› ›

The depiction of the USA President in movies

patbpatb
in General Movies & TV Posts: 4,599
Just watched "Olympus has Fallen" and now watching "Clear and Present Danger". It got me thinking. When you see the President portrayed within movies (unless its a silly, stupid comedy), they all behave in a certain way. They are statesmanlike, carry themselves with dignity, speak well etc etc. Now we have Trump, its interesting to consider the realtionship between fact and fiction. Has Trump devalued the role? (can you imagine a Trump like President in Olympus?)
Or, will Hollywood ignore Trump and assume that fictional Presidents will have the pre-requisite characteristics that they have always had?
PS Perhaps Billy Bob Thornton's President in Love Actually was the closest to Trump?

Comments

  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384

    I think Prez Benson comes close to Trump.
  • fire_and_icefire_and_ice
    edited February 2017 Posts: 6,432
    The president that sticks in my mind from youth is Martin Sheen in Stephen King's Dead Zone.



    Terrifying
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    They will ignore him and continue with their idealized depiction in my opinion. That is what has traditionally existed, rather than some approximation to reality
  • BeatlesSansEarmuffsBeatlesSansEarmuffs
    Posts: 3,564
    Personally, I prefer President E.G. Marshall in Superman II. Now there's a President!
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited February 2017 Posts: 23,524
    I believe it'll depend on the filmmaker. No doubt someone like Michael Moore might consider pulling off something blatantly anti-Trump. And if Seth Rogen gets to do more comedy, he could very well promulgate some scatological jokes which may or may not include references to Trump. But if Michael Bay feels like glorifying the American military excellence again, we'll most likely see another typical no-name über-patriot with a thick Texan accent.

    Kevin Smith, by contrast, has suggested that Donald Trump himself be cast as Jabba the Hutt, given that little make-up will be required to complete the transformation. ;-) We love you, Kev. :)
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,894
    house_of_re_animator_by_chemicalmarcel.jpg

    Ok, that one didn't actually happen. At the time, it was thought impossible to make that film under Obama's Presidency. Well, it isn't like Jeffrey Combs isn't too old to reprise his role...
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited December 2017 Posts: 17,779
    I'm very interested in any villainous US president depictions over the years in films (and TV, novels etc.) as part of my ongoing research into the American presidency (George W. Bush, DonaldTrump et al) and James Bond villainy.

    Any help with providing examples of this would be greatly appreciated!
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    I'm very interested in any villainous US president depictions over the years in films (and TV, novels etc.) as part of my ongoing research into the American presidency (George W. Bush, DonaldTrump et al) and James Bond villainy.

    Any help with providing examples of this would be greatly appreciated!

  • JamesBondKenyaJamesBondKenya Danny Boyle laughs to himself
    Posts: 2,730
    How about the goof ball in Kingsman 2 who gets arrested
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,524
    Excellent point, @JamesBondKenya. I guess the script for the film had been long written before Trump's election, but there's something deliciously Trumpian about Bruce Greenwood's president in Kingsman 2.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,690
    President Charles Logan in the 5th season of 24 was pretty villainous, wasn't he? It has been a while since I watched that season, however.
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    edited December 2017 Posts: 12,980
    Don't forget the ESCAPE FROM US Presidents.
    They're both different from what you describe as the standard statesmanlike approach.

    politics-president-escape-from-new-york-compressed.jpg
    Escape-from-LA-1996-Movie-Details.jpg

    And of course as @fire_and_ice reported the horrific DEAD ZONE future president Martin Sheen is the zenith, one for the ages.
    o0320023613506145251.jpg?caw=800
  • JamesBondKenyaJamesBondKenya Danny Boyle laughs to himself
    Posts: 2,730
    How about the film “W.”
  • jobojobo
    Posts: 7,500
    In these #metoo times, and Love Actually days, the American president in that film comes to mind.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,687
    RichardTheBruce wrote: »
    Don't forget the ESCAPE FROM US Presidents.
    They're both different from what you describe as the standard statesmanlike approach.

    politics-president-escape-from-new-york-compressed.jpg
    Escape-from-LA-1996-Movie-Details.jpg

    And of course the horrific DEAD ZONE future president Martin Sheen is the zenith, one for the ages.
    o0320023613506145251.jpg?caw=800

    Yes.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    DaltonCraig007 wrote: »
    President Charles Logan in the 5th season of 24 was pretty villainous, wasn't he? It has been a while since I watched that season, however.
    That's a brilliant choice. Gregory Itzin gave a superb Nixonian performance in season 5, which in my opinion is by far the best of 24.
    --

    Robert Culp played a president with some culpability (forgive me) in The Pelican Brief, which is an excellent film.

    Jeff Bridges doesn't necessarily play a bad guy, but his president is devious and cunning in The Contender (a great film by the way).

    Dave Moffat in Clear and Present Danger has already been mentioned.

    Elizabeth Marvel is playing a president who is being courted by the dark side due to circumstances in the new season of Homeland.

    Of course there is also the most obvious candidate. The big kahuna himself. Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood in House of Cards.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,687
    BeatlesSansEarmuffs wrote: »
    Personally, I prefer President E.G. Marshall in Superman II. Now there's a President!

    YES!!!!
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,524
    Seconded.

    His defiance of Zod produced some great moments.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I liked President Schwarzenegger in The Simpsons Movie.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited May 2018 Posts: 17,779
    To answer the question on Trump in the OP, I'm sure there will be plenty of films and TV parodying the new President. Like Bush Jnr before him, Trump will attract the satirist and the parody film more than most previous presidents have. Sadly, it's open season on Trump at the minute and I can't see that changing. Trump winning the Nobel Peace Prize might go some way to redressing the balance however.

    Of course, as others have no doubt said making fun of Trump could alienate a large part of the American audience who voted for him and continue to support him. There are very definite inherent risks involved in the depiction of Trump as president on the large and small screen.
  • w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
    Posts: 2,252
    As an aside, how many times has the president and prime minister been mentioned in the Bond films?
  • jobojobo
    Posts: 7,500
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    To answer the question on Trump in the OP, I'm sure there will be plenty of films and TV parodying the new President. Like Bush Jnr before him, Trump will attract the satirist and the parody film more than most previous presidents have. Sadly, it's open season on Trump at the minute and I can't see that changing. Trump winning the Nobel Peace Prize might go some way to redressing the balance however.

    Of course, as others have no doubt said making fun of Trump could alienate a large part of the American audience who voted for him and continue to support him. There are very definite inherent risks involved in the depiction of Trump as president on the large and small screen.


    There is no way he will win the Peace Prize. Even if he did deserve it, which I don't think there is substantial reasons or arguments for, there is no way a panel of Norwegian politicians will vote in favor him. Besides, when and if he repeals the Iran deal, he will have created a mine field in the middle east.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    hot-shots-part-deux-lg.jpg
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,816
    I think there's three fictional types: 1)the idealised one, 2)the evil one sometimes borderline antichrist (Greg Stillson in Dead Zone or Buzz Windrip and 3)the one that serves as a plot point and is otherwise a non entity (In the Line of Fire).
  • RevelatorRevelator
    Posts: 2,894
    There's also the buffoon president, most notably played by Jack Nicholson in Mars Attacks : "I want the people to know that they still have 2 out of 3 branches of the government working for them, and that ain't bad."

    Also of interest are the presidents in the two versions of Whoops, Apocalypse!. In the TV version President Johnny Cyclops is a naive Reagan stand-in under the thumb of religious fundamentalists. The film version gives us the well-meaning and competent female President Barbara Adams. She gained the office after the previous president, a former circus clown, died from asking a journalist to hit him in the stomach with a crowbar. She is disappointingly intelligent and well-adjusted, but the film compensates by giving us Peter Cook as the completely and irrevocably insane Prime Minister Sir Mortimer Chris:



Sign In or Register to comment.