George W. Bush and Colin Powell Actors Arrested in Bar Fight

Actors Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright, in Shreveport, Louisiana to play George W. Bush and Colin Powell in Oliver Stone's W, were arrested in a bar fight in downtown Shreveport over the weekend:

"According to Shreveport Police patrol report, officers were called to the Stray Cat bar in the 200 block of Travis Street just after 2 a.m. to deal with a rowdy patron. As more officers arrived, several other patrons at the bar, including Brolin and fellow actor Jeffrey Wright, 42, tried to impede the officers, the report said. In all, the report named 10 officers called to the ruckus. Brolin, Wright and four other people were charged with interfering with police, a misdemeanor. Brolin was booked into the city jail, and posted $334 cash bond to be released."

Brolin also plays Harvey Milk assassin Dan White in Gus van Sant's upcoming biopic Milk.

Mugshots of the other arrestees, including Wright, AFTER THE JUMP...

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News: Thomas Beatie Goes Forth And Multiplies, AZ Governor Speaks Out, Baby Brolin Does Bush, Ciao For Now & More

It's A Gir—Baby!: Thomas Beatie, the so-called "Pregnant Man," gave birth to a healthy girl today. Congrats to both brave parents! I think they have been unfairly ostracized and hope their daughter grows up healthy and happy.

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano came out against amending her state's Constitution to outlaw gay marriage. "I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I don’t think the constitutional amendment is necessary. The voters of Arizona will have a chance to decide this. Personally, I’m going to oppose it. We already have a statute that defines marriage. The courts have already said the statute is constitutional."

Speak of the Devil: The "Austin 12"—prominent gay Texan Republicans who met with George W. Bush in 2000—are not solidly behind John McCain. In fact, three are either in favor of, or are considering voting for, Barack Obama. David Greer, who was on Bush's AIDS advisory board in 2003 but who became a registered Democrat that same year, says, "As long as there’s a far right in the party, gay Republicans are way too small in numbers…to have any effect on the party. We actually end up doing greater and lasting harm to the GLBT community."

If you do Outfest, check out Ciao by Yen Tan, a moody, introspective examination of the reactions from a man's best friend and latest Internet datemate when they meet after his untimely death. I caught this at New Fest and found it really mesmerizing. Plus the actors are hot (pictured). Official site here.

Now wines are coming out of the closet.

The Broadway debut of Katie Holmes, in a production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, is not exactly setting the world on fire.

Hilarious! Check out pictures of a 19-year-old Josh Brolin playing George W. Bush 20+ years before the upcoming Oliver Stone biopic releasing later this year.

The Bishop of Durham attacks anti-gay Anglicans. "The idea they have a monopoly on Biblical truth won’t do," he says. Them’s fightin’ words!

Canada's OUTtv, an LGBT network, is all the rage after almost flaming out...and it's owned by heterosexuals.

The N and others honored at The 8th Annual Trevor Project Awards.

The very cute Greg Siff (pictured hosting Legendary Bingo at Hamburger Mary's) is the toast of L.A. (Arnold Palmers for everyone!) with his play The Nothing Boys, based on his real-life experience of showing up for his high school reunion only to find one other person there. With good reviews from LA Weekly, Backstage and more, The Nothing Boys has been extended. Check it out.

It's an older article, but if you're interested in Big and Little Edie, this piece is well worth reading, with recollections from artist and friend Lois Wright. Wright's My Life at Grey Gardens from last year and Walter Newkirk's new MemoraBEALEia are great summer reads about two of the 20th Century's most fascinating eccentrics.

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Oliver Stone's W Teaser Poster Features List of Bushisms

The teaser poster for Oliver Stone's upcoming biopic W starring Josh Brolin gives you an idea of the tone this film will take. Below, some photos I featured last month from EW of Brolin and Elizabeth Banks as the first couple.

Previously
First Look: Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Banks as The First Couple [tr]
Oliver Stone's Bush Flick: Fade in on Turdblossom, Frat Hazing [tr]

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First Look: Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Banks as The First Couple

Here is the first shot of Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Banks as George and Laura Bush in Oliver Stone's upcoming film W.

It's ok. The arrogant smirk's not bad.

If you remember, I posted the first pages of the script back in April which feature the members of Bush's team trying to come up with the name "Axis of Evil" and a flashback to a drunken frat party at Yale.

Previously

Oliver Stone's Bush Flick: Fade in on Turdblossom, Frat Hazing [tr]

(image via justjared)

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Oliver Stone's Bush Flick: Fade in on Turdblossom, Frat Hazing

The Hollywood Reporter has published the opening scenes to Oliver Stone's W flick which you can read above, and AFTER THE JUMP.

As we fade in, a couple of speechwriters as well as Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rice's assistant Stephen Hadley, and Karl Rove attempt to come up with the "Axis of Evil" moniker. The scene then shifts to Bush at a drunken frat party at Yale.

Says the Reporter: "According to four Bush scholars who read a draft of the script, the tale has elements that are unquestionably accurate (like when George Jr. comes home drunk and nearly gets into a fistfight with his father) and elements that are just plain made-up (like when the president and his advisers discuss high-level policy in a casual, even frat-house, sort of manner)."

No doubt. But with lines like "Don't get cute, Turdblossom," I can't wait to see it.

Josh Brolin as Elizabeth Banks have been cast as the first couple. Check out pages two and three of the script, AFTER THE JUMP...

First Showing has a rundown of the cast so far.

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Josh Brolin Flaunts It, Gives Thoughts on Milk, Bush

Josh Brolin appears in the new issue of Flaunt. More images at Boy Culture. He also gives an interview to the San Luis Obispo New Times in which he discusses taking on the characters of Dan White (in Milk) and George W. Bush for the upcoming Oliver Stone flick.

"Dan White, there's so much footage of him and there's so much video and audio in his confessions and all that, that it's definitely ... nerve-wracking because you feel like you have to do the family justice in some way, and the person justice, but you don't want to do a carbon copy. It's the same thing with Bush. I'm getting ready to play Bush, George W. We're talking just about how close we want to get to him, and we want to stay in the spirit of it instead of trying to do a carbon copy because there's been so many comedies based on George Bush. So yeah, it gets a little more nerve-wracking. But I think once you get those iconic portions of the character, then you can go and kind of do your own thing and get away with it and still feel free instead of stifled."

Brolin also reveals how his participation in Milk came about:

"Sean [Penn] was the one that went to Gus [Van Sant] for Milk and said 'What about Josh,' 'cause me and Sean and Woody Harrelson and Catherine Keener had a great night when we were in Toronto and me and Javier Bardem, we all went out one night and had one of the funnest nights I've ever had in my life. It was hilarious, and we were all completely insane. I've known Sean off and on, but really through that night Sean went to Gus and said 'What about Josh for playing Dan White' and then when they came to me with it, I read it and thought it was amazing but I just thought it'd be fun. It'd be fun to play with Sean. Literally. Like a kid. I want to go play with Sean. Anyway, I know it starts to sound a little insane, but it's true."

He'd be so much hotter without that cigarette.

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Javier Bardem Trades Oscar Statue for Josh Brolin

Just a couple Academy Award leftovers comin' at you today. Best Supporting Actor Javier Bardem put down his little gold man for a moment at the Miramax party to put his arms around a bigger one.

One more shot AFTER THE JUMP...

(via dlisted)

previously
Josh Brolin on Tackling the Role of Milk Assassin Dan White [tr]
First Look at Josh Brolin as SF Supervisor Dan White in Milk [tr]
Oliver Stone Elects Bush as Next Project [tr]
Diane Lane: Gay Men Lust for My Husband Josh Brolin [tr]

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Josh Brolin on Tackling the Role of Milk Assassin Dan White

Josh Brolin, who is playing Harvey Milk's assassin Dan White in the upcoming Gus van Sant biopic about the slain gay rights leader, talked to MTV Canada about the role.

Said Brolin: "I'm questioning myself, and that's exactly the position I want to be in...I think [Dan White is] a good guy, until the end. [White] is a pathetic guy from my point of view; he's a sad guy. And he just didn't have the wit, and the smarts, and the wherewithal to see the big picture. This was a tough time, the end of one era and the beginning of another one. Harvey Milk, the gay thing ... it was a major transitional thing in San Francisco. [White] couldn't see the big picture. ... This guy can't see beyond the length of his arm. The only way he feels he can have control over anything is by shooting somebody. It's really sad...[The story] is compelling because of what [White] did, and how Harvey Milk came to be. It wasn't a question about money and what they were offering me. ... I read it, and I said, 'I'll do it; I have to do it.' I don't know how I'm going to do it, and I'm scared out of my mind to pull it off."

Here also, are the first shots of Brolin as White which I posted back in January. Lawyers for White, of course, used the astonishing defense that the White's consumption of too many Twinkies and junk food were evidence of his mental instability, a condition which led to the shooting of Milk and Mayor George Moscone at City Hall.

Previously
James Franco Hangs on to Milk Mustache [tr]
Milk in Action on Castro Street [tr]
Sean Penn and James Franco as Lovers in Milk [tr]
Milk: The Transformation of Castro Street [tr]

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First Look at Josh Brolin as SF Supervisor Dan White in Milk

Gus van Sant's Milk began shooting today in San Francisco's Excelsior district (Supervisor Dan White's district).

CBS5 SF interviewed Josh Brolin who was in costume as White (Milk's assassin), as well as writer Lance Black and producers Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks.

You can see the news report here.

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Oliver Stone Elects Bush as Next Project

Oliver Stone is ready for "a quick ramp-up to production" on Bush, a film about #43, with Josh Brolin attached to play the president.

Stone told Variety: "It's a behind-the-scenes approach, similar to 'Nixon,' to give a sense of what it's like to be in his skin. But if 'Nixon' was a symphony, this is more like a chamber piece, and not as dark in tone. People have turned my political ideas into a cliche, but that is superficial. I'm a dramatist who is interested in people, and I have empathy for Bush as a human being, much the same as I did for Castro, Nixon, Jim Morrison, Jim Garrison and Alexander the Great...I can't give you [my personal opinion of the president], because the filmmaker has to hide in the work. Here, I'm the referee, and I want a fair, true portrait of the man. How did Bush go from an alcoholic bum to the most powerful figure in the world? It's like Frank Capra territory on one hand, but I'll also cover the demons in his private life, his bouts with his dad and his conversion to Christianity, which explains a lot of where he is coming from. It includes his belief that God personally chose him to be president of the United States, and his coming into his own with the stunning, preemptive attack on Iraq. It will contain surprises for Bush supporters and his detractors."

Brolin, who has not yet negotiated a formal deal, will be coming off of his role as supervisor Dan White, Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone's assassin, in the Gus van Sant biopic Milk.

Said Stone of Brolin: "Josh is actually better looking than Bush but has the same drive and charisma that Americans identify with Bush, who has some of that old-time movie-star swagger."

Oliver Stone votes for 'Bush' project [variety]

Recently
Diane Lane: Gay Men Lust for My Husband Josh Brolin [tr]
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Diane Lane: Gay Men Lust for My Husband Josh Brolin

The Advocate's Brandon Voss attempts to quiz Diane Lane about her "big gay following" and, because she doesn't really have one or isn't aware of it, they end up talking about the gay men that are hot for her husband.

Says Lane: "I’m delighted to hear that [I have a gay fan base], but I have to say I’m more aware of my husband’s. That appeal? I understand it. But I think I turn a blind eye to my own because I get embarrassed or I’m shy or I don’t take compliments well. I can’t speak for [Josh], but I know that there are plenty of guys that I’ve been around who have expressed if not glee for me, then envy of me...I was blessed to have no previous impressions of him aside from meeting him, which is a much healthier way to start a relationship. I finally saw Goonies after we had already been together for, like, a year. Then I became jealous that I didn’t meet him when I was 15 and got very upset over anybody he knew before me -- ever. [If I had known how great he was earlier in life] I’d have hunted him down with a harpoon and lassoed him to my thigh for the rest of my life. No questions, hands down -- he’s worth 10 of any other comparable hot guy for me. And that works for me because I get excited every time I go home."

Anyway, the trailer for Lane's new movie Untraceable, which kind of looks like a Silence of the Lambs for the internet set, is above. It comes out on January 25th.

Shots below from January GQ, and if you haven't seen No Country for Old Men, I highly recommend you get to the theater.

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Castro Street to Undergo "Time Warp" for Milk Biopic

Filming begins later this month on Gus van Sant's Milk film about slain SF supervisor and gay rights activist Harvey Milk (starring Sean Penn as Milk, with Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, and James Franco in co-starring roles), and preparations are fully underway to begin shooting on location in San Francisco's Castro district:

"Longtime denizens are likely to find some old haunts return to Castro Street, like the fabled Toad Hall bar – now part of Walgreens – and Milk's old camera shop – now the home of gift store Given – as the filmmakers recreate the streetscape from the days when Milk reigned over the area as the 'mayor' of Castro Street. 'We want to dress this neighborhood the best we can like the 1970s,' said Jonathan Shedd, the film's location manager. 'We hope to create a feel that works.' Cars from the era will be parked on the streets. Awnings and street signs of businesses postdating that time will be changed. Even the Castro Theatre will be swept up by the time warp. The movie-house's marquee, damaged by a Muni bus that ran into it while PG&E crews were doing work out front this fall, will be repaired next month and repainted to match the color palette it sported four decades ago."

The filmmakers have been meeting with local business owners to alert them of the "circus" that may prevail when shooting begins there on January 22, although the consensus appears to be that exposure from the film is likely to revitalize the area's businesses and make it a tourist destination.

The images you see here are from Uncle Donald's Castro Street, the most complete historical archive of the neighborhood online. If you haven't been there, it's a fascinating visit.

Top image by Jerry Pritikin, who has his own gallery at Uncle Donald's site. Pritikin writes: "A view of the 1977 Castro Street Fair, looking South from Market Street. This was the old style Castro Fair, nothing but two blocks of wall to wall men!"

***NOTE: We'd love to receive photos from anyone in San Francisco regarding the filming of the Milk film or the transformation of Castro Street!

Castro set for movie makeover [bay area reporter]

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Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, James Franco Sign on to Milk Film

Final negotiations are underway for three actors to join the cast of Gus van Sant's Milk, Gus van Sant's biopic of the slain San Francisco Supervisor and gay rights icon, opposite Sean Penn in the title role.

Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild), Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men), and James Franco (Spider-Man 3) are signing on.

Via the Hollywood Reporter: "Brolin will play Dan White, the rival politician and supervisor who shot Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone to death at City Hall. Hirsch has been cast as gay rights activist Cleve Jones, an intern and close ally of Milk's, who went on to found the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. Franco will play Scott Smith, Milk's lover and campaign manager."

Variety reports: "Pic will shoot entirely in San Francisco, where Milk became the first openly gay man elected to office in 1977. 'Milk' is the first feature about the activist to go before the lens. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have been developing an adaptation of 'The Mayor of Castro Street' for 15 years, but their project is in strike limbo. Bryan Singer is attached to direct it for Warner Independent, but Chris McQuarrie didn't turn his script in before the WGA strike deadline (Daily Variety, Nov. 19)."

The filmmakers are also holding open casting calls in the city. A Towleroad reader sent us this shot of one of the posters hanging in San Francisco. They're looking for 18-30-year-old men, and they'll be casting at 325 Sanchez Street between 16th and 17th in the Castro between 10am and 4pm this Saturday!

Look for a special bonus Harvey Milk post coming up in just a bit!

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