Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Them's Some Sexy Clintons

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Via:

"Dennis Quaid is set to star as President Clinton, with Julianne Moore taking on Hillary in an upcoming HBO film called The Special Relationship. While, at first glance, this might seem like a tale that will discuss certain forays in the Oval Office and risque behavior with cigars, the piece will look at an entirely different relationship -- the "sometimes turbulent political relationship" between Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair -- who will be played by Michael Sheen.

You might remember that Sheen already played Blair in both The Deal and The Queen, so this will be old hat. (Helen McCrory, who played Cherie Blair in The Queen, is also set to reprise her role.) He was also the Frost to Langella's Nixon, and Frost/Nixon playwright Peter Morgan wrote the screenplay to this project and is hoping to make his directorial debut with the feature, should it get greenlit."

Well? What do we think? Is it giving the project too much of a "he's a closet-case and she's sleeping with the help" vibe?

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28 comments:

adam k. said...

I've heard about this. Why isn't it on their respective IMDB pages? Part of me just can't believe it. Very strange.

If THIS is the role that wins Julianne an oscar, I'll... I'll... well, I don't know what I'll do. But that would be crazy.

adam k. said...

The ironic thing is, in many Americans' minds, SHE's the closet case, he HE's sleeping with the help.

I mean, the second one is actually true. But whatever, you know what I mean.

Jason Adams said...

I can't tell if it's going to air on HBO (which I was thinking was the case) or if HBO is just producing it... they do produce movies that air in actual theaters, don't they?

My point is, if it is going to air on HBO, no Oscars for nobody!

adam k. said...

It does seem very TV-movie-ish, doesn't it?

Anonymous said...

As long as Michael Sheen finally wins some hardware, I'll be happy.

Anonymous said...

But I want Annette Bening as Hillary!!!

abstew said...

holy f***!
what was the question?
i got distracted by the photo of dennis quaid. yowza. his abs have abs.

Paul Outlaw said...

Would this make DQ the only actor (outside of sketch comedy) to have played both W (in American Dreamz) & Clinton?

Catherine said...

I'm a card-carrying member of the Julianne Moore Appreciation Society, as I suspect most of the readers here are, but I cannot fathom how she will succeed in this role. I know looking similar is not a total prerequisite for playing a famous person in a biopic, but still!

Dominique said...

I want John Travolta and Emma Thompson...

Hayden said...

I've always thought La Bening would make the perfect Hillary. Let's just hope critics take our Julie Anne Smith seriously here, assuming there's more meat to this presumably supporting role than any of those "modern politician" parts in W. (That's you, Thandie Newton!)

Anyway, it would seem that Peter Morgan has surpassed Oliver Stone as the reigning king of political biopics, whether or not he necessarily directs them.

Sam said...

I like the Travolta/Thompson re-pairing idea that others have mentioned above. As much as I hate Travolta, I must admit he was pretty good as Clinton. And, as much as I love Moore and Quaid, I can't help but think they're all wrong for these parts.

adam k. said...

Yeah, I just don't really see it. Maybe they're just not going for realism?

I'd always thought either Candice Bergen or Emma Thompson would be the perfect Hillary. But I guess if they're doing Monica-era Hillary, then they need someone a bit younger (or at least younger-looking, which Julianne is).

The Bening idea is not a bad one, though...

Hayden said...

I love Julie because of her ability to spin brilliance out of fictional characters. She's never resorted to mimicry before, and I think she's too physically distinctive for me to picture her as Hillary. After all, no matter what we do with hair and makeup I don't think she has the face for it.

Like I said before, Annette would be awesome. They have similar vocal cadences, similarly twittery eyes. It'd be amazing.

Anonymous said...

i really hope it is not a tv movie

Anonymous said...

A fatter Sharon Stone would be more appropriate

Anonymous said...

Hillary is definitely a role for Bening, Thompson, or Streep. Moore is a very odd choice.

If Monica were to be cast... maybe Nicole Blonsky?

Anonymous said...

I don't think Julianne Moore will be nominated for another Oscar...

Andrew David said...

Part 2 in Morgan/Sheen's action-packed trilogy, Blair: the Dark Prime Minister. Helen Mirren already won an Oscar as the holier-than-thou villain in the first film... how will Quaid and Moore ramp up the stakes as a scandalous monster couple, more committed to civil liberties than Blair is comfortable with. Will Bill and Hillary's chalk-and-cheese villainy tear them apart? Or will Cherie have to don her husband's Prime Ministerial spandex to help him defeat this foe?

Andrew David said...

But really, theming the film around Clinton and Blair's relationship sounds so boring... and the fact that it's Peter Morgan doing a "Tony Blair's relationship with important political figure during controversy" AGAIN, and Michael Sheen is probably going to be playing second-fiddle in a Peter Morgan film for the third time, and it's even the same role he's done before!

I think the story is more "Peter Morgan needs to move on with his life" than it is "is Julianne Moore right to play Hillary?"

Anonymous said...

If it does air on HBO, the Emmys will eat it up. Maybe Julianne will find success there like Glenn Close has.

alex said...

Yeah, I just wrote a whole post about this over on my blog.

I'm hoping Moore -- who brings such a fiercely sexual power and steely intelligence to all her work -- can make Hillary into the Lady Macbeth she deserves.

Glenn said...

Yawn.

Anonymous said...

I'm not too thrilled about the casting, but I loved "The Deal" and "The Queen", and Peter Morgan's work has become a point of interest for me lately.

Anonymous said...

This'll probably go the television route with HBO instead of in theatres, which is probably its best bet anyways.

Anonymous said...

I like that Quaid and Moore are reteaming again. I thought that Michael Sheen didn't want to play Tony Blair anymore.

I wonder, who is going to play Monica?

Karen said...

I'd give the film a shot.

Anonymous said...

One thing I find interesting about Julianne Moore is how she projects strength and vulnerability simultaneously. I think that contradiction will help make her performance as Clinton more interesting and memorable. Bening seems more brassy, a little too spitfire...
Plus I can't wait to see Moore and Quaid together again!