According to the April 4, 2008 issue of Entertainment Weekly, Jeffrey Wright is in talks to play Former Secretary of State Colin Powell in Oliver Stone’s upcoming President George W. Bush biopic, W.
Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) is set to play the 43rd President as the supporting cast begins to take shape. Since the the publication of Entertainment Weekly, Elizabeth Banks, Jame Cromwell (24) and Ellen Burstyn have been cast as First Lady Laura Bush, George H. W. Bush, former President and CIA Director, and Former First Lady Barbara Bush, respectively. Robert Duvall is being pursued to play Vice President Dick Cheney but has yet to be offered the role.
W, which was written by Stanley Weiser, will follow Bush’s rise from a heavy drinking college student to the most powerful man in the world. Stone has said, he wants to make “a fair, true portrait of the man,” but I find that very hard to believe considering Oliver Stone’s knack for controversy and liberal politics.
Filming commences on April 21 in Shreveport, Louisiana and is intended to be released for the presidential election in November 2008 or the presidential inauguration in January 2009, according to Wikipedia. It is being produced by Moritz Borman and Jon Kilik.
This impeccable cast makes me very excited for W and I hope Wright gets the role!