Additional information for W., which has a domestic theatrical release set for October 17, 2008. The film is being distributed by Lionsgate and has been rated PG-13 for language including sexual references, some alcohol abuse, smoking and brief disturbing war images. W. has a total running time of 129 minutes.
PG-13
USA
15
UK
PG
Canada
M/12
Portugal
PG
Ireland
K-7
Finland
M
Australia
16
Netherlands
15
Norway
13
Argentina
12
Germany
14
Brazil
IIA
Hong Kong
NC-16
Singapore
B
Mexico
129 min
Bush
USA
Oliver Stone's W.
Germany
W. - Ein missverstandenes Leben
Germany
Bush
Japan: English title
W.
Greece
W: Una película sobre G. Bush
Peru
October 16, 2008
USA
October 17, 2008
USA
October 23, 2008
Portugal
October 27, 2008
Norway
October 29, 2008
Belgium
October 29, 2008
France
October 30, 2008
Netherlands
November 7, 2008
UK
November 14, 2008
Turkey
November 19, 2008
Greece
November 21, 2008
Iceland
November 21, 2008
Italy
November 21, 2008
Norway
November 27, 2008
Greece
December 5, 2008
Denmark
December 5, 2008
Sweden
December 18, 2008
Italy
January 2, 2009
Finland
January 15, 2009
Argentina
January 18, 2009
Austria
January 19, 2009
Italy
January 20, 2009
Germany
January 20, 2009
Spain
January 23, 2009
Germany
February 10, 2009
Germany
February 26, 2009
Australia
March 13, 2009
Poland
March 16, 2009
UK
March 24, 2009
Hong Kong
March 26, 2009
Hong Kong
April 3, 2009
Brazil
April 10, 2009
Brazil
April 16, 2009
Czech Republic
April 24, 2009
Brazil
May 16, 2009
Japan
June 25, 2009
New Zealand
August 20, 2009
Peru
Get Ready
A life misunderestimated.
A chronicle on the life and presidency of George W. Bush.
In center field of Rangers Ballpark, we see George W. Bush (Josh Brolin) standing with a glove on his hand. He turns around and listens to the cheers greeting him as an unseen announcer introduces him to invisible crowds as the 43rd president of the United States of America. We then cut to a cabinet meeting in early 2002, where W is in a deep discussion about how soon they should respond to the recent terrorist attacks on their country by attacking the Axis of either evil or terror (they can't decide which it should be), although Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright) is reluctant to go to war with either Iraq or Iran, given that it was a non-affiliated terrorist named Osama Bin Laden who was behind it, although both VP Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss) and Condi Rice (Thandie Newton) are quick to remind him that both are terrorist holders. George Tenet (Bruce McGill) supports Colin in his way of thinking as Karl Rove (Toby Jones) and Donald Rumsfeld (Scott Glenn) laugh behind their hands at him. Eventually Axis of Terror is decided on and the war gets greenlit. Before the meeting is adjourned, W gets everyone together and has them bow their heads in prayer, although more than a few of them clearly don't have their heart in it.
Thirty-six years earlier, in 1966, we see a much younger W at Yale during pledge week. One of his fellow pledges is challenged to name as many brothers as he is able to, and he manages to get seven. Another brother challenges someone to beat that, and W steps forward, stopping only when the lead brother tells him to and getting great cheers for being true Delta Kappa Epsilon material. We then cut to a jail where W is calling his father, George H.W. Bush (James Cromwell, who should get a supporting actor nomination) at home, explaining that there was a "misunderstanding" after a football game. George bails his son out and when next we enter his life he is working on one of his family oil rigs. He takes a break for water and when the foreman yells at him to get back to work, he quits instead. Later on, we see him in a bar with his girlfriend Susie (Marley Shelton) and he gives her a somewhat long-winded proposal and gets up on the bar to dance with her. A few years later, though, he is once again coming before his father. This time, W. is asking George to bail him out of the marriage-that-never-got-official. George agrees to it, but then expresses his disappointment with W., especially regarding the fact that he only got Cs at Yale and can't seem to hold a job for more than six months. For his part, W. ignores the criticism and just walks out.
Cheney and W are sitting down to lunch in the oval office. After a little preamble regarding the upcoming war, Cheney takes out a small folder. He explains that inside are some ideas regarding possible interrogation techniques that could be instituted at places such as Guantanamo. W. balks at first, worried that there would be stuff like pulling out toenails, but Cheney assures him that it would be nothing lethal, using examples such as sleep deprivation and water torture to make his point. W is reassured and promises to look at the three-page report. As lunch ends, W then asks Cheney to kindly keep his ego in check, since he's only the vice-president, and an insulted-looking Cheney nods and walks out. A few days later, at the Bush ranch, W. is having a walk and talk with some members of his cabinet (Rummy, Dick, Condi, a couple others) and General Thomas Franks (Michael Gaston) regarding a start date for the war, which Franks suggests as April/May/June. Some time later, we see W. watching a college football game and eating pretzels with his dog when he suddenly begins choking. He staggers around the office and comes behind a recliner. He starts pounding himself on the chest with it and is eventually successful in dislodging the pretzel from his throat just as he collapses to the floor, unconscious.
In 1972, we see W. and his brother Jeb (Jason Ritter) driving up to the Bush home in the middle of the night and drunk as a skunk. They stagger into the house where George and Barbara (Ellen Burstyn) start yelling at W. about coming home so drunk in the middle of the night. W. starts posturing as though he wants to fight George when Jeb intervenes saying that George was out celebrating his acceptance into Harvard Business School. This changes the attitude of barb and George, but W. then admits he's not going -- he just wanted to see if he could get in. This admission prompts George to admit that he only got in because George had pulled some strings with the admissions board. When next we see W., five years have passed and he is playing poker with some friends at Harvard and announcing to them that he plans to run for Congress. At a celebratory barbeque, he meets a beautiful young woman named Laura Welch (Elizabeth Banks). Laura reminds him that they went to junior high together and the two slowly warm to each other, with her telling him that she's a teacher and always tries to see all sides of an argument, making W. want to appoint her his education adviser. Some time later, we see him in a debate against Kent Vance (Paul Rae), whose strategy seems to be pointing out that Bush is not a real Texan, having been born in Connecticut (HEY! *seethes*) and gone to school in Connecticut. Despite W.'s assertions to a softly understanding Laura that this is nothing but tarring and feathering, he still manages to lose the election, albeit by a mere 6,000 votes.
Back in 2002, we see Bush standing in the field again, listening to the cheers. Back in reality, we see another cabinet meeting where he and his advisors are discussing the need for a regime change in Iraq. In 1986, W. and Laura are at a birthday party for W. when he gets a call from George, who wants W. to help with his campaigning for president, which causes W. to announce that he and Laura are moving to Washington when he returns to the restaurant table. Not long after, W. is heading out for a morning run. At one point, he stops due to chest pains and collapses on the side of the road. Three months later, we see him in an alcoholics anonymous meeting being headed by Rev. Earle Hudd (Stacy Keach). After the meeting has been ended, W. hangs around and prays with Hudd, saying that most of the time he feels this great weight on his shoulders. In 1988, at the convention HQ, George is having a meeting with his advisers, which includes Karl Rove, when W. enters. The meeting is ended and W. shows his father a videotape by the Bush camp smearing Dukakis, citing his decision to give weekend visits to convicted criminals (Willie Horton). This is enough to dissuade voters, who make George the 41st President of the United States. Despite the celebration, though, W. himself isn't pleased. Late that night, he confesses to Laura that he almost wanted George to lose, since he constantly feels as though he's living in George's shadow and has to live up to him.
In 2002, Bush and co. are in a war room, and the current topic of discussion is the location of any possible Weapons of Mass Destruction. Rumsfeld makes the argument that they are most likely in either Tikrit or Baghdad. Cheney agrees and points out that if they don't act they will lose the advantage they have now, although, as Powell points out, they have no exit strategy and no real American presence. However, after a video call to General Franks, they get confirmation that they expect to have over three hundred thousand troops in Iraq, and that that should speed things up nicely.
In 1990, W. is having a conversation with his father over whether or not having faith in God would be of help to him in winning the war in the Persian Gulf. One year later, we see George in the war room with his cabinet celebrating their imminent victory in the Gulf. When asked by Powell if he feels they should have pushed, George decisively says that they went far enough and now need to concentrate on winning the next election. Unfortunately, winning the war wasn't enough and the presidency is given over to Bill Clinton. George is devastated and W. is angry. He decides to run for Governor of Texas, despite George and Barbara begging him to wait, since Jeb is running for Governor of Florida and they can't be in both states at once, but he refuses to listen. Later on, we see W out campaigning for governorship with Rove's advice, which in brief is to get across that he is who he is and no other Bush (at one point in here, we see him asking the famous, "Is our children learning?" question). Regardless, he gets elected governor and as a congratulations prize is given a pair of cufflinks by George and a note saying how proud he is. However, this is not enough for W., who is instead offended that George still can't tell him he's proud face-to-face. Five years later, in 1999, we see W. in his office when he gets a visit from Earle Hudd. He tells Hudd that he feels he has gotten the call, and then explains that he is talking about the call to be president. Hudd is ecstatic for him, and W. says that he thinks that there will be a bad time for the country, and that God wants him as president in order to help the American people through it. Hudd nods in complete belief, and the two get down on their knees to pray for W.'s delivery to the office of the president.
Four years later, in 2003, we see W. giving the state of the union as those who wrote it congratulate each other at various points. Back in the cabinet, W. is determined not to jeopardize their chances in Iraq, despite the massive amounts of protest the war is getting. In a meeting with Tony Blair (Ioan Gruffudd), W. tries to barter for some help from Britain, although Tony is reluctant to commit his own country's troops. Regardless, W. is determined to win in Iraq, even as his parents grow more and more worried about how things are going for him. At last, though, things turn dark for him and the rest of his cabinet when they find out that Saddam had lied about having Weapons of Mass Destruction, which makes them all look bad. In truth, the caves that were to have the WMDs were lines of cattle showing up on their scans, an error which forces David Kay to resign from his office. Regardless, W. still holds steady, staying committed and visiting wounded soldiers in hospitals. One young Mexican soldier says that he's sorry he can't fight for him, and W. tells him to not worry, that now they're all fighting for him. One night, he and Laura are heading to sleep, and W. reflects on what he has done and realizes that the only thing he can still do is fight to keep his place. Later, we see him enter the oval office when he finds George there waiting for him. George says that he's really in deep, even after he pulled W's ass out of that jam in Florida, and he starts posturing as though wanting to fight W (note -- in this scene more than any other, Brolin is the spitting image of W.). W. starts yelling at George to go away and leave him alone when he suddenly wakes up screaming, realizing that it was just a nightmare. Some time later, we see W. at a press conference where he is continuing to hold support for the war, but the looks on the reporter's faces indicate that they're not buying it anymore. One reporter asks what W. feels his place in history will be, and W. says, "In history? Well, in history we'll all be dead." Another reporter asks W. if he feels he may have made any mistakes in his presidency, and W. stammers that he's been kind of caught off-guard here. Eventually, the press-conference ends and W. storms off into the residential area of the white house, going to his bedroom. When he opens the door, W. is standing in the middle of Ranger's stadium on a cool autumn night. The invisible crowd is cheering, and the ball is hit towards W. He raises his hand to catch it, and--
W. looks around. The whole stadium is silent. There are no players, no announcers, no crowds, and no ball. He searches the empty field around him, and he sees that the ball is nowhere nearby. Slightly panicked, W. looks around the field some more, trying to find the ball he lost so he can keep on playing....
Oliver Stone
Director(s)
Stanley Weiser
Writer(s)
Bill Block
producer
Moritz Borman
producer
Teresa Cheung
executive producer
Elliot Ferwerda
executive producer
Suzie Gilbert
co-producer
Peter D. Graves
executive producer
Paul Hanson
producer
Johnny Hon
executive producer
Jon Kilik
co-executive producer
Eric Kopeloff
producer
Christopher Mapp
executive producer
Tom Ortenberg
executive producer
Ethan Smith
co-producer
Thomas Sterchi
executive producer
Matthew Street
executive producer
David Whealy
executive producer
Albert Yeung
executive producer
Producer(s)
Paul Cantelon
Composer(s)
George W. Bush
Josh Brolin
Speechwriter #1
Colin Hanks
Karl Rove
Toby Jones
Paul Wolfowitz
Dennis Boutsikaris
Colin Powell
Jeffrey Wright
Condoleezza Rice
Thandie Newton
Donald Rumsfeld
Scott Glenn
Dick Cheney
Richard Dreyfuss
George Tenet
Bruce McGill
Fraternity Enforcer
Wes Chatham
Fraternity President
Jesse Bradford
Fraternity Pledge #1
Sean Stone
Fraternity Pledge #2
Ben Mayer
George H.W. Bush
James Cromwell
Oil Worker
Juan Gabriel Pareja
Oil Rig Driller
Shea Lewis
Oil Rig Foreman
Randal Reeder
Fran
Marley Shelton
1971 Houston Oilman #1
Litt Martin
1971 Houston Oilman #2
James Ron Parker
General Tommy Franks
Michael Gaston
Marvin Bush
Keenan Harrison Brand
Barbara Bush
Ellen Burstyn
Jeb Bush
Jason Ritter
Skeeter
Bryan Massey
Don Evans
Noah Wyle
Jim Sale
Bill Jenkins
Joe O'Neill
Brent Sexton
Corn Dog
Jonathan Breck
Suzie Evans
Jennifer Sipes
Jan O'Neill
Jonna Juul-Hansen
Laura Bush
Elizabeth Banks
Kent Hance
Paul Rae
Texas Debate Moderator
David Born
Speechwriter #2
John Buffalo Mailer
NSC Official
James Martin Kelly
Ari Fleischer
Rob Corddry
Resort Waiter
William Lanier
Rev. Earle Hudd
Stacy Keach
Evangelical Minister (as Gregory Alan-Williams)
Gregory Alan Williams
Thirty-six years earlier, in 1966, we see a much younger W at Yale during pledge week. One of his fellow pledges is challenged to name as many brothers as he is able to, and he manages to get seven. Another brother challenges someone to beat that, and W steps forward, stopping only when the lead brother tells him to and getting great cheers for being true Delta Kappa Epsilon material. We then cut to a jail where W is calling his father, George H.W. Bush (James Cromwell, who should get a supporting actor nomination) at home, explaining that there was a "misunderstanding" after a football game. George bails his son out and when next we enter his life he is working on one of his family oil rigs. He takes a break for water and when the foreman yells at him to get back to work, he quits instead. Later on, we see him in a bar with his girlfriend Susie (Marley Shelton) and he gives her a somewhat long-winded proposal and gets up on the bar to dance with her. A few years later, though, he is once again coming before his father. This time, W. is asking George to bail him out of the marriage-that-never-got-official. George agrees to it, but then expresses his disappointment with W., especially regarding the fact that he only got Cs at Yale and can't seem to hold a job for more than six months. For his part, W. ignores the criticism and just walks out.
Cheney and W are sitting down to lunch in the oval office. After a little preamble regarding the upcoming war, Cheney takes out a small folder. He explains that inside are some ideas regarding possible interrogation techniques that could be instituted at places such as Guantanamo. W. balks at first, worried that there would be stuff like pulling out toenails, but Cheney assures him that it would be nothing lethal, using examples such as sleep deprivation and water torture to make his point. W is reassured and promises to look at the three-page report. As lunch ends, W then asks Cheney to kindly keep his ego in check, since he's only the vice-president, and an insulted-looking Cheney nods and walks out. A few days later, at the Bush ranch, W. is having a walk and talk with some members of his cabinet (Rummy, Dick, Condi, a couple others) and General Thomas Franks (Michael Gaston) regarding a start date for the war, which Franks suggests as April/May/June. Some time later, we see W. watching a college football game and eating pretzels with his dog when he suddenly begins choking. He staggers around the office and comes behind a recliner. He starts pounding himself on the chest with it and is eventually successful in dislodging the pretzel from his throat just as he collapses to the floor, unconscious.
In 1972, we see W. and his brother Jeb (Jason Ritter) driving up to the Bush home in the middle of the night and drunk as a skunk. They stagger into the house where George and Barbara (Ellen Burstyn) start yelling at W. about coming home so drunk in the middle of the night. W. starts posturing as though he wants to fight George when Jeb intervenes saying that George was out celebrating his acceptance into Harvard Business School. This changes the attitude of barb and George, but W. then admits he's not going -- he just wanted to see if he could get in. This admission prompts George to admit that he only got in because George had pulled some strings with the admissions board. When next we see W., five years have passed and he is playing poker with some friends at Harvard and announcing to them that he plans to run for Congress. At a celebratory barbeque, he meets a beautiful young woman named Laura Welch (Elizabeth Banks). Laura reminds him that they went to junior high together and the two slowly warm to each other, with her telling him that she's a teacher and always tries to see all sides of an argument, making W. want to appoint her his education adviser. Some time later, we see him in a debate against Kent Vance (Paul Rae), whose strategy seems to be pointing out that Bush is not a real Texan, having been born in Connecticut (HEY! *seethes*) and gone to school in Connecticut. Despite W.'s assertions to a softly understanding Laura that this is nothing but tarring and feathering, he still manages to lose the election, albeit by a mere 6,000 votes.
Back in 2002, we see Bush standing in the field again, listening to the cheers. Back in reality, we see another cabinet meeting where he and his advisors are discussing the need for a regime change in Iraq. In 1986, W. and Laura are at a birthday party for W. when he gets a call from George, who wants W. to help with his campaigning for president, which causes W. to announce that he and Laura are moving to Washington when he returns to the restaurant table. Not long after, W. is heading out for a morning run. At one point, he stops due to chest pains and collapses on the side of the road. Three months later, we see him in an alcoholics anonymous meeting being headed by Rev. Earle Hudd (Stacy Keach). After the meeting has been ended, W. hangs around and prays with Hudd, saying that most of the time he feels this great weight on his shoulders. In 1988, at the convention HQ, George is having a meeting with his advisers, which includes Karl Rove, when W. enters. The meeting is ended and W. shows his father a videotape by the Bush camp smearing Dukakis, citing his decision to give weekend visits to convicted criminals (Willie Horton). This is enough to dissuade voters, who make George the 41st President of the United States. Despite the celebration, though, W. himself isn't pleased. Late that night, he confesses to Laura that he almost wanted George to lose, since he constantly feels as though he's living in George's shadow and has to live up to him.
In 2002, Bush and co. are in a war room, and the current topic of discussion is the location of any possible Weapons of Mass Destruction. Rumsfeld makes the argument that they are most likely in either Tikrit or Baghdad. Cheney agrees and points out that if they don't act they will lose the advantage they have now, although, as Powell points out, they have no exit strategy and no real American presence. However, after a video call to General Franks, they get confirmation that they expect to have over three hundred thousand troops in Iraq, and that that should speed things up nicely.
In 1990, W. is having a conversation with his father over whether or not having faith in God would be of help to him in winning the war in the Persian Gulf. One year later, we see George in the war room with his cabinet celebrating their imminent victory in the Gulf. When asked by Powell if he feels they should have pushed, George decisively says that they went far enough and now need to concentrate on winning the next election. Unfortunately, winning the war wasn't enough and the presidency is given over to Bill Clinton. George is devastated and W. is angry. He decides to run for Governor of Texas, despite George and Barbara begging him to wait, since Jeb is running for Governor of Florida and they can't be in both states at once, but he refuses to listen. Later on, we see W out campaigning for governorship with Rove's advice, which in brief is to get across that he is who he is and no other Bush (at one point in here, we see him asking the famous, "Is our children learning?" question). Regardless, he gets elected governor and as a congratulations prize is given a pair of cufflinks by George and a note saying how proud he is. However, this is not enough for W., who is instead offended that George still can't tell him he's proud face-to-face. Five years later, in 1999, we see W. in his office when he gets a visit from Earle Hudd. He tells Hudd that he feels he has gotten the call, and then explains that he is talking about the call to be president. Hudd is ecstatic for him, and W. says that he thinks that there will be a bad time for the country, and that God wants him as president in order to help the American people through it. Hudd nods in complete belief, and the two get down on their knees to pray for W.'s delivery to the office of the president.
Four years later, in 2003, we see W. giving the state of the union as those who wrote it congratulate each other at various points. Back in the cabinet, W. is determined not to jeopardize their chances in Iraq, despite the massive amounts of protest the war is getting. In a meeting with Tony Blair (Ioan Gruffudd), W. tries to barter for some help from Britain, although Tony is reluctant to commit his own country's troops. Regardless, W. is determined to win in Iraq, even as his parents grow more and more worried about how things are going for him. At last, though, things turn dark for him and the rest of his cabinet when they find out that Saddam had lied about having Weapons of Mass Destruction, which makes them all look bad. In truth, the caves that were to have the WMDs were lines of cattle showing up on their scans, an error which forces David Kay to resign from his office. Regardless, W. still holds steady, staying committed and visiting wounded soldiers in hospitals. One young Mexican soldier says that he's sorry he can't fight for him, and W. tells him to not worry, that now they're all fighting for him. One night, he and Laura are heading to sleep, and W. reflects on what he has done and realizes that the only thing he can still do is fight to keep his place. Later, we see him enter the oval office when he finds George there waiting for him. George says that he's really in deep, even after he pulled W's ass out of that jam in Florida, and he starts posturing as though wanting to fight W (note -- in this scene more than any other, Brolin is the spitting image of W.). W. starts yelling at George to go away and leave him alone when he suddenly wakes up screaming, realizing that it was just a nightmare. Some time later, we see W. at a press conference where he is continuing to hold support for the war, but the looks on the reporter's faces indicate that they're not buying it anymore. One reporter asks what W. feels his place in history will be, and W. says, "In history? Well, in history we'll all be dead." Another reporter asks W. if he feels he may have made any mistakes in his presidency, and W. stammers that he's been kind of caught off-guard here. Eventually, the press-conference ends and W. storms off into the residential area of the white house, going to his bedroom. When he opens the door, W. is standing in the middle of Ranger's stadium on a cool autumn night. The invisible crowd is cheering, and the ball is hit towards W. He raises his hand to catch it, and--
W. looks around. The whole stadium is silent. There are no players, no announcers, no crowds, and no ball. He searches the empty field around him, and he sees that the ball is nowhere nearby. Slightly panicked, W. looks around the field some more, trying to find the ball he lost so he can keep on playing....
Director(s)
Writer(s)
producer
Moritz Borman
producer
Teresa Cheung
executive producer
Elliot Ferwerda
executive producer
Suzie Gilbert
co-producer
Peter D. Graves
executive producer
Paul Hanson
producer
Johnny Hon
executive producer
Jon Kilik
co-executive producer
Eric Kopeloff
producer
Christopher Mapp
executive producer
Tom Ortenberg
executive producer
Ethan Smith
co-producer
Thomas Sterchi
executive producer
Matthew Street
executive producer
David Whealy
executive producer
Albert Yeung
executive producer
Producer(s)
Composer(s)
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