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Hope Davis Replaces Julianne Moore in Hillary Clinton Role

BuzzSugar — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:41:26 -0700

As much as I like Julianne Moore as an actress, I had a tough time picturing her as Hillary Clinton in the HBO Films/BBC Films movie The Special Relationship (is it sad that whenever I see that title I think of Hugh Grant, as Prime Minister, saying that to sleazy US President played by Billy Bob Thornton in Love Actually?). Now, due to a scheduling conflict, Moore has pulled out of the project and Hope Davis has taken her place.

This makes much more sense to me, as Davis resembles Clinton a bit more, and I think she is such a versatile, engaging actress, and she deserves more roles and more recognition. I can't wait to see what she does with this one. She'll be working alongside Dennis Quaid as Bill Clinton and Michael Sheen (reprising his role from The Queen) as Prime Minister Blair. Written by the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of The Queen, Peter Morgan, the movie "chronicles the unique and sometimes turbulent political relationship between newly installed British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President Bill Clinton in the late 1990s."

Who Should Play Bill Clinton - Now and Forever?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:30:36 -0700

I've been monitoring some interesting casting news for a movie titled Special Relationship, about the Clinton White House, which will be written and directed by Peter Morgan (of Frost/Nixon). The project is the latest in a group of movies penned by Morgan - including The Queen - and it will "show how Bill's 'inappropriate relationship' with White House intern Monica Lewinsky nearly ended his time in power." Yowza, right? Morgan is associated with and respected for his personal, fictionalized portrayals of those in power, so this will most likely be more than a melodramatic retelling of the the former president's indiscretions.

Anyway, there have been lots of rumors about who's playing the ex-prez, but the latest is Dennis Quaid! Can you believe it? Supposedly, Russell Crowe, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, and Tim Robbins were also in the running. Julianne Moore has been cast as Hillary Clinton, and Michael Sheen will once again play British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Now, Clinton is no stranger to having actors fill his shoes on the big and small screens (John Travolta played a character based on him in Primary Colors, and both Darrell Hammond and the late Phil Hartman portrayed him on Saturday Night Live) but I'm curious who you guys imagine playing Bill Clinton in a movie like this. Is it Quaid? Or is there someone else you picture in your mind forever and always as Bubba?

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Frost/Nixon: A Solid and Entertaining Talkathon

BuzzSugar — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:30:01 -0800

Doubt and Frost/Nixon have a lot in common: Both are stage-to-screen adaptations, both are receiving a lot of awards buzz, and neither has a particularly compelling visual story to tell. Instead, the drama lies in the words people are saying. I've heard both of these movies referred to as "grown-up" cinema, which is probably apt given that it takes a pretty mature attention span to fully appreciate them.

All this might sound a bit boring but Frost/Nixon actually ends up being just the opposite. Playwright/screenwriter Peter Morgan is proving to be an expert at lifting the curtain on some of history's most intriguing leaders and applying his imagination to the factual outlines of their lives (he also wrote The Queen and The Last King of Scotland). To see why I think Morgan - with the help of director Ron Howard - has created another smart and absorbing movie, read more.

Frost/Nixon revisits some familiar cinematic ground with Richard Nixon. The disgraced thirty-seventh President of the United States has come to symbolize so many things and is often regarded as a deeply flawed, morally-challenged, Machiavellian caricature of himself. That's fun stuff for dramatists! It's no wonder everyone from Oliver Stone to Gene Hackman has tackled the man. Heck, there's even a book called Nixon at the Movies. But Morgan, Howard and Co. tell a new story with this movie, a story of the president's post-resignation TV inquisition by the most unlikely journalist/TV personality.

Frost (played by Michael Sheen reprising his stage role) is the underdog in this scenario who will take numerous punches while interviewing President Nixon (Frank Langella, who also originated the role on stage). Langella's Nixon is giant and lumbering and doesn't bear all that much resemblance to the actual guy. The power of his performance lies in the way he conveys the complexities and emotions of a man who was practically kicked out of the White House.

Frost sets out to resuscitate his career by getting Nixon to sit down for a multi-session television interview with the metaphorical death blow being when he corners the president into giving the American people the confession of guilt he'd thus far avoided. Frost and his research team (played with humor and charm by Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt, and the super cute Matthew Macfadyen) come up against all kinds of obstacles in between each sit-down - including getting someone to pay for and air the interview. Meanwhile, Nixon's intellect and question-dodging abilities prove to be formidable, giving this talkfest most of its nail-biting moments.

In retrospect it's amazing that so much talking between two men about familiar events can lend itself to such a natural dramatic arc. This is a well-matched duel between two giant egos. Both are in it for something but only one can triumph. Nixon is a tough beast to slay, but just when you think Frost is down, you can bet (as is the case in most movies based on a match like this) the little guy will eventually rally. All in all, it's a smart movie that manages to get your adrenaline pumping with lots of words.

Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures

Movie Preview: Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon

BuzzSugar — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:45:47 -0700

"There's a reason they called him Tricky Dick."

The international trailer for the new Ron Howard movie, Frost/Nixon, has arrived and from what I can tell it looks pretty amazing. Based on the well-received play of the same title by Peter Morgan (the same man who wrote the script for The Queen), the movie chronicles the true story of a series of televised interviews Nixon gave to British journalist David Frost in 1977. Both lead actors in the movie played the same roles on the stage: Frank Langella as Nixon and Michael Sheen as Frost.

This is a really good trailer and I'm trying to figure out what's so gripping. Obviously the story is an interesting one but it doesn't look like it's presented in an overly simplistic way, and I get the sense that the shades of grey that defined this moment in time are handled with care. Also, the cast looks stellar. Langella appears to be pulling off Nixon just fine, Sheen already has me pinned to my seat, and then throw in Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt and Rebecca Hall and I'm sold.

If you want to learn more about the play, check out this interesting clip of The Charlie Rose show. The movie opens December 5 (hopefully) and to check out the trailer for yourself, read more.

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Sequel to The Queen in the Works

BuzzSugar — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:27:32 -0700

Technically, this is the third in a "Blair trilogy," but according to Variety, "Screenwriter Peter Morgan has started work on a sequel to The Queen, which will dig into former U.K. prime minister Tony Blair's relationships with U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush." The article continues:

The movie will focus on Blair's reaction to the handover of power between Clinton, a natural liberal ally, and Bush, who came from the other end of the political spectrum.

Morgan initially considered tackling the more obvious drama surrounding the run-up to the Iraq war, when Blair fatally compromised his own premiership by his whole-hearted support for Bush's invasion plans. But in the end Morgan decided that the roots of those events lay in Blair's difficult adjustment to the transition from Clinton to Bush a few years earlier.

Morgan's trilogy started with the telepic The Deal and continued with The Queen, which won Helen Mirren an Oscar for her depiction of Queen Elizabeth II in the aftermath of Princess Diana's death. No word on whether she'll appear in this third film, though Michael Sheen is expected to reprise his role as Blair.