Bushisms and Watergate

With the time of the presidential election approaching, it seems like now is the optimal time for biographical presidential movies. There are currently two in the making, or in the post-production status technically, soon to be released. One, being released October 17, 2008 across the nation, follows the life of none other than the infamous George W. Bush, our current president, and the other movie, latter released on December 26, 2008, covers the dramatic Watergate scandal of Richard Nixon. They are appropriately named W. and Frost/Nixon accordingly. What better way to welcome a new president into office then by releasing two movies that deal with two of the biggest (fairly) recent mistakes in presidency?

Though the movies have not been released yet, I have formed opinions and expectations based on the previews. Let me just start out by saying, that taking on the role of a well-known individual, like the President of the United States, is a very difficult task as that actor needs to not only mock the quality of that person’s voice and nail the accent, but also pick up on all the little tics and mannerisms of the individual. So for just simply taking on the roles of W. and Nixon, I applaud Josh Brolin and Frank Langella. That being said, from the previews, it seems like they do a decent job. However, Frank Langella looks as though he is doing an imitation of an imitation of Nixon, and Josh Brolin looks as though he is concentrating so much of W.’s voice and facial features that he is off slightly in both areas. It’s hard to put my finger on it, but comparing Frank Langella and Josh Brolin to the works of Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles and Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash, it just can’t compare. However, maybe the full-length movie will prove me wrong.

I have also noticed that each movie plays up popular aspects of Nixon and W. For W., the previews are filled with his consistent, hilarious, idiotic quotes, popularly known as “Bushisms.” And for Nixon, Frank Langella does a fine job of doing Nixon’s ever so popular head shake and slurred words whenever he is filled with rage. But no matter how overplayed Bushisms and Nixon’s head shake are, thanks to Saturday Night Live and other parody shows, they are still an important and famous part of both W. and Nixon’s life. (And I am rather excited to hear all the random, renowned Bushisms.)

Overall, I think these movies will both be decent but not legendary. Nothing in either of the previews really jumps out at me. Nonetheless, I am always willing to try, and if I per chance go to see either of these movies, my expectations will be on the lower side of the scale. And if the movie is horrible and the same type of acting in the previews, at least I will have the Bushisms and Nixon’s head shakes to look forward to.

Love and Caring

Remember the writer’s strike that started the beginning of November in 2007? You could only find repeats of TV shows during the new season, and no new, upcoming movies were talked about for those 14 weeks and 2 days. During the approximately 14 week protest, the Writers Guild of America argued for a higher income by receiving additional profit from subsequent airings (“repeats” and online showings) and purchases of a program (DVDs). It was during this time when I realized writers do not receive nearly as much credit as they should.

Think about it. Everybody who is a consistent movie-goer knows well-known actors and actresses names as well as famous directors but never writer’s names. Take a short quiz and see if you can recognize the following people:










Most likely, the first three were very familiar, and in the last picture, the two people were unrecognizable. The answers are as follows: Tom Hanks, Gwyneth Paltrow, Steven Spielberg, and finally Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio. It is very hard, near impossible, to find an American who would not recognize the names Tom Hanks, Gwyneth Paltrow, or Steven Spielberg unless living in the current residence of under a rock. The last pair, however, Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, is not so recognizable among Americans. Nonetheless, Ted and Terry have made just as big of an impression on the movie business as they are the screenwriters for movies such as all three of the Pirates of the Caribbean, The Road to El Dorado, Shrek, Antz, The Legend of Zorro, and much more. In fact, they even received an Academy Award nomination for Adapted Screenplay for Shrek in 2001, but most people only pay attention to the categories of Best Actor/Actress and Best Picture.

In my example, I am not saying that Tom Hanks and Gwyneth Paltrow and Steven Spielberg are overrated because they did, in fact, create their own reputations by producing well-liked, prominent films. But, I am saying that some writers create just as eminent reputations as the celebrities and directors and continue to go unknown. True, they may not always be out in the lime light, walking the red carpet with screaming adoring fans, but even so they contribute to the movie with their ideas and words. So, in order to increase recognition of writers, small steps must be taken. I, personally, have started listening closely to the dialogue in movies, critiquing the flow of conversations as well as thinking about the originality of the main idea of the movie. Then I try and add on by trying to pay attention to writer’s names and credits and build on from there. It’s harder than it sounds since even the best of critics in newspapers and other media sources only show interest in the acting and directing, but I feel the writers need to be shown some sort of attention as they are the ones who get “the ball rolling.”