'W.' Star Josh Brolin Says Portraying A Sitting President Made The Project 'More Attractive'

BEVERLY HILLS, California — If you mind your manners, you're supposed to never discuss politics or religion in mixed company. Common sense will tell you that it's a bad idea to slam the presidential administration currently in power, especially in front of several million people.

The brave cast of "W.," however, insists that playing by such rules is no way to make a movie.

"Not many? Not one!" star Josh Brolin said when reminded that not many political films have the guts to turn a critical eye on a president who's still in office. "Ultimately, it made it more attractive, because it hadn't been done."

"It's urgent. It may be too late," director Oliver Stone said of his motivation in making sure that his biopic of the 43rd president hit theaters before George W. Bush leaves office. "I would like to know why we elected him, who he is and what happened to the country. It's going on as we speak. He's not being re-elected — he's leaving office in January — but his policies are going to be around for ages. ... Don't kid yourself with McCain or Obama — it's not going to change that quickly."

While the film is remarkably even-handed in its portrayal of born-again Bush (Brolin), first lady Laura (Elizabeth Banks), dad George H.W. Bush (James Cromwell), Vice President Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss) and others, it's hard to not depict your main character as an idiot when he's delivering lines like: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice ... you can't get fooled again."

"[Actor] Richard Jenkins told me you don't have to like the character you're playing, and I agree," Brolin said of his political differences with Bush. "But in studying him, and getting past my cosmetic view of how I perceived him, it was nice to be able to study up on his life and rehumanize him in my mind. I don't know if it has to do with me liking him more or less. It has to do with remembering that he's a human like the rest of us."

The most fascinating aspect of "W.," then, might just be the manner in which these famous actors choose to make humans out of their just-as-well-known political characters. Some don't even attempt to mimic mannerisms (Cromwell), while others (Thandie Newton as Condoleezza Rice) go so far that they seem like a "Saturday Night Live" sketch. Scott Glenn portrays Donald Rumsfeld as a near-senile, tragic character. Banks' Laura Bush is a loving, refreshingly normal woman.

"I had the Bush drawl [when we first began shooting], but I don't think Oliver ever liked it," Cromwell explained. "I had a voice, and it would have been horrible. It was a big mistake."

"I can't speak for anyone else, but I know that some people went more for the idiosyncrasies than others," Brolin said. "When you do a movie like this, and you're playing somebody who's current, you have to make the decision yourself. ... The orchestra was put together very well, with the subtleties of some and the exaggerations of others. We were worried during the shooting: Does this person work with this? Does Thandie work with Bush? Are they too much? Are they not enough?"

"I don't want to engage in malice. The movie was not done that way," Stone explained of his efforts to keep the portrayals respectful and the facts as real as possible in order to accurately depict one of the most controversial men in American history. "It was done with a fair, true portrait. The Bush haters, the Bush lovers — they're on the fringes for this movie."

Unfortunately, Stone realizes all too well that another person on the viewing fringe is George W. Bush himself. Our current president has made a habit of avoiding magazines, books and movies that are critical of him, and will probably never see "W."

"Maybe in 20 years — who knows?" Stone said of when Bush might check the film out. "The man could change. He could end up working for peace all over the world and going out to build houses [with] Habitat for Humanity.

"He might end up becoming another person," Stone grinned. "But I doubt it."

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'Twilight' Soundtrack To Be Previewed At Hot Topic Listening Parties

In marketing, it's what's known as "accessing the target market." In writing, it's called "making broad generalizations."

Regardless of which way you look at it, we've got good news for all you super-eager "Twilight" fans out there: On Thursday (October 16), Atlantic Records confirmed to MTV News that Hot Topic — the nation's leading mall-bound purveyors of all things gothic — would be hosting exclusive listening parties of the "Twilight" soundtrack.

The parties will take place at all Hot Topic locations on October 24 at 7 p.m. sharp. Fans will be able to hear the entire soundtrack — which contains new songs from Paramore and Perry Farrell, plus tracks from Linkin Park, Muse and a host of others — and preorder the album, too.

In addition, all listening-party preorders come with a mysterious "special gift" (available while they last), and partygoers will also be given a 10 percent discount on any purchases made during the event (which means you can finally get your hands on that gigantic pair of Tripp Orange Stitched Strap Pants you've been wanting!).

The "Twilight" soundtrack will hit stores November 4, just 17 days before the movie is due in theaters. The first single off the album is Paramore's "Decode," which made its world premiere in early October on author Stephenie Meyer's Web site. Earlier this week, Paramore shot a video for the song with director Shane Drake, and videos from the set — taken by frontwoman (and avowed "Twilight" fanatic) Hayley Williams — can currently be seen on Paramore's official Web site.

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Guillermo Del Toro Talks 'Hobbit' Casting, Creatures

He's the face of Mexican cinema, an Oscar-nominated director and the visionary behind films as touching and diverse as "Pan's Labyrinth,""Hellboy" and "The Devil's Backbone."

But more than anything right now, Guillermo del Toro is simply the man behind "The Hobbit."

Thank goodness, then, that he's ever so ready to talk about it. With just a few weeks left before he heads to New Zealand for several years del Toro checked in with MTV News to discuss his plans for "The Hobbit" and beyond, including news on Smaug, Doug Jones as an Elvin King, Guillermo Navarro, Elrond, his re-imaginations of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "Frankenstein" and more.

(For del Toro's thoughts on Bilbo, see the Movies Blog.)

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'Star Trek' Director J.J. Abrams Clears Up Confusion With William Shatner

Throughout the 40-year run of "Star Trek," the brave men and women of the USS Enterprise have battled all sorts of baddies, including the Romulans, the Borg and the Klingons.

Now, new "Trek" helmer J.J. Abrams is engaged in possibly the most absurd battle of them all — with the former captain himself.

"Here's my favorite thing: My favorite thing is turning on YouTube and seeing William Shatner talk to me," Abrams laughed in a recent interview with MTV News. "When did that become my life? How did that occur?"

The war of words between the director and the man formerly known as James T. Kirk over the latter not being offered a role in the updated "Trek" reached a crescendo last month after Abrams gave an interview with AMC, in which he stated that his team "tried desperately to put him in the movie."

Shatner was quick to respond with a video blog, in which he said no one had ever reached out to him or anyone from his camp.

It's tough to say how much of the back-and-forth is tongue-in-cheek. Talking about his character's onscreen death, for instance, Shatner suggests in his latest video that they reanimate him using DNA from the Transporter teleportation machines.

For his part, Abrams is taking the dialogue at face value, offering up to MTV News a final statement to clear up the confusion.

"I think what happened was, I said we made many efforts or something to get him in the movie. I think he or his people interpreted that as we reached out and tried to get him in. I meant internally," Abrams explained. "I didn't wanna present him with something we didn't believe in. So we were trying to make this thing work, and it didn't happen.

"I didn't [personally] write anything [for Shatner]. Alex [Kurtzman] and Bob [Orci], who wrote a spectacular script for us, we all wanted to make it work," Abrams continued. "The scene they wrote, which was good, it honestly felt like 'contrivance to insert William Shatner into our movie.' It just felt very much like what it was."

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Terrence Howard Loses 'Iron Man 2' Role To Don Cheadle: Report

For well over a year, Terrence Howard has been excitedly talking up his role as Jim Rhodes in the "Iron Man" franchise, promising reporters that Tony Stark's most indispensable sidekick would eventually don an armor suit himself as the heroic War Machine. Jim still might. Howard, on the other hand, reportedly won't be along for the ride.

The Oscar-nominated star of "Crash" and "Hustle and Flow" has been booted from "Iron Man 2," and will be replaced by Don Cheadle, according to The Hollywood Reporter. His departure reportedly comes after negotiations between the thesp and Marvel Studios broke down over financial considerations, "among other differences."

The actor's reported disappearance from the franchise is both curious and startling, given how positively giddy he has sounded about continuing to work on the comic book adaptation, which set up an expanded role for the character in the series' first installment.

"I'm anxious to get into the next one. I don't want to be a sidekick. I don't want to be a wingman. I want to have my own thing," Howard beamed in a May interview with MTV News. "I want to be War Machine."

As recently as August, Howard confirmed his participation in "Iron Man 2," saying he was preparing for the role by working out "like a demon."

"That's sometimes what we need, that other motivation to make us get buff," he said at the time. "So me and Robert [Downey Jr.], we made plans to really get some incredible trainers, train together and get massive. Get massive enough [so we don't] need to suit."

Little is known about the plot for "Iron Man 2" beyond oblique hints from director Jon Favreau that the sequel would feature appearances by longtime villain Mandarin and, possibly, other Avengers.

Scripted by "Tropic Thunder" scribe Justin Theroux, "Iron Man 2" is set for release May 7, 2010.

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'Iron Man' Recasting Makes Us Wonder: Does Swapping Actors Ever Work?

Given how vocal and enthusiastic Terrence Howard has been about playing War Machine in "Iron Man 2," it was a shock to read that the actor has left the project over rumored financial issues. Will newly hired Don Cheadle live up to the role? Will fans worry about the continuity? Will he stick out like a sore thumb?

History, unfortunately, isn't on his side. We took a look at five recent high-profile cast changes in comic book or fantasy movies to gauge whether the new actor was successful in replacing an already-established actor. Then, just for fun, we took a look at some of the current castmembers of big-budget films who should be replaced — paying special attention to movies officially in the works (so no "Fantastic Four" and no reboots, like "Daredevil").

Read all our thoughts below, and then let us know what you think in the comments section.

(What's the early verdict on Cheadle and Howard? Find out on the Splash Page blog.)

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The Box-Office Top Five

#1 "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" ($17.5 million)
#2 "Quarantine" ($14.2 million)
#3 "Body of Lies" ($13.1 million)
#4 "Eagle Eye" ($11 million)
#5 "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" ($6.5 million)

Disney's "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" won the weekend box office for the second-straight week. It made $17.5 million. The talking-dog-starring movie brought its overall total to $52.5 million.

"Quarantine" made $14.2 to come in second place. It's October; "Quarantine" is a horror movie. Draw your own conclusions.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe's "Body of Lies" made only $13.1 million to finish in third place. Director Ridley Scott and DiCaprio will team up again for "Brave New World."

"Eagle Eye" fell only 37 percent in its third week to finish fourth. With $11 million, the Shia LaBeouf thriller brought its overall total to $70.5 million dollars. It doesn't look like it will hit $100 million, but should still be considered a success.

Rounding out the top five, "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" made $6.5 million. After two weeks, it's overall total is $20.8 million.

Several new releases failed to crack the top five. "The Express," about running back Ernie Davis, made only $4.7 million to come in sixth. Bill Murray's "City of Ember" came in tenth with $3.2 million.

After two weeks, "Religulous" has won the ideological battle against "An American Carol." In its second week, Bill Maher's film made more, overtaking the latter in total gross.

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