events of the July brawl and declared the local cops committed no violations.

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8 October 2008 6:27 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Josh Brolin gobbled up sandwiches while playing U.S. leader George W. Bush in Oliver Stone's new biopic W after learning the President is a compulsive eater.

The actor admits he ate 15 sandwiches in one scene because he wanted to show the movie audience that his character can't just sit and listen.

Brolin explains his research led him to believe Bush's eating habits are related to an "attention deficit disorder thing."

He says, "It's a diversion tactic, it's something to do. It's like an actor who needs props until they don't need the props. He just never got to the point where he didn't need the props.

"He quit smoking and drinking; then what? You run, you bike, you eat, you go to war. He would eat like two or three tins of Altoids a day."

But the film's screenwriter, Stanley Weiser, insists Brolin could have taken Bush's bad eating habits even further: "He does eat with his mouth open and doesn't care if he eats with his mouth open."

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8 October 2008 12:09 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Oliver Stone's filmmaking skills have come under question after a series of noted movie critics were left unimpressed by his eagerly anticipated George W. Bush biopic, W.

The JFK moviemaker rushed to shoot and edit the film so it could open in cinemas throughout the U.S. before the forthcoming presidential elections in November.

And some of the industry's most respected film critics have taken aim at Stone for doing so - with one writer claiming the quality of the rush job is no better than a made-for-tv movie.

According to Britain's The Times newspaper, the subject matter - Bush's life from adolescence to his White House administration - is too much for a two hour movie, insisting the content gets "the better of Stone".

And U.K. newspaper The Guardian's Dan Glaister says the film "plays like a TV movie rather than a cinematic epic", branding the project "conventional" compared to Stone's previous, edgier work.

However, most pundits have praised the film's lead Josh Brolin, insisting the star's turn as President Bush will most likely earn him a string of Best Actor awards, describing his performance as "arresting".

Industry publication Variety says, "The actor offers a more than reasonable physical approximation and an interpretation that's convincingly boisterous and determined."

The film, which co-stars Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney, Ioan Gruffudd as Tony Blair, Thandie Newton as Condoleeza Rice and Jeffrey Wright as Colin Powell, hits U.S. cinemas on 17 October.

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24 September 2008 12:01 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Oliver Stone fears America will be "stuck" with George W. Bush's policies for 20 years after he stands down as president.

The director's biopic of Bush - simply titled W - is due to be released in November.

And he has hit out at studio bosses who refused to bankroll the project, insisting it is still relevant even though the president is coming to the end of his term in office.

Stone tells USA Today newspaper, "I think Bush is going to be accountable to history in a big way. These people who dismissed this movie, who wouldn't give us the money to make it - especially the American studios - had this attitude that he's too hot a potato and at the same time, he's going away in January, 'So who cares?'

"Who cares? I'll tell you what - his policies are going to be still paying off 20 years from now. (The younger) generation is stuck with his policies. To have this lighthearted attitude, this superficial attitude, that he's gone in January... He's not gone, baby."

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24 September 2008 10:38 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Director Oliver Stone says that he does not believe his upcoming W, a biographical comedy about President Bush, will appeal to "that radical 15 percent [of moviegoers] that hate Bush or the 15-20 percent who love Bush. ... I'm interested in that 60 percent in the American middle who at least have a little more open mind." Acknowledging that people have already assumed that the movie will disparage the president, Stone told USA Today that he believes his movie "to be a fair and true portrait." He also acknowledges that he had trouble finding a U.S. studio willing to make it -- winding up with Canadian-based Lionsgate. "These people who dismissed this movie, who wouldn't give us the money to make it -- especially the American studios -- had this attitude that he's too hot a potato, and at the same time, he's going away in January, so 'who cares?' Who cares? I'll tell you what -- his policies are going to be still paying off 20 years from now. ... He's not gone, baby."

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24 September 2008 5:09 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Filmmaker Oliver Stone insists his biopic of George W. Bush is not a "hatchet job" - and he wants viewers to see both sides of the U.S. president.

The director's upcoming movie W is widely expected to show the president in a negative light because Stone has made no secret of his dislike of the current American administration.

But he is adamant the flick is a "fair" portrait of the outgoing president - and admits he put his own beliefs to one side when making it.

Stone tells USA Today newspaper, "(I) tried to stay human to this man. It's supposed to be a fair and true portrait. People get me confused with my outspoken citizen side but I'm a dramatist first and foremost.

"With (1995 movie) Nixon, they said it would be a hatchet job and you know damn well it was not. It was an empathetic portrait. It's the same thing, the same rules apply. It's hard for some people to understand that. But I am very professional about this.

"I am not interested in that radical 15 per cent that hate Bush or the 15 or 20 per cent who love Bush. That's not our audience. Those people probably won't come. I'm interested in that 60 per cent in the American middle who at least have a little more open mind."

Stone also admits he learned a lot about Bush while researching the film.

He adds: "Bush is not a lightweight. He has determination. What did I learn? I really learned how powerful the willpower and discipline is that he has.

"I'm not making political judgments. We're not looking to condemn. He says what he says and does what he does. You're going to like him, and at the same time, you're going to be horrified by some of the stuff he does."

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23 September 2008 7:09 PM, PDT | From Rope Of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news

A new TV spot for Oliver Stone's W. has surfaced and it starts off pretty good: REPORTER: Mr. President, what place do you think you'll have in history? BUSH: In history? In history we'll all be dead. [snicker] It's just a taste of what I think we can expect from a flick that is sure to be attacked from every Republican out there. Take a peek...

Brad Brevet

21 September 2008 4:00 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Batman Begins star Christian Bale was set to play U.S. president George W. Bush in Oliver Stone's W - but dropped out at the last minute.

The film is a satirical look at the outgoing U.S. leader's career, and director Stone has revealed that he was ready to start shooting with Bale in the title role.

But the moviemaker was forced to change his plans after the British actor pulled out of the project - leaving him to find a new leading man in Josh Brolin.

Stone says, "We did some rigorous prosthetics tests and spent a lot of dough - thousands of dollars - and then Christian said, 'I just don't feel like I can do it'.

"I needed a star... and Josh Brolin was not a star. I met Josh and liked him. He was more rural Americana. But man, he was scared."

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12 September 2008 9:03 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Actress Thandie Newton feared she was going to be sacked from her role as Condoleezza Rice in Oliver Stone's upcoming George Bush biopic W - because she took so long to get into character.

The screen beauty was delighted when she first landed the part, and read every book about the U.S. Secretary of State that she could find.

But when filming on the flick started, she began to have her doubts about taking on the challenge.

Newton says, "I was thinking, 'F**k, have I made a mistake?'... I was only just feeling my way in. I was waiting for him (Stone) to say, 'Look, babe, this isn't working'. But instead, he said, 'You're a plodder, aren't you?'. And I am like that.

"I am that kind of tortoise that just needs to take my time. He gave me permission to do that. I loved his relaxed belief that whatever I did, it was going to be good."

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24 July 2008 12:01 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Actor James Brolin is convinced his son Josh Brolin's much-publicised bar brawl in Shreveport, Louisiana, never happened.

The No Country for Old Men star and W. co-star Jeffrey Wright were arrested by police on 12 July after a wrap party turned rowdy.

But Brolin's father insists the details of the incident are so hazy it could have all been made up.

He poses, "There were people who lived across the street who said there was no fight. How come nobody is suing for being hit? There was no fight."

The younger Brolin made his first public appearance following the incident at the Los Angeles premiere of Frozen River on Tuesday.

Asked about the scuffle and his arrest on impeding police charges, the actor insisted he couldn't talk about it because he was "in kind of in a bad predicament right now".

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23 July 2008 5:08 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Latest: Police officers who arrested actors Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright have called for a witness' cell phone video to be handed over.

Cast and crew were celebrating the wrap of filmmaker Oliver Stone's forthcoming George Bush biopic W earlier this month when they allegedly became involved in a fight between revellers.

The brawl at the Stray Cat bar in Shreveport, Louisiana resulted in the arrest of Brolin, Wright and five crew members.

And a witness, who filmed the incident on their cell phone camera, accused local police of using "aggressive" tactics, branding their behaviour "disgraceful".

The source tells the New York Daily News, "It shows Josh trying to calm down the cops (outside the Stray Cat bar). He's saying, 'It's cool, man. Everything's good.' You see Josh and Jeffrey hugging. That's when the cops Mace them. Then they tackle Jeffrey and Taser him. You also hear someone saying, 'What are you doing to that man?' It's disgraceful."

But a representative for Shreveport Police dismissed allegations of a heavy-handed approach, insisting the officers used "professionalism" during the arrests.

And now, spokesman Sargeant Kevin Goodwin, has urged the alleged witness to supply the police department with the video evidence.

He says, "We've heard about this video. We'd love to see it, if someone would like to send it to us."

Police Chief Henry Whitehorn, who oversaw the arrests, has since submitted officers' video footage of the alleged incident to the city prosecutor's office, which will decide whether to proceed with charges.

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18 July 2008 12:24 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Latest: Police officers who arrested actors Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright were "professional" during the incident, a spokesman for the police department has confirmed.

Cast and crew were celebrating the wrap of filmmaker Oliver Stone's forthcoming George Bush biopic W on Saturday when they allegedly got involved in a fight between revellers at the Stray Cat bar in Shreveport, Louisiana which resulted in the arrest of Brolin, Wright and five crew members.

A witness claimed the cops attending the incident "got aggressive", even blinding one of the group with pepper spray.

They added that another patron hurled a racial insult at Wright, who plays U.S. politician Colin Powell in the movie.

But now a representative for Shreveport Police tells website TMZ.com that a review of in-car audio and video proves the officers used "professionalism" in the arrests.

Wright and Brolin were arrested at 2am after they allegedly tried to impede local police officers who were splitting up the brawl. The pair received misdemeanour charges for interfering with police, and posted a $334 (GBP167) cash bond the same night. They are all due back in court on 2 December.

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17 July 2008 12:08 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Latest: Police officers who arrested actors Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright have submitted video footage of the alleged bar brawl in Louisiana to legal officials for review.

Cast and crew of Oliver Stone's forthcoming George Bush biopic W were celebrating its wrap on Saturday when they allegedly got involved in a fight between revellers at the Stray Cat bar in Shreveport.

Brolin, Wright and five crew members were arrested.

Police Chief Henry Whitehorn has since submitted video footage of the alleged incident to the city prosecutor's office, which will decide whether to proceed with charges.

Whitehorn says the footage has come from patrol car cameras and audio from officers' microphones, however he would not elaborate on the content. Wright and Brolin were arrested at 2am after they allegedly tried to impede local police officers who were splitting up the brawl.

The pair received misdemeanour charges for interfering with police, and posted a $334 (GBP167) cash bond the same night.

They are all due back in court on 2 December.

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15 July 2008 5:08 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Latest: Police who arrested Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright in a recent bar brawl have been accused of "aggressive" behaviour, according to a new report.

The cast and crew were celebrating the wrap of filmmaker Oliver Stone's forthcoming George Bush biopic W on Saturday when they allegedly got involved in a fight between revellers at the Stray Cat bar in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Now a witness has revealed to the New York Daily News the squad of 10 cops attending the incident "got aggressive", even blinding one of the group with pepper spray.

Police Corporal Robert Elliott says, "We are not at liberty to discuss the specifics of the incident. But officers will use whatever force they feel is necessary to effect a safe arrest."

The source also claims another patron hurled a racial insult at Wright, who plays U.S. politician Colin Powell in the movie.

Detective Rod Demery insists he didn't hear a slur being used and that authorities were called "because we got a report of an unruly patron. Once police got there, they escorted Mr Wright and (lighting technician) Eric Felland out of the bar. Mr Brolin and other members of the party came out and interfered with that arrest."

Felland has been charged with resisting arrest and public intoxication. Wright and Brolin were arrested at 2am after they allegedly tried to impede local police officers who were splitting up the brawl.

The pair received misdemeanour charges for interfering with police, and posted a $334 (GBP167) cash bond the same night.

They are all due back in court on 2 December.

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13 July 2008 8:35 AM, PDT | From PEOPLE.com | See recent PEOPLE.com news

Josh Brolin, Jeffrey Wright and five others were arrested early Saturday morning in Shreveport, La., in connection with a bar fight. Brolin and Wright – who are reportedly in town shooting Oliver Stone's President George W. Bush film, W – were arrested at the Stray Cat bar after a call was made regarding a rowdy patron, Shreveport police Sgt. Willie Lewis told the Associated Press. Brolin was booked and posted $334 cash bond, according to The Times of Shreveport. Brolin's rep could not be reached for comment.

13 July 2008 7:04 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Actor Josh Brolin was arrested on Saturday after a bar brawl in Louisiana.

The actor was on a break from shooting his role as George W. Bush for filmmaker Oliver Stone's forthcoming biopic W, when he allegedly got involved in a fight between revellers at a bar in Shreveport, Louisiana.

According to the state's The Shreveport Times, the actor, as well as W co-star Jeffrey Wright, were arrested at 2am after they tried to impede local police officers who were splitting up the brawl.

The pair received misdemeanour charges for interfering with police, according to Usweekly.com.

Brolin was charged at the city jail and was forced to pay a $334 cash bond.

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12 July 2008 6:19 PM, PDT | From Rope Of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news

If you get a chance to read the script for Oliver Stone's W you will learn that George W. Bush is portrayed as a bit of a drinker in his younger years and it seems Josh Brolin may be getting a little too into his role as the sitting President as he was arrested for interfering with police while a buddy of his was being arrested for public intoxication. The report comes from Ktbs: Shreveport Police were called to Stray Cats Bar at 222 Travis in Downtown Shreveport just after 2 a.m. Saturday morning. After arriving at the night club police called for backup. Police say Eric Felland, 29, was arrested for resisting arrest and public intoxication. Six others were arrested for interfering with police including actor Josh Brolin, 40. Brolin is in town playing George W. Bush in the movie "W" directed by Oliver Stone. Jeffery Wright, 43, was also arrested. Wright

Brad Brevet

18 articles from 2008