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Star-Studded Bush Biopic To Open In October

Eva Lam — Sat, 10 May 2008 13:32:17 +0000

“W,” Oliver Stone’s biopic about U.S. president George W. Bush, will hit theatres in the fall.

Indie studio Lionsgate announced Friday that the film will start shooting Monday in Louisiana and is set for an Oct. 17 theatrical release, shortly before the presidential election.

According to a statement from the studio, the movie will tell the story of Bush’s “struggles and triumphs, how he found both his wife and his faith, and of course the critical days leading up to [his] decision to invade Iraq.”

Josh Brolin, who recently starred in the Oscar-winning “No Country For Old Men,” will play Bush, while Elizabeth Banks (”Seabiscuit,” “The 40 Year Old Virgin”) will portray Laura Bush.

The rest of the cast is rounded out by familiar faces including Thandie Newton (”Crash”) as Condoleezza Rice, Ioan Gruffudd (”Fantastic Four”) as Tony Blair, Jeffrey Wright (”Syriana”) as Colin Powell, Scott Glenn (”The Bourne Ultimatum”) as Donald Rumsfeld, James Cromwell (”L.A. Confidential”) as former President George H.W. Bush and Ellen Burstyn (”Requiem For A Dream”) as Barbara Bush.

The roles of Vice President Dick Cheney and former White House political adviser Karl Rove have yet to be cast.

“Despite a meteoric, almost illogical rise to power, and a tremendous influence on the world, we don’t really know much about Mr. Bush beyond the controlled images we’ve been allowed to see on TV,” Stone said in a statement. “This movie’s taking a bold stab at looking behind that curtain.”

It’s not Stone’s first time helming a movie about a U.S. president – he previously directed 1995’s “Nixon” and 1991’s controversial “JFK.”

Bush Struggles With Shower Scene

andPOP Staff — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 21:20:20 +0000

Prudish SOPHIE BUSH struggled with a shower scene in new movie THE HITCHER because she had to bare her back.

The ONE TREE HILL star likes to be covered up for all her TV and film roles, but when once romantic scene in the thriller remake called for her to get semi-naked opposite ZACH KNIGHTON she knew she’d have to show her back to the world.

She says, “I try to keep it covered. No nudity, but we had to do the whole bare back thing, so you’re all covered up in the front (and) you’ve got bike shorts on, whatever.

“But, still, it’s like my bare back, and I’ve never done that before… It was a moment but it served the movie well for the romance moment.”

U.S. Stations to Face Higher Fines

andPOP Staff — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 22:58:05 +0000

If another “wardrobe malfunction” happens on U.S. TV, the stations could face fines up to 10 times higher than before.

The Associated Press reports that U.S. President George W. Bush signed legislation Thursday, which increases the fines broadcasters could receive from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for showing “indecency” on the air.

An indecent act doesn’t have to just be shown nudity, but would also include dirty talk.

“The problem we have is that the maximum penalty that the FCC can impose under current law is just $32,500 per violation. And for some broadcasters, this amount is meaningless. It’s relatively painless for them when they violate decency standards,” Bush said.

The bill does not apply to satellite or cable stations, and does not explicitly define what indecency is.

Fans Not Ready to Make Nice with Chicks

andPOP Staff — Mon, 22 May 2006 16:54:54 +0000

The Dixie Chicks aren’t the only ones who are not ready to make nice, it seems their fans aren’t either.

With their new record, “Taking the Long Way” set to drop in stores tomorrow, it is safe to say the album probably won’t sell close to what the Chicks’ three former albums did, according to Billboard magazine.

Billboard is basing this guess on the disappointing numbers the first two singles from the album to hit the billboard charts so far. “Not Ready To Make Nice” peaked at number 36, while its successor “Everybody Knows” is only at number 50 so far.

The magazine says reasons for the decline in the performance of the Chicks? new singles is partly because the Chicks are trying to move away from Country, a genre which is full of fans and radio stations who have not forgiven lead singer Natalie Maines for the remarks she made about U.S. President Bush three years ago ? mostly because Maines herself has retracted the apology she made regarding the incident and “Not Ready to Make Nice” has driven that point home to listeners and radio station executives.

CSNY to Announce Summer Tour: Report

Adam Gonshor — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 12:27:29 +0000

Crosby Still Nash & Young will regroup this summer for a tour, according to Billboard.

An official announcement is expected today.

The “Young Freedom of Speech” tour will last 35 dates and will last all summer, from July through September.

Young plans to release an album on his web site Friday which will take shots at President Bush. The album, “Living With War,” will be available for free downloads.

The band has not toured together since 2002.

Gerald Ford, Betty Ford Health Battles

Adam Gonshor — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 12:18:27 +0000

Former president Gerald Ford and wife Betty Ford are both recovering from illnesses.

Gerald, 92, met with President Bush at his Palm Springs, California house Sunday.

Gerald was hospitalized in January for two weeks with pneumonia and has kept a low profile this year as his health improves.

Betty was released from hospital last week. She wad admitted for routine tests, and greated Bush accompanied by a walking cain.

Comic Strip Pulled, Edited for Toilet Humour

Eva Lam — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 18:40:27 +0000

A case of potty humour is rattling the cages among newspapers which carry the “Doonesbury” comic strip.

About a dozen publications have objected to the comic’s Tuesday and Wednesday installments, which show a caricature of U.S. President George Bush referring to presidential aide Karl Rove as “turd blossom.”

According to the Associated Press, some newspaper editors have also pulled or edited the strip.

Kansas City-based Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes the strip to around 1,400 newspapers, said the complaints from 10 to 12 newspapers weren?t unexpected.

Many editors have concerns about language in the funny papers, said Lee Salem, editor at Universal Press.

But the syndicate did not send out replacement strips of Doonesbury, as opposed to past instances when editors have objected to content in the politically-charged comic.

?Given the coverage of Karl Rove, we thought it was appropriate, especially given the history of the strip,? Salem said.

One of the publications which voiced concerns was the Providence Journal in Rhode Island. In its case, editors simply removed the offending word from the strip?s final panel Tuesday and plan to do the same with Wednesday?s strip.

?I didn?t think (taking out the word) hurt it,? executive editor Joel Rawson said. ?I would prefer to run the strip and if we can edit it, that?s fine.?

Doonesbury, known for its timely social and political commentary, debuted in 1970. In 1975, creator Garry Trudeau became the first comic strip artist to win a Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning.