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SUNDAY AM: After an embarrassing summer season with few big movies to speak of and a lot of bombs that every other studio made fun of, Fox Filmed Entertainment is dominating this autumn weekend with the No. 1 and No. 3 movies. Very early weekend numbers showed that 20th Century Fox's video game-turned-motion picture aimed at males, Max Payne, opened with $7.1 million Friday and $6.5M Saturday from 3,376 North American theaters for an $18M weekend. That's about what the studio projected for Mark Wahlberg's PG-13 starrer. "It's a good start," one analyst told me. "But this is a film that will drop like a lead balloon. Is Fox going to be happy with a $38 mil domestic box office on this film?" Coming in at No. 3 was Fox Searchlight's female-skewing we-are-family film based on the bestselling book The Secret Life Of Bees that's playing in only 1,591 venues. It opened with $3.5 million Friday and $4.4 million Saturday for an $11M for the weekend and the best per screen average of all the movies in the Top 10. But I told you not to count out Disney's dog pic Beverly Hills Chihuahua which made $11.2M due to crowded matinees and slipped into No. 2. Its new cume is $69M.
Yet the real surprise this weekend was Oliver Stone's W. There was tremendous curiosity not just in Hollywood but also in political circles nationwide surrounding the George W Bush biopic's North American weekend gross, with predictions ranging wildly from a low of $5 million to a high of $12 million. On Friday, it opened No. 2 with $3.8M from 2,030 theaters, then on Saturday fell to #4 with $4.1M for a $10.5M weekend. That's what its producers' projections.
EXCLUSIVE: *I've learned that the exit polling showed that among W. filmgoers, 89% disapprove of Bush. In addition, 78% are voting for Obama, 6% are voting for McCain, and 6% don't know. Moviergoers were 52%/48% male vs female. And a whopping 47% were over age 40. The audience was overwhelmingly liberal at 55%, followed by moderates at 31%, conservatives at 10%, and those who don't care about politics 5%. The audience was primarily white at 66%, with African Americans at 10% and all other ethnic groups less than 10%. Most attended because of the prospect of making fun of Bush (42%), or because of Oliver Stone as director (41%), or because the preview looked good (39%), or because of the prospect of humor (33%). In terms of expectations, only 27% felt the movie was better than expected, with 38% feeling it was not as good as expected (this was consistent across all groups, especially liberals), and 35% felt it was as good as expected. Those who disapprove of Bush felt very strongly that the movie was not as good as expected.*
W.'s on-target debut still doesn't mean the movie will recoup its $30M mil budget, plus $25M marketing costs that included a surprisingly aggressive TV ad campaign emphasizing the script's humor. True, Hollywood never bets the farm on political fiction pics because they usually don't attract crowds. Small budget Wag The Dog and Bullworth receved a lot of attention but not a lot of business. Studio pic Primary Colors disappointed. Stone's own JFK was wildly successful, but his Nixon underperformed. Of course, none of these pics were biopics about a sitting U.S. president. It also served the pic well that Lionsgate had experience with this kind of controversial film: it released Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 which went on to open with a $24M weekend from just 868 theaters, and an eventual worldwide total of $222M. W. won't be in that league.
Forget Summit Entertainment's Sex Drive because everyone else did (and should have). The umpteenth rauchy teenage sex comedy opened the weekend to just $3.5M from 2,421 dates for 9th place. "It's a huge disaster," one film financing source told me. "They spent close to $25 mil and the film won't break $7.5 million box office when all is said and done. And given its subject matter, I'm sure they did not sell this well overseas. So this has to be a major, major writedown for Summit."
Neck and neck were DreamWorks / Paramount's Eagle Eye, whick placed 5th with $7.3M and a new $81.3M cume, and Warner Bros's Body Of Lies, which finished 6th with a $6.8M FSS and still anemic $24.4M cume. I was very hard on costly Body Of Lies last weekend because rival studios told me it should be retitled "Body Bag" when it didn't live up to expectations despite the talented moviemaking team of Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott. But the war-on-terror spy thriller was #1 at the box office Monday through Thursday. "Just maybe the Body sat up in the coffin," one of the studio's bigwigs emailed me.
The rest of the Top 10 were veterans. In 7th place, Screen Gems/Sony's horror flick Quarantine was good for a $6.3M weekend and fresh cume of $24.6M. And Sony's tween/teen comedy Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist snagged #8 with a $3.9M weekend and new $26.7M FSS. Finally, in the 10th spot, Warner Bros' mature romance Nights In Rodanthe earned $2.6M for the weekend and new $36.8M cume -- just edging out Provident/Samuel Goldwyn's faith-based firefighter saga Fireproof which continues to surprise with its $2.6M FSS and new $20.7M cume.
It's looking like another $104M total box office weekend, up 7.8% over last year.
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Max Payne should easily beat W at the Box Office. Now ten to twelve mil for W sounds like that this one could be underpreformer. Factor in the fact that W could easily flop. Becouse of BEES and Max Payne strong showings and even Body of Lies could beat W.
Couldn’t movie goers be confused and think Body of Lies is about the Bush presidency? Just askin…
Max Payne is bombing at my theatre. I think folks are assuming that PG-13 = Ca$h. W. is skewing older. Hey, they made Bucket List a hit last year. Why can’t they do it again?
Go easy on W. Nikki’s making a bit of a fuss over a 55 mil budget. 12 million in one weekend with at least 2 other new releases for a political film isn’t bad. The issue with Body of Lies, which opened in 1000 more theaters and did around the same business, is the negative cost of over 100 million. You pay guys like Russell Crowe, Leonardo Dicaprio, and Ridley Scott – you expect people to show up. So it’ll be good for W if it gets 15-20 mil on a TOTAL budget of 55, compared with Body of Lies negative of over 100.
I saw “SEX DRIVE” …. funny as hell. Nothing new and very raunchy but still funny.
I’d keep watching the tracking on W as I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people. I know for a fact Max Payne didn’t do well this afternoon playing at the Arclight Cinerama Dome while at another wellknown area theater, Max Payne was pulled from the larger capacity auditorium in favor of W, which has been drawing the larger crowds. I saw W last night, and while I can’t stomach the real-life version or his policies, I have to admit the film was a lot more enjoyable than most current releases.
Well, our local critic in our city rated “W” as “boring” with some horrible performances, so it looks like this will be just another masturbating Hollywood Liberal Jerkoff getting off on bashing George W. Bush and probably viewed by like minded jerkoffs. So what else is new. I would recommend “Appaloosa” and “Body of Lies” as films to see this weekend and films that deserve bigger boxoffice. Both films are the two best of the year thus far and definitely worth seeing.
“W” isn’t great, but doesn’t deserve the overly partisan dismissal, “jdls08.” I think there is a lot for Conservatives to like about the film and the portrayal of Bush himself, at least in the sense the film humanizes him greatly.
Dear JDLS08, what year are you living in?
A has-been director with a has-been story of a has-been character who is well known for giving the country a big Recession as a parting gift.
And a number 2 movie of the weekend..wow! You have spoken…spoken unintelligently!
This movie is another in a long line of anti everthing films brought to us by the liberal film maker Oliver Stone. I left the movie.. it was just as bad as all of the Oliver Stone movies I have tried to stomach.
Where are my tums?
Noticed when I went to the movies last night with my 2 kids and 4 of their friends, all our tickets said “W” instead of Bees, didn’t think much of it until I read this. Are theater employees trying to give “W” more credit than it deserves and to downplay a family movie?Or maybe the theater operator set the ticket computer that way. Maybe it could be as innocent as it costs less to show “W” than Bees and the operator of the theater just wants to save money, because I can’t imagine anyone opposed to the President wanting a movie against him to succeed.
I won’t give Mr. Stone a single penny of my money to watch his piece of garbage film.
Let’s see if this movie has any staying power. I’m willing to bet that it won’t.
W –another in the load of cra* generated by the left wing elite (?) ivory tower knuckleheads !!!!!!!!!!Jim
Saw it. I am a Republican, but I enjoy a well-crafted film no matter the point of view. Wasn’t quite the hatchet job I thought it would be.
W may do well this weekend due to curiosity, but will probably drop off big next week. Don’t know if word of mouth will keep it strong. Wonder how many screens it will drop as newer holiday fare starts coming out?
Dear TheInSneider, once again showing liberal hypocrisy. It’s ok for liberals to say all they want, but nobody DARE NOT have another opinion. An open mind only is approved if you have liberal views.
Get over yourself.
Of course W will do quite well.
Bush haters will want to make a final statement.
O. Stone thinks he is a smart guy (little does he know!) He is no smarter than the rest of the Hollyweird effete.
I saw this movie because I sneaked in–yeah–I admit it. I paid to see another movie, though, so it isn’t like I cheated. The acting is awful, frankly. Caricatures–cartoonish. In fact, one day, when all the hysteria has calmed down, people will just roll their eyes if they bought tickets to this turkey. It reminds me of the huge popularity of a song MacArthur Park back in the day. AWFUL lyrics with my friends waxing rhapsodic over words like “someone left the cake out in the rain…and it took so long to bake it..” oh, my head hurts just thinking about it. W is a wet dream for Oliver Stone who hasn’t learned anything over the years except to lie about his intentions. Be honest, Ol, like Michael Moore–at least don’t be ashamed of your hatred. It’s sad.
While I can’t wait to see “W”, there is nothing human about the guy, other than him being stupid.
I guess there really are a bunch of left wing nuts out there that will pay $12 to see pseudo reality Bush when they can still turn on the tube and see him for free.
Another drugged up Hollywood leftist bashed Bush. As though the lives the Hollywood actors lead is anyhthing to look up to.
Please.
We are supposed to form our opinion about our president based on what some drugged up, boozed up, divorced up and messed up Hollywood nobody says ??
I think not
“Appaloosa” is a terrific film; the best I’ve seen this year so far. If you like Westerns, it’s a must-see.
Why do people still defend Bush 43? He has been a disaster and you morons put him here. Thanks for ruining the world.
Only a liberal could call Oliver Stones latest boondoggle an ‘over-performer.’ It will be long forgotten by Sunday.
it’s hilarious that a movie based on a video game trounced the “serious” bio-pic from revisionist-history master(bater) stone and mutant spawn of lib. loins – brolin
Hey, TheInSneider. JDLS08 got it right. Since when is Hollywood NOT starstruck with Liberals? Wait I couldn’t hear you because Babs (Barbara Streisand is calling and said that there will 200 Hollywood insiders at the private fundraiser.
What year are YOU living in? Cronkite ain’t doing the news anymore. And John Wayne isn’t making movies. Now it’s Leo DiCaprio. . . . . who still looks like he should be on “Growing Pains”. Tough guy he is not.
Media Bias is not a conspiracy theory, there are facts and 20 years worth of data to back it up. http://www.mrc.org Get yer head out of the san Sneidey!!
Hello!? W doesn’t deserve an overly partisan dismissal?
THE MOVIE is overly partisan! Hell, it’s overly the cliff partisan, wake up and smell the bullshit.
It’s made by a director and actors who totally hate Bush, screenplay written from material taken from books without accreditation. The trailer looks like something Stone (what an appropriate name) edited while on acid.
Thanks for the laughs, “Woop Woop”.
just another masturbating Hollywood Liberal Jerkoff getting off on bashing George W. Bush and probably viewed by like minded jerkoffs.
Quoted for Truth
“W” is another DVD discount rack sitter. What a waste of time and money, to push forward Oliver Stone’s distort view of history. What about a movie on Carter! Maybe an “X” rated Bill Clinton movie on Democratic Morals.
Does anyone watch movies anymore? The idea of great flicks is over. It is a time of stupid movies headed for DVD in two weeks.
Stone is a loser.
Even the trailers for W seemed amateurish. Too bad the theaters can’t just charge by the pound or Michael Moore and his friends would be breaking all records for box office receipts this weekend.
Dear Woop Woop,
Are YOU KIDDING ME! “overly partisan” review???? Have you heard anything Stone has said? Or is your hatred for all things RIGHT so horrible it makes you insane?
W. was sold out where I went Friday night. I agree that this movie is a very sympathetic and human portrayal of GWB, I don’t see any reason for conservatives or the Bush family to be angry. It could always be worse and this was not in that arena.
Yeah, Bush is an idiot that somehow graduated from Yale and then Harvard Business with an MBA. And Condi Rice said he is the only person she ever met that more than keeps up with her on reading. Check the president’s reading list on whitehouse.gov and then, if you ever finish ONE of the books he devours, tell me again how stupid he is. He will be ranked by history with such imbeciles as Churchill, Lincoln and that other uncouth cowboy Theodore Roosevelt. The left prefers cultured folk like FDR who turned a two year banking panic into a 10 year depression. Well FDR2 is about to hit the whitehouse with the SAME economic plan, government jobs for the poor and 70 percent taxes for the rich. DUH!
I didn’t understand what W was about.
Dear JDLS08, what year are you living in?
Why 1984, obviously…….
How can a fiction movie about a sitting president be interesting to anybody? I have seen some trailers that show W. and Cheney alone in the oval office having a conversation, and I doubt either one of them told Stone what they were discussing. Comlpete fiction, but they are playing it off as some sort of documentary, like Fahrenheit 911.
I’m not bashing W because as an independent, I just want to see the real one go home to Crawford in peace. I do, however, question the accuracy of a film when the same filmmaker gave us the wildly historically accurate “Alexander”. Did Josh Brolin bleach his hair blonde and wax his legs like Colin Farrell? Just wondering since I’m not going to see it.
The acting was sub par & anyone can see that Bush does not act like the character in the movie. Overall it is a typical hate bush hate America movie by an unhappy Hollywood class of Elite snobs
speaking of lies, if you repeat that bush lied for years, I guess the idiot lemmings will eventually believe it. bad intel is what it is. congress authorized the war based on said intel. totally legal. hillary believed it, bill believed it. doesn’t matter. we killed a mass muderer who eventually would have done much worse. the world is a better place for it, joe.
jdls08, I’ll have to agree with you on that one.
I give Stone credit for ginning up a modicum of interest in a subject most people at this point have zero interest in. But it really says something to me about what a lousy idea ‘W’ was in the first place that people are excited about the possibility of it recouping its cost!
I guess if you lower the bar enough, ANYTHING can be considered a success.
The lefties just can’t get enough of Bush, they keep going back to the well for more.
Just bc you don’t care about Sex Drive, doesn’t mean everyone should forget about it. It’s bc you’re old. Plain and simple.
W will do will its first week, not too bad its second, and then fall off the map. You can’t create a movie for half of the audience and be biased about it and expect it to do well. This time next month it will be #10 or less.
Hmmm… $3.8 Mil, 2030 theaters, for Fri only, 5 shows, say $8 per ticket, is about 50 per showing. Not exactly a packed house…
I’m hoping that Obama will win, and that he comes to see just what a goldmine the “entertainment” industry is. By taxing all forms of “entertainment”, say, 20% on movie tickets, 20% on cable/satellite bills, movie rentals, CD/DVD/Video Games, etc., the government could get constant income from something that is simply “entertainment”, a complete luxury. Nobody “needs” these products, anymore than they “need” jewelry, limos, private jets, etc., and therefore all such items should carry a substantial tax. How better to create fairness in our society, than to take money from people with time and money to waste, and put it toward people who don’t, through creating jobs for the homeless and handicapped.
Regarding the movie W……I just consider the source. Oliver Stoned. Funny isn’t it, that he passed on making the movie Jefferson. The Clinton presidencies provided enough material for 10 movies! Problem was, they couldn’t figure out a way to bring it down from an NC-17 rating and still keep it halfway truthful/accurate.
Oliver Stoned is just one liberal among many in the movie industry cesspool who finds no joy in life unless he is either worshipping fellow liberals or castrating and misrepresenting conservatives.
When you look at Stoned’s life-long body of work, what do you find? I find a frustrated, angry, paranoid movie-maker who hasn’t figured out a way to make two decent movies in a row, and whose films have to be taken with a grain of salt because they are all reality as seen through the eyes of Stoned, and reality is not one of his strengths. His form of reality seems very much medicinally-enhanced.
NO! W is awful. Tries hard but it’s just boring. Waste of time unless you absolutely detest Bush. I must ask JDLD08…”what year are YOU living in?” Max was fun and so was “Eagle Eye”. “W” isn’t worth your time..even on a rainy evening. Just a bad atttempt to smuggle politics into a terrible movie. Stone’s out of ideas. He does this type of “para-reality” approach over and over and it always fails. Somebody seend poor “Oli” a note.
Got to love liberals who hate America. After all who’s going to ask you if you want fries wit dat? The mass of the ass of the donkley; liberals.
I hope I’m wrong but I predict Bush will continue to get the blame when the Dem congress and Obama really bungle our country. I’ve never seen such hatred and lack of willingness to look at both sides of our issues.
…I wonder what Oliver Stoned’s movie would be about if the next big terrorist attack was in Hollyweird?
Well they low balled the possible income for the first weekend to around 9 mil so naturally it did better than expected. If there’s so many hate Bush people out there it should do 40 mil in the first weekend.
I think W has been purposefully mis advertised. I saw it with the most LIBERAL crowd you could imagine. Marin County California, white, over 40 years old. Before show time it was like a party, when I sat down the people in front of me told me that if I was for McCain I couldn’t sit in their section. GEORGE LUCAS was even in the audience. The mood was LIBERALS payback time. But you know what, there was silence througout most of the movie, with a few laughs at some obvious places. WHY WAS IT SO SILENT> I think because this was a very humanizing portrait of Bush. He was the center protaganist and it gave him some respect and understanding. AS A PERSON, he came off quite well and that is what most of the movie concentrated on. HEY I AM A LIBERAL TOO and I went in for a hoot, and had to admit that I sort of liked the guy, I mean how he was protrayed. even (choke choke) a bit of admiration. SOOOOOOO all you conservatives who think it is a smackdown job, you should go see it. really its not that bad
How well can a film portray, or humanize, someone when the story relies entirely upon second and third hand sources for all accounts of said person’s life, while also refusing to even attempt to speak to first hand sources?
George Bush does not need to be bashed….he has done that to himself quite nicely.
strange…i saw Max Payne but they made a mistake and gave me W. ticket
Hey “TheInSneider”,
Im assuming living in 2008 along side all the Obama lovers like you. At least they havn’t got $hit for there brains.
I just wish I could vote for Bush one more time!!!!!!
Just wondering if all the over-paid, no-talent, entitled, self-important red-carpet Hollywood twits who’ve soaked-up millions in excreting…sorry, producing…this piece of vile, revisionist crap will be willing to “spread around” everything more than a basic $250K to the rest of us. Or maybe, just maybe, you’ve already got all your tax dodges already set up…? Just make sure you correctly spell Obama’s name on the check for what’s left over.
I won’t see “W” even if they gave away free tix. Not because I love GWb but because Oliver Stone is reprehensible. His so called true stories never are. This might have one good weekend but lets see how it does next week.
I can’t wait until someone writes a movie about Oliver Stone. I can see it now on the big screen. Al Gore stars as Oliver Stone in this summers biggest movie since Platoon,The Day after Tomorrow Next Week. This movie is set during the Fall of 2009 Fall when temperatures in Alabama raise to 88 degrees. People are sweating when they should be wearing sweaters. Pandemonium ensues when the liberal who vowed not to live in the USA if a Republican won the White House in 2008, blames all of these troubles on McClain and Palin and moves to Siberia with a Russian woman named Mish Mish. He has started his next movie which will be titled “I” in which he will talk about his own ego and how he would rule the world. Can’t wait to see it! Goofball!
As all of you are sitting on the Internet bashing Oliver Stone and his film he is getting his opinion out to millions and pulling in a few million at the same time.
Now what have you really done for your country lately besides bitch on the Internet?
I’m glad to hear this “W” movie was humanizing Bush and not blaming him for any and everything in America. Liberals seem to think this man created hurricane katrina..you know, he just decided he wanted a hurricane that day and pressed the button. Gone is personal responsibilty in this country with evacuating, with chosing to live somewhere, with buying a home you can’t afford, etc. Handouts are the reason we are in this mess, and I don’t blame 1 president, but would blame a large group of liberals with even more power called CONGRESS. nancy pelosi is horrible.
The # 2 film raked in 3.2 million? WOW. The headline should be “hardly anyone went to the theatre this weekend”. I saw only a few movies all year: Iron Man, Indiana Jones, Wall-E, Expelled, & Dark Knight. I skipped everything else until this week. I saw 4 movies; Chihuahua, City of Ember, American Carol, and Fireproof.
Clearly the only people going to W. are lefties. They are being shown a fantasy that they want to believe in. Hollywood really does not care if their lefty movies make money. They take the profits from G films and then fund loser R rated films.
What is so republican about Bush? He is turning the US into communism..
your left vs right debate is insane..
Was this linked on Fox news? Lotta nut jobs on here.
I guess it’s easy to “Exceed” everyone’s expectations when expectations are SO low.
Consider the following:
3.8M divided by 2030 = $1871.92 per Location
Average Number of attendees: 195 per location
So roughly 395,850 people went to the Movie, in a Country with a population of 300,000,000. That’s less than 1%.
THAT IS PATHETIC.
Big whoopee, another leftwing socialist making a movie about republicans. Come on Hollywood, why don’t you be a little original from time to time. How pathetic.
After reading the above post about the theater ticket saying W when they saw a different movie I went and took the stub from my back pocket. My husband and I went last night to see a different movie. It said W! We did not by a ticket to that movie! Didn’t even think to look at it. What is going on.
I was disgusted by W. It was a terrible movie, boring, and an obvious unfair hatchet job on all the Bushes. As a Democrat, I am embarrassed by how low Hollywood stoops so low to hurt someone.
Oliver Stone is a piece of shit!
Old liberals need to reinforce their hatred so why not take in the latest Oliver the Kook Stone movie.
WOW, I didn’t know the public was so nice to Presidents who gave so many years of their life to serving the public. I am so impressed, I think I will run for president. Maybe they will make a movie about me. No wonder we have such a sparkling bunch of great Americans standing in line to be President and receive this king and thoughtful accolades.
I have lived through 8 years of W. That’s enough. Wouldn’t pay a nickel to relive national hell. Joe six pak should be cleaning brush soon! You betcha. (Wink wink)
Our movie theatre gave us tickets for “W” when we took the kids to see “Bees”…. my husband noticed it and DEMANDED that they be voided and that the thatre give us the correct tickets. I think there is a scam going on to bolst up the ratings of “W” so it doesn’t look like a flop. There were only a few people inside the “W” showing at 9pm on a friday night. “Bees” was FULL… does that tell you anything????
Stone’s movie allegedly cost $20 mil or so and was shot in 5 weeks. But they’ve been advertising it with at least that much budget again and (amazingly) on Foxnews about ever other commercial break. Makes you wonder if the first weekend will be the rise AND fall–the committed political types who hate Bush going to laugh and, when they’re done, so’s the movie. No legs, no glory. But I seriously doubt the upfront ad/pub money will pay itself back overall–which makes ME wonder if THAT wasn’t more a campaign/election buy than a genuine attempt to see a profit on this pic.
…Yes indeed, Body of Lies would be a great title for the Bush Administration and for the pile of crap Barack Obama and John McCain are telling us. Remember, for a leader, ignorance about what you’re saying is not an acceptable excuse…
Fooled you didn’t I? Just don’t see how anyone could be “excited” about a pretty good speech reader (BO) with VP choice who said BO isn’t ready to lead but yet himself doesn’t know JOBS is a 4-letter word. Or be excited about an long time appeaser who crosses the aisle even when it’s the wrong thing to do (JM)…
…just sayin’
Just another anti-American liberal view of President Bush. Just like Reagan, the anti-American Democrat liberal losers hate Bush. Just like Reagan, history will be kind to Bush for keeping us safe after 9/11 when the doom and gloom retard Dems said we would get hit over and over. History will also remember that President Bush liberated Iraq and Afghanistan, creating two pro-American allies in an unfriendly part of the world. That will come in handy 20 years from now when we’re fighting Iran/Russia. Thank you President Bush. The reason I know you have done a great job is because liberal Democrats hate you. Anything or anyone that is hated by the anti-American liberal left is truly something good. To be a Democrat is to be retarded. Oliver Stone is retarded.
Now that he’s done with this piece of trash movie he can go back to rooting for Al Qaeda with all the other anti-American Democrat garbage.
I agree that the Bush of the film was a sympathetic character. Brolin’s performance was great. On the other hand, Thandie Newton’s Condoleeza Rice might be the single worst performance in a major Hollywood release since Sophia Coppola in Godfather III. At least Sophia’s poor job can be excused by her youth and inexperience at the time.
Max Payne appears to be getting relatively lame reviews, but the audience it is aimed at will show up regardless. So the opening weekend is a no brainer, it is more a question of if it has legs to last through thanksgiving or if it is going to be 2 – 3 weekends and gone. W on the other hand almost certainly has a short shelf life, but it might also do well on word of mouth. Some of the conservative reviewers are piddling on it, but it appears to be a relatively amusing film that tells more of the truth than most want to know.
Speaking of movies with a political point of view, how’s that Michel Moore satire doing?
For the record, Bush is not America, and it is possible to love your country, and hate your President. We can do that, because this is America, and we are free.
Also, Regean was a member of the “effete, Hollywood, elite.” Just sayin.
I like how all these people have all these strong stereotypical opinions on a movie they haven’t even seen.
Oliver Stoney?
Ya gotta be kidding…you are kidding aren’t you?
Anyone with an IQ above room temps wouldn’t waste their time on any flick directed by Mr. “J.F.K”…
hey, Oli, are ya still looking for who was responsible for the assassination of J.F.K.? LMAO
I would like to see W but ony because I wonder why Oliver Stone keeps putting out left slanted movies that don’t fare well at the box office. I’m hoping this one is better than his other movies
It’s good to know that when I turn 36, I’ll be considered a “very old” moviegoer by Hollywood.
I just saw W, and was really disappointed. Josh Brolin doesn’t look, sound or act like Bush. And the entire movie moves at a slow pace. Also, it’s really quite mean spirited and hateful. I can’t reccomend it.
No, Nikki, you were not too hard on Body of Lies. A $100+ million movie that doesn’t even make $20 in its first 7 days of release is a BOMB!
Oliver Stones film JFK was a work of malevolent fiction about the Kennedy assassination. I have no doubt that his film about President Bush is equally defammatory and fictional. After all, this is what Hollywood liberals do. The make lots of money lying and they call it art.
Well I’m just glad that “Beverly hill chihuahua” isn’t #1 anymore. I mean come ON! How embarrassing is it to cal yourself an american when THAT is the type of drivel people flock to see in the theater here?
“Check the president’s reading list on whitehouse.gov and then, if you ever finish ONE of the books he devours, tell me again how stupid he is.”
Yes, and the fact that a list of books appears on his website is conclusive proof that he read and understood all of them.
Give me a break. You really believe that W. was reading Camus and Shakespeare (as he claimed) when he wasn’t clearing brush on his Crawford villa? Bush himself has even joked about having been a terrible student and having little interest in intellectual pursuits. He built his whole persona around being a “regular guy” and not some pointy-headed Ivy League elitist.
There is, however, one book that we *do* know he read: “The Pet Goat.”
I just got back from the matinee ($5) showing of “W”. A boring movie filled with the democratic party talking points,filled with made for TV actors,even worse than the CBS made-for-tv movie “Reagan”. , I am afraid people will confusr this garbage with history. I want my five bucks back.
I’d have to say…. that after seeing this “film” it is my second most proud moment as being an American, or something like that.
The right wingers who hate our country and its freedoms won’t see W. because they’re still in a state of denial about a president who lied us into a war about non-existent weapons of mass destructions in a defenseless Third World country and a near Depession his opportunistic maga-rich cronies have brought our country.
I-like all loyal Americans- am just looking for the day he just goes back into private life. Shed no tears for Bush. While average Americans loose their 401K’s, civil liberties and home equity because of his dishonesty and incompetence, like his parents, he’ll make tens of millions reading speeches written for him by someone else to collections grateful wealthy people for whom he has done so much.
I have read reviews by proffessionals who’ve actually seenW. that it is a sympathic portrait of Bush. History will not be so kind.
All you Hollywood degenerates that get wood making films for each other. You guys really showed’em alright, don’t mess with you guys…the thinking part of America sees your intellectual bankruptcy….snoooozville on this O.S. stinko reel.
I hope Stone put GWB in the end credits — maybe a credit like “Special thanks to the real W for keeping the country safe since 9/11 so I could make money off liberal propagandist movies like this”.
Wanna see W’s legacy in action? Just go to any 7-11 in the morning and try and get a coffee in a decent amount of time.
Thanks, George! And thanks for the endless war, the lost lives and billions, the dreadful state of our schools, the tanking economy, but most of all, for your continual absence at the ship-of-state’s helm.
Wow…you can always tell when Drudge is linking to DHD.
W should have done well with the non-stop hype it’s gotten for months. What a ridiculous movie.
Bush Derrangement Syndrome on full display. Not a ducumentary, not a biography. W is a hitpiece on Bush (and McCain by association) 2 weeks before an election. W wasn’t made in order to make a profit. It’s purpose is to influence the election.
The comments here about people getting ‘w’ tickets when they paid to see another movie is just a glimpse into the M.O. of the left. Gaming the system is a perfectly acceptable tactic for people who know what’s best for the masses.
Everybody likes a little bush, but nobody likes president bush.
Woop Woop – put down the crackpipe. No conservative is going to see W.
I do not watch crap from Hollywood.
This W movie sounds evil and mean, just like the libbies and Hollywood nasties
You libs should be careful what out wish for. You are going to wake up someday soon and wish old W was back in the White House keeping you safe.
I think W horrible movie. sick, sick, . never again. see something decent thanks
good question spondee. How did that Moore satire do?
Bush has been a horrible president. And if the movie is as bad as these Drudge Report readers claim then he got the movie he deserved.
The film looked at a slice of an event. condi was not fully developed. Colin Powell in my opinion was not portrayed as charasmatic as he is in person. I believe it was incredibly generously kind to George Bush senior. He is portrayed as completely uninvolved in the decisions of the administration. And the First Lady was developed as a sincere devoted wife. I hoped to get a different perspective on the the administration. It was sobering on different levels.
I went to the theater last night to see “The Duchess” … At this suburban Maryland, very liberal area, theater, there were two theaters in the multi-plex that were showing “W” … I noted when I purchased my tickets for the 7:25 showing of “The Duchess” that there were, maybe 20 people in line for the 7:20 and 7:30 showing of “W” … When I came out of the theater, there was no one in line for the 9ish showing. I’m willing to wager that the theater will move the movie to it’s smallest venue by tomorrow and then “W” will be last, maybe another week before it’s pulled.
I am not a Bush lover. I am not even Conservative. I really enjoyed W. and thought it was an excellent movie. I would recommend seeing it. Max Payne may have a big budget but video game movies don’t interest me. I would rather watch that on dvd. W. has a lot of hype around it plus it’s involving something huge in our news and media right now. I thought all the actors did really well. Who cares what the critics say. Critics always bash the movies I like. They hated Step Brothers and Billy Madison and I love those movies. They gave movies like Brave Heart and 300 one to two stars. The only movies Critics like are as old as their grand parents, were filmed in black and white and are interesting after two anti depressant pills and a glass of wine. Go see this awesome movie!
OMG! Are people still going to the movies and PAYING for it? To see leftist drivel as this? Are you serious? Is there anyone with a mind of their own left out there? Right. I’m buying all of this. Bizarre and stupid.
It’s funny … most of the knuckle-dragging vitriol here is about concepts not even touched upon the film, i.e. “anti-American.” Too many being stupid and presumptuous, per usual. Thanks, Drudge readers, for lowering the bar for everyone.
On top of that, it seems like every li’l pot-bellied Internet-prowling Conservative has a reason to dimiss both the film and the film’s respectable gross on Friday.
Meanwhile, AN AMERICAN CAROL continues to fail, and will be out of most theatres by next week.
P.S. I love this new “theatre sold me wrong tickets” conspiracy … something Zucker and co. cooked up because they thought, surely, AN AMERICAN CAROL would have grossed more, and thus a conspiracy by the theatre owners was at hand. Please … you people need to go outside, get jobs, and try to contribute to the country rather than cower away in your dank hovels smashing away on your PC.
hillarious! Reading your posts is a lot more entertaining than ‘W”
Stephen Boone:
Yeah, Bush is an idiot that somehow graduated from Yale and then Harvard Business with an MBA. And Condi Rice said he is the only person she ever met that more than keeps up with her on reading. Check the president’s reading list on whitehouse.gov and then, if you ever finish ONE of the books he devours, tell me again how stupid he is. —
Bush was rather famously quoted as saying that he doesn’t read books. Laura reads books. He doesn’t even read the papers. He scans headlines. He doesn’t even read his own PDB’s. He makes the staff prepare a powerpoint presentation every morning to highlight what’s in his PDB. When asked, couldn’t even name a book of the Bible he liked.
This mythical reading list came from one of his many vacations, after which Tony Snow said that Camu’s The Stranger (How appropriate is that!?) was on the President’s reading list. They had a long discussion on the nature of existentialism. HA!
Bush made it into Harvard & Yale on the strength of his family’s wealth and his legacy status. He graduated with a ‘Gentleman’s C’. His business career is marked by failure, sweetheart deals & huge injections of cash from wealthy Saudis.
This is a man who doesn’t understand what is going on around him. He thought the Oval Office was going to be short days & long weekends.
He is a catastrophe on his way somewhere to happen, and it will take decades to repair the damage he’s done to this country.
20 years from now people will wonder what we could have possibly been thinking to put this numbnuts in the White House.
I went to the theater hating Bush and couldn’t wait to enjoy the Bush bashing — instead I walked out of W a huge Bush fan! WTF??????? I gotta get a time machine and go drink a brew with that guy twenty years ago! Nobody can out-Texas that dude…
What the…
I’d rather wait and see if “W.” has legs throughout the week, before someone declares it a dud.
And Zucker needs to go back and make more movies that, you know, are funny. “Scary Movie 5″ would be a breath of fresh air compared to “An American Carol” (which looked horrible, BTW). “W.” looks lame, too.
I saw W today and I have to admit I thought it was kind of boring. Mostly because I think it’s hard to make this type of bio movie interesting. And also because W is actually a pretty uninteresting person. He’s not a thinker. To put it nicely.
That’s the real lesson from the W mess. No more non thinking Presidents, OK?
I love it when the Drudge readers come over and ream you leftist wussies. You can’t take the least bit of criticism without getting all overamped. This is the internet, girls. Get used to it.
Hell. I just saw the flick and I am a democrat…but I came away actually liking the guy.
Remember! “Dubya” answers to a “higher” father. Please pass me a barf bag.
I hope Stone put GWB in the end credits — maybe a credit like “Special thanks to the real W for keeping the country safe since 9/11 so I could make money off liberal propagandist movies like this”.
Comment by B. Clinton —
Well, Bill. Osama is still alive and well and al Qaeda and the Taliban are almost as strong now in Afghanistan as they were before the 2002 invasion. Karsi is the mayor of Kabul. The monsters have reconstituted in the hills and Osama is still calling the shots. Mission is Not Accomplished!!!
Give me a break. The Bush’s barbecue guests in Crawford included the bin Laden clan and the rest of those inbred, ten thousand, Royal Arab cousins. Poppy was referred to by his Arab chums as the “American Vice President of Saudi Arabia.” Read conservative author Kevin Philips’ “American Dynasty.” 5 years before the invassion they were having meetings in which a map of Iraq, made to look like a butcher’s illustration of the parts of a butchered steer was the main attraction.
They still let Stone make movies? After the crap he’s released, and the money he’s lost for his backers, I’m surprised anybody interested in making money would back that hack.
Just saw W with my high school senior son. Stone portrays a man who has deep faith and a strong sense of purpose. A man burdened by his heritage, an independent individual who was indeed “the decider”, a man in love with a beautiful woman, a man who believes in democracy and wanted to foster its growth. A man with a sharp brain, a strong self discipline, a man who understands he has weaknesses and seeks to overcome them… *not* what I was expecting. We are a nation full of arm chair politicians quick to criticize all who govern. Go walk a couple of hours in Oliver Stone’s life story of George Bush… then rethink your opinion of our President. BTW, I am an Obama supporter. All I am saying is this: we should seek to find common ground in the coming days. The world is confused by our division. Will America falter? We will if we do not stop allowing our differences to further divide us. America is a government by the people for the people! Let us stop throwing stones at each other. Let us find common purpose and commitment. May God continue to Bless our country. May those who lead our land with integrity and faith find a country willing to support their decisions. And last, thanks to Oliver Stone for giving some insight to the challenges which have confronted a true Christian president.
When will “W” be on cable. Oliver Stone will not get a dime from me and I pay for cable anyway. Neither will Josh Brolin. Don’t know who is worse, Brolin or Stone. While on that subject, I quit watching Letterman…used to think he was funny, now I just see him as a senile old man who is trying to stand for something other than a Johnny Carson wanna-be.
Serenityman
So, the Obamedia believes a movie bashing our Fascist president right before the election will put the Marxist over the top? Maybe the American people won’t notice that the Obamedia has been trashing W non-stop since Algore tried to win the election in the FL supreme court.
It could happen. After all, we have a president with approval ratings higher than the Socialist/neo-con congress; a war that the neo-cons finally got serious about winning a year ago; an anemic economy and the veil has dropped on the incestuous Fascist relationship between Washington and Wall St with the $700 billion dollar buyout and Henry Paulson buying solvent banks because his Fascist congressional partners, (including Obama and McCain) gave him the permission.
Sure, America, Fascism has served us so well, let’s go for all out Marxism…Bush sucks, vote Obama!!!
AS A PRO=LIFE CONSERVATIVE, I CAN SAY THAT GW BUSH DESERVES THE NEGATIVE DEPTICTION — STONE’S MOVIE IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO HOW BAD THE TRUTH REALLY IS.
W GAVE ME A CHANCE TO LAUGH AT THE GW BUSH RESULTS THAT NORMALLY GIVE PEOPLE NIGHTMARES.
Bush lovers are a strange breed. To overlook all of his dunderheaded blunders, not to mention his extremely wrongheaded policies, takes a special kind of blindness. Apparently Republicans all have this disease. Bush is not a president about which any American can be proud but, for some reason, Republicans are loathe to admit it. “W” shows Bush as human, more or less, something many of us have questioned. Since conservatives are on their way out and are becoming more irrelevant every day, this parting volley at Bush could have, rightfully so, been a lot worse.
Don’t know about you, but have no money for a $10.00 movie. More interested in the movie 20 years from now about how America went socialist and is trying to dig itself out while trying to figure out if national language is chinese or spanish or talibanese.
I think W portrayed Bush as people with half a brain already figured out. Bush is a pawn for the likes of Rove and Cheney. He like Reagan didn’t have the brains to be evil. They thought they were doing good, but were easily manipulated by those with an evil agenda. What really is sad, is that the American public apparently allowed themselves to be as manipulated as Bush was. What does that say about America?
I bet all the people who try and claim this is a movie trying to demonize Bush have not seen the movie, in all it is sympathetic to him and is just telling the story as it unfolded.
Nothing like a bucket of Oliver Stone’s left-wing propaganda to get Bush haters fired up!
“The dogs bark and the caravan passes…”
Dear Scottydog and Mud Duck, what the hell are you two talking about. All I did was ask that other dude what year he was living in cuz he called Appaloosa and Body of Lies the two best movies of the year. what does this have to do with liberal politics. you guys are just seeing what you want to see in these posts. i didn’t mention politics at all. not sure how you could have misinterpreted it. if those 2 movies are the best you’ve seen all year, you need to get to the movies more often. that’s all. go back to drudge report you wackos.
I would rather stick needles in my eyes than watch Stone’s bilge.
I went to see W. yesterday. I found it to be worth the $6.00 i paid. Richard Dreyfuss was dead on with his portrayal of Dick Cheney. To all the people bashing Oliver Stone, dont knock it until you have seen it. If anyone were the villians in this movie, it was Cheney, Rove, and Rumsfeld.
Yeah, yeah. Bush is evil. We’ve heard this all before. My question is whether Stone’s Chinese backers will get their money back.
Bush is radioactive now. With $10 mil for the opening and typical losses coming in the next few weeks, will W. break $30 mil?
W will fizzle when it is clear to all that a lunatic leftist depiction of a president is predictable, canned and unoriginal.
The only way political movies inspire is when they do something unexpected.
And despite Josh Brolin’s obvious talents as an actor, he was under orders from the lefty producers not to make Bush look like the substantial, courageous, iron-willed leader who protected America for 7 years from additional Islamo-fascist parasite attacks on the homeland.
I would go see W just to see where the historical flaws are. I saw JFK over nearly ten years ago and I like how it examined his assassination. But frankly to put out a biopic this quick should backfire and from the reviews of left and right here the valid criticism are mixed. When I saw the running time of an hour and thirty minutes it isn’t really enough to to lay out an interesting biography.
“Bush is not a president about which any American can be proud but”
Well, I’m not proud of the fact that he let the Dems and the press lie about and run all over him for 8 years, without standing up, and defending himself.
BUT, for those that think he’s the cause of the financial meltdown, you really should look back about, oh 30 years and follow the trail all the way to the present, and you’ll LEARN that it’s the fault of BOTH parties (although it’s the Dems that forced banks to make bogus loans, and Bush signed it, just like Clinton.) And don’t forget “The One(s)” involvement in ACORN ($800,000+) to them from his presidential campaign, and the fact they intimidated banks to give loans to the “less fortunate” by threatening to brand them as raci$t if they didn’t comply.
But hey, don’t let the truth get in the way of being politically correct and bashing Bush and the repubs.
Oh, BTW has anyone here in America been attacked by radical muslims since 9/11? Didn’t think so.
You can bet your a$$ he won’t get credit for that, BUT if we had been attacked after 9/11, you hypocrites would point the finger at Bush.
Coming in 4th isn’t exactly rocking the boxoffice, it’s more like sad whimpering puppy.
We went to show last night to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua – and all three of our tickets said “W”. Hmmm I wonder what this could be???
I will tell you what is wrong……the elite Hollywood liberals who are involved in moviemaking, ie – Oliver Stone, probably paid off some of the theaters to do this to get this POS film to rate higher. No one CARES – Bush is over, he is leaving office. Get over it!
Were there failed policies, of course there were. But remember when did 911 happen? Within his FIRST year of office. What has this done to this country since has been a domino effect.
Katemaclaren – HOW COULD YOU???
I can’t even take my Sunday afternoon nap because that awful song keeps playing over and over and OVER in my head.
To preface myself, I’m a registered Republican and college student (so much for the old and liberal demo, right?), the only “liberal” thing about me is that I’m in a party with a bunch of National Socialists. Anyways, I saw W. 2 nights ago and I have to say I liked it a lot. It shows his massive shortfalls, but I’m so glad it wasn’t a complete hitpiece and showed him as a complex person like the rest of humanity. Nobody is evil, only the actions they choose through their own free will can be evil. I never realized how many “daddy” issues the poor bastard has/had through his entire life, the dude still has blood on his hands, but he actually seems the most likely out of the entire administration to ask God for forgiveness.
P.S. – regular Deadline Hollywood readers, so sorry for the Drudge Report invasion, just remember “this too shall pass.” lol
Saw Body of Lies last night – It was OK, but wouldn’t recommend wasting a couple hours on it to others. I too looked in to see a few minutes of W on the way since we were early – there was almost no one in that theatre! I had expected it to be extremely well attended based on the non-stop advertising for the last month it seems. I think this says a lot about average folks contempt for liberal Hollywood – they want believeble entertainment, not sermonizing on politics. Plus, you really can’t make an obviously fictional movie about current events or people. What’s next – “McCain – Diary of a closet Communist”? Luckily the punishment for such stupidity is losing tons of money – but this happens repeatedly and these folks in Hollywood are SUCH slow learners!!
Oliver Stone is a piece of crap. His movies SUCK!
I think that some people (not very smart people) might be going to see this movie because they think it is a positive film about Bush. Like a historical film, and thats why these numbers are so high. Because honestly, How can you take Oliver Stone seriously.
Well W not preforming to hot at the box office made Yahoo news. Just speculating here but just releasing to over 2,000 cinemas could have its effect on the box office gross? Most films,even controversial ones,get wider releases. Why didn’t W? Has that thought cross anyone minds? Especially if Lionsgate wanted to reach a much wider audience. But the Max Payne and Beverly Hills Chicuaha knocked it off. I wonder if the number of cinemas a film is released affects its outcome at teh boxoffice over the weekend. It would sound logical that Lionsgate would release it to a larger audience like say it’s Saw Franchise films.
Armand, the ‘recession’ was caused by the subprime mess. Which came about because in the late 90’s the Democrats forced banks to make loans to low income folks (e.g. Minorities) who had dubious or non-existent ability to repay. So it’s actually a gift from Slick Willy. But don’t let facts get in the way of your story…
Forgetting politics, I just don’t see what is so exciting about W’s life to deserve a picture. Rich guy becomes president…ok. Wake me up when some $45,000 a year guy (or woman) gets elected.
Um, I don’t think Stoner’s movie “W” is a blockbuster…it is actually pretty pathetic!
If GW is so awesome, then why are all of you so angry? He’s still President, you know.
Love him or hate him, Stone’s movies will be talked about for generations. Do you think people will remember the talking dog movie this time next year?
It cracks me up to read posts by people claiming to be Republican and then articulate the same anti-Bush rhetoric as the rabid left. I am pleased as punch to see DiCaprio’s “Body of Lies” and Oliver Stone’s own body of lies, “W” go out with a whimper. I strongly encourage my fellow conservatives and Republicans to exercise their freedom of speech and boycott those in Hollywood whose agendas run in opposition to your own. As much as it pains me to skip certain films or concerts, I won’t put a dime in the pockets of those who use their celebrity to shove their politics in my face. I’ve had enough. Roughly half of the country is Republican. We have the power to impose quite a bit of financial pressure should we actually exercise it and simply stay home or make different choices for our entertainment dollar. Exercise your free speech—boycott.
I think it’s an absolute disgrace that the public would pay money to see some ass hole Stone bash the President of the United States of America… and you idiots wonder why other countries trash the US anymore! I hope Stone goes bankrupt and the rest of you who go see it may the bird of paradise shit on your head! Low Life’s would only go see this piece of trash movie. Whether you like him or not he should not be made fun of no matter what!
Since I have been disappointed in Oliver Stone movies in the past, I purchased a ticket to see Max Payne but used it to watch “W”. It hasn’t changed my mind about Oliver Stone’s “work”. It is simply boring and when not boring, silly. Thank God I didn’t hand money to him for this piece of crap.
Comment by chuck — October 19, 2008 @ 4:28 pm:
“Just speculating here but just releasing to over 2,000 cinemas could have its effect on the box office gross? Especially if Lionsgate wanted to reach a much wider audience. But the Max Payne and Beverly Hills Chicuaha knocked it off.”
That’s pretty funny.
There is some relationship between screens and grosses, but if no one wants to see your movie, it doesn’t matter how many theaters you put show it in.
You cite “W” being at 2,030 sites. Its estimated gross was $10.5 million for $5,200 per site.
But “The Secret Life of Bees” was at 1,591 sites and grossed $11 million for $7,000 per site.
I suppose one could argue that “W” and “The Secret Life of Bees” have different audiences. I suppose one could even argue that some of the potential “W” audience took their kids to “Beverly Hills Chihuahua.”
But please don’t argue that “Max Payne” took audience from “W” ala “But the Max Payne and Beverly Hills Chicuaha knocked it off.” That’s ridiculous.
And moving on from chuck…
Political pictures just have a tough time, because some people (and I know people who post their political opinions on unrelated websites will find this hard to believe) like to go to the movies to have a fun time and be entertained as opposed to have to deal with political B.S. The performance of “W” is not surprising.
For example, the current President annoys the hell out of me. I think he’s easily one of the two worst presidents – EVER. I’m very happy that his presidency is almost over. I guess I should have been interested in seeing “W.”
I passed on a screening. I don’t want to watch political B.S. at the theater – EVEN FOR FREE. I don’t care if I agree with it or not. It’s incredibly boring – sort of like the people who feel the need to debate their political opinions on an entertainment news website.
[Rant - ON]
The most god awful thing I see in movies is the “fake political debate.” This is where opposing groups express their fake political opinions on fake political topics – e.g., any scene of the Senate in the Star Wars prequels. It makes me want to bash the projector. I should be allowed to throw my drink at the screen if that scene appears. I despise anyone who puts it in a film. This doesn’t apply to most politically-oriented films because I despise most of them in their entirety.
[Rant - OFF]
^
Where is your source for that fact, Aaron? If that were true, McCain/Palin would be the favored pair to win, not their opponents. There’s more to the U.S. aside from the liberal Dems vs. hard-core Republicans, but shades of everything between.
But you are right on celebrities who showcase their politics to everyone, just keep it to yourself. It doesn’t matter which candidate you’re behind, the majority of Americans DON’T care.
AaronSch: Because God forbid any opposing viewpoints ever be expressed. You, sir, should be spat upon.
I’m hesitant about seeing W simply due to the wildly varying reviews. Ebert gave it four stars yet other critics are slamming it. I wonder if these reviewers are letting personal politics get in the way of judging the film based on its own merit. I suppose I’ll have to see it myself.
Yep..Dubya kept us safe alright. Right up UNTIL 9/11.
Or have you forgotten that he was President when we
were caught with our pants down, and good ol’ George
sat in a classroom for 7 minutes with his head up his
ass while the biggest terrorist attack in our countrys
history was allowed to take place. But then again,
if you take a look a his career, Dubya has failed at
everything he’s ever attempted, and will leave office
with an approval rating even lower than Richard Nixons.
Yet, the masses have been so brainwashed by the media
that you actually have people saying they would vote
for him again if they could. How absolutely pathetic.
I saw the movie and i think Oliver tried to make a bad movie and actually gave Bush the benifit of the doubt. It is a movie to show liberals what it takes to run a country and how well Bush did as a president! Atleast someone was there to care for our safety and what he believes in. Go america and thank god we have had no attacks.
Went in a Bush hater. Came out changed.
Brolin excellent as Bush.
One of best/most important movies I’ve ever seen.
Bush advisers did NOT come out well.
Worth the price, and more, of admission.
This film is definitely not humorous or amusing……and, in summary, depicts the judgments, experiences and personal demons of a man whose country, with him at the helm, has itself gone to hell during his tenure.
I used to me a filmaholic. Since conservative thoughts have been blacklisted from hollywood films and movies became a vehicle for liberal hate mongering, a few years ago I started blacklisting those that produce this vile crap. I am not watching many movies nowadays.
As a reviewer, and as a nonleftist/nonmarxist, I liked “W” quite a bit, shocked that Stone was far more balanced than i had feared. The other reviewers –clear Dems and not happy that the film did not pinata Bush, but fairly showed that he was not the liar or dreadful person the mainstreamers have been mainscreaming for 7 years–walked out glumly, and when I snarkily queried them, they could barely grunt, because their expectations had been as high for nastiness and contumely against this sitting president, as mine had been low. But I left elated at the portrayals in the biopic, and felt Stone achieved a rare blend of entertainment, fictive history and a big splash of humanity. “Sex Drive” is marred by way too much raunch for a teen flick, but actually, stripped of its seamy pandering to acne at 6 o’clock high, has a certain sweetness to it. I was aghast at the unnecessary heavy peddling of irresponsible sex without even a consideration of emotion, except the tawdry one of not wanting to be–a virgin in the eyes of peers. “The Secret Life of Bees” is a rarity: a genuinely touching film that takes its time, builds in a leisurely fashion, features a profession that is more important than the vast majority of city dwellers understand–bee keeping–with excellent performances by a rivetting Dakota Fanning–tall! maturer than before!–the handsome if nasty Paul Bethany, Alicia Keys, the warm as honey Jennifer Hudson, who is becoming more delicious and watchable with every film, and even an exceptional Queen Latifah, whose parts heretofore have been from so-so to so-sew. I predict “W” and “Bees” will break away from the pack, and be the comfort-food films of the early winter season. Look for the well-wrought and engaging “Wrestler” and the sort of true tale by director Clint Eastwood, “The Changeling,” with its local color and 20s life details to make you glad you weren’t pushing your pencils around in those benighted days.
W is far kinder than the Dems want. That bugs all the Dems I know who saw it. Sex Drive is cruder and raunchier than it should be–it masks a sweet film. Bees is delightful, and features great ensemble work by Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning, Alicia Keys and Queen Latifah, as well as the handsome and usually amusing Paul Bethany. Suspect W and Bees will do great box office when word gets around. Watch for The Wrestler–rivetting. And for The Changeling, Eastwood’s strong effort on the nasty 1920s.
I’m a left-wing liberal nutjob… Saw “W” on Thursday night/Friday morning (first showing)…
I couldn’t figure out what it was supposed to be.. Had the look and feel of a Lifetime movie. Was it a comedy?
I don’t understand why anyone in Hollywood would think that a movie about George W. Bush would sell tickets. Why would something like this even get financing? Clearly it wasn’t made with profit in mind. Movies like this are just plain boring! Especially since we’ve all just been living in these “W” days and everybody is pretty much sick of the whole “W” shbang. We all, each of us, have our own thoughts about him, why did Oliver Stone think we’d want to think about him even MORE? THe topic of G.W.Bush is certainly something left to future historians cause we are tired of it right now.. And, just to add a further comment to this kind of boring moving making in general, hey, hollywood, war movies are BORING too! We’re tired of war movies. We’re sick of them. Ever since WWII got filmed to death, it seems that movie makers think we want more war. WE DON’T!!! We go to the movies to be ENTERTAINED, not FREAKED OUT! We have the internet now and can find out tons of stuff about current events, we don’t need more WARS in theaters. And we’re sick of horror films too. We want thoughtful, entertaining movies that don’t make us want to puke when we leave the theater. We want some fresh stories that don’t just leave us wanting to puke, or freaked out over war, or horny for hot bodies we’ll never have. Give us intelligent and/or fun stuff. Please. And, don’t send any more Clint Eastwood junk our way any more either, I haven’t seen his latest, but if its anything like the discouraging, pain-fests he has been beating the audidences to death with in the names of “art” and “unflinching looks” and all that other nonsense that goes with making me feel like crap when I exit the theater (think “Million Dollar Baby” and all his other stuff that may inform but don’t enliven in any way at all) then I don’t want to see it. It may be well-made, and it may be thought provoking about something horrible that nobody ever wants to haveto face anyway, and it may be somehow “good for us”, I don’t buy it anymore. I want to be HAPPY! Is that too much to ask of Oliver and Clint and and all the directors of stupid war and depression movies about things that I can’t even think about right now when I don’t even have a job and worry about my elderly parents and if they have enough to eat and enough money for medicine. And even they don’t want to go see sad movies anymore, they want to be happy too. Life is too much right now hollywood, please, for the love of all that is fun, ENTERTAIN us! Make us SMILE! Make us Laugh! Make all of us laugh, which means that the great stuff like Judd Apatow is doing is fine for kids, but remember there are lots of older folks out there who don’t minde movies without language or explicit humor. Actually, most old folks i know don’t mind the funny explicit stuff, the generation that used to hate all that has died, people will laugh at much more, people of all generations will. But, it doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t also be nice just to see some fun that somehow managed to get laughs from a new source. And kids still love fun stuff that isn’t too old for them too. Its not so much about language and sex and stuff anymore, its just that we are willing to laugh at more than that. And we are sick of war.
My husband is a 34 year veteran of the US military. I was born in a military family. I love this country.
He was on active duty when Al Gore was running for president. He got an official announcement that he could not speak out against the sitting administration. It was considered treason and he would be courtmartialed, I am not kidding. The left was all too ready to prosecute anyone who was critical of the administration of this country.
Why is this not considered the same, treason? To ridicual a sitting president could be considered giving aid to our enemies. Of course more and more of our enemies are right here in our borders enjoying the freedom America offers.
Bush is the comamder and chief of our military and like it or not he is to be respected until he leaves office. The left has no respect for this country. But, that is also what makes this nation great.
I will never watch this movie, just like I have never watch a Michael Moore movie. I do plan to watch “An American Carol” though. Any movie that promotes pariotism and outs traitorous film makers is fine by me.
i suspect the storyline for Max Payne is a lot more exciting when it’s happening in the form of a video game… except for those few exciting parts that i already saw in the preview, it was a snoozefest
W was a hatchet job by Stone and it bombed at the box office like Hillary’s Primary.
Reality is those that like Bush won’t see it and those that hate Bush probably have something better to do than spend 3 hours and $12 watching a movie to re-enforce their views. There’s a reason it struck-out with only 10 million.
Now if Stone did a movie about Bush’s dog, and had it talking and getting lost in the big city that would have made $50 Million…maybe have Bush’s Dog and Clinton’s Dog team up to stop a terrorist Dog from Iraq. Sure it sounds stupid, but hey Beverly Hills Chiwawa is out performing Stone’s latest POS.
Only in Hollywood can anyone be surprised that “W” came in fourth instead of first. Again we remind you left-coasters: What you deem important doesn’t jobe with 95% of America.
It’s amazing that someone finally admitted that this political movie won’t do well and that the total costs for the movie was $55 Mil. If they felt that they weren’t going to make any cash with this venture, why did they permit Oliver to make it in the first place? What a joke.
Maybe Hollywood can actually start making good movies. The few selections available anymore are in-your-face liberal movies or kill-em-hack-em-up flicks–no real story lines or anything that the normal person can relate to.
I was prepared to hate “W” or at least I was ready to laugh at stupid Bush.
It is clear that Oliver Stone is some kind of genius. What kind I think history will decide but when you put this fine film along side “JFK” and “Nixon” we get a complete perspective on post-WWII America: where we came from, how we got here and where were headed.
“W” is not a hatchet job in any sense. All those Republican supporters should go and see it. See how “W” became a man of deep faith and conviction and took the job of President wanting to help people. If anything, Stone’s “W” says that Bush was (is) better than all those around him, including Colin Powell, who though a man of conscious put, his own self-interest over that of the people.
“W” is good.
Stone is great.
Go see the picture.
Why not a biopic on Osama Bin Laden? Starting from the 80s in Afghanistan to the present. The best biopic I liked was Charlie Wilson’s War. I read his biography and the book was better. Why not an Osama biopic?
Quinee, love Bush. Only one who is able to stick to his guns and not be swayed or bought by Hollywood. Love love love the guy. Very strong man.
Wait – 89% of the audience for Ww disapproves of the president? Wow. What a crossover hit. Oliver Stone’s unique take on real life does it again.
Maybe the next politically themed film will about how great Islam is and how us poor Infidels are the great satan and were bad… and icky.
I swear, movies about terrorism seem to be about ‘oh there’s oil in the middle east and then terror happens… and it’s probably W’s fault.’
Please, spare me.