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Charlie Wilson's War

Frayed Knot Dec 13 2007 09:36 PM

No I haven't seen it yet (mainly because I don't even think it's out yet) but I did finally get around to reading the book recently and my first reaction upon seeing the ads for the flick is ... Tom Hanks?!? Charlie Wilson - the socially liberal, hard-drinking party boy of a congressman who doubles as a fervently anti-communist & pro-Israel Democrat from a heavily Baptist district in East Texas's bible belt (try finding that combination in the Capitol today!) - is described as being a 6' 4" cowboy boot wearing guy with the sort of rugged good looks around which western-themed cigarette ads are based. And even though I realize that not many actually know what the real Wilson looked like, that description is not exactly one which screams out 'Tom Hanks' in your mind. And Wilson's CIA agent/partner-in-crime in the funding of the Afghan rebels was a street tough 1st generation Greek-American from steel country in western PA. So naturally that role is played by ... Phillip Seymour Hoffman? Just my opinion, but nobody who's as fair-skinned and blond as, oh I dunno, ME! should be playing a Greek. But I guess that's the Hollywood game. I'm sure a lot of dough was shelled out for the rights to the best-seller from a few years back and lining up multiple Oscar winners (Julia Roberts too) is the way to recoup the investment.

Nymr83 Dec 13 2007 10:02 PM

i happen to know Greeks with very white skin. i havent seen the movie but i intend to on dvd, not worth a trip to theaters at least for me.

Edgy MD Dec 13 2007 10:46 PM

Tom Hanks plays who Tom Hanks wants to play. When Opey first heard that Jim Lovell was publishing a memoir, he made a personal visit to appeal for the film rights. Lovell, kind of full of himself, asks who was in Cunningham's mind as the actor to play him. When told of Tom Hanks' interest, Lovell scoffed, and pointed out to the bald big shot that he looked a lot like Kevin Costner as a younger man. Red reminded him that Hanks had won two Oscars in the previous two years. Case quickly closed.

Frayed Knot Dec 14 2007 07:11 AM

Lovell wound up making a cameo in 'Apollo 13' so he couldn't have been too mad. He plays one of the military men Hanks/Lovell shakes hands with after being fished out of the Pacific. "Tom Hanks plays who Tom Hanks wants to play." Which is, of course, the larger point. Or, as Hanks himself said in an interview, 'when the movie is called 'Charlie Wilson's War' what part do YOU want to play?' And while it's certainly not crucial that Hanks look like the actual Wilson, casting him as a large and larger-than-life Texan who few people know by sight probably matters a bit more than playing an average sized/looking astronaut than few people know by sight.

Edgy MD Dec 14 2007 07:29 AM

I don't think it does matter a bit more. And I didn't say he was mad. I said he scoffed, but the case was quickly closed, implying that he realized the attention that a repeat Oscar winner could (and did) bring to the film.

Frayed Knot May 11 2008 07:10 PM

Finally got around to this one ... and it's decent enough. The flick gives a reasonably accurate, even if condensed and simplified, version of the chain of events that led to an otherwise non-descript Congressman being able to both virtually invent as well as fund (to the tune of a billion dollars) a covert war, one which not only was never voted on but was barely even discussed outside of a handful of insiders. They play it for laughs more than you'd expect for a movie about funding a secret war would normally generate, giving P.S. Hoffman a bunch of good lines that even the coarse, wise-ass CIA character he plays probably never came up with. Hanks is OK, but hardly great, as the larger than life Texas rogue who takes little seriously until he hits upon the idea that arming the ferocious but out-gunned Afghans as a way to kill and embarass Russians was a worthwhile project.

Elster88 May 12 2008 05:31 AM

Edgy DC wrote: Tom Hanks plays who Tom Hanks wants to play. When Opey first heard that Jim Lovell was publishing a memoir, he made a personal visit to appeal for the film rights. Lovell, kind of full of himself, asks who was in Cunningham's mind as the actor to play him. When told of Tom Hanks' interest, Lovell scoffed, and pointed out to the bald big shot that he looked a lot like Kevin Costner as a younger man. Red reminded him that Hanks had won two Oscars in the previous two years. Case quickly closed. I've read a lot on the making of this movie. From what I've read, "scoffed" is waaaay too harsh a word. Where did you read it?

AG/DC May 12 2008 05:36 AM

I inferred. My main point was that Lovell wanted a different actor, but there's a good reason for all parties to defer to the man with the juice.. I'll retract scoffed

sharpie May 12 2008 08:30 AM

I mostly agree with what FK said. Liked it well enough, Hoffman stole the movie.