First Look: 'W,' Oliver Stone's Bush Biopic

Image credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY PLATON

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But what, exactly, is Stone honoring with this film? What's his agenda? ''Listen,'' he says with a groan, ''I'm tired of defending the accuracy of my movies. I'm past that now. JFK was a case to be proven, Nixon was a penetrating biography of a complex and dark man. But I'm not bound by those strictures anymore. Bush is not a complex and dark man, so it's different. This movie can be funnier because Bush is funny. He's awkward and goofy and makes faces all the time. He's not your average president. So let's have some fun with it. What are they going to do? 'Discredit' me again?''

This, apparently, is the new happy-go-lucky Oliver Stone. Or at least a more go-with-the-flow, maturing one. The old war wounds over Nixon and JFK still flare up on occasion (''You know, JFK is a lot more solid than people make it out to be in the press''), but clearly the man has mellowed. Or maybe it's getting back to a seat-of-your-pants production like W that's putting the director in such a good mood. ''It's like my Salvador days,'' he says cheerily. ''It's good for me. It's reinvigorating.'' Even his attitude about politics sounds shockingly low-key, especially when it comes to the current election. ''I don't follow the details,'' he says. ''It makes me sad.'' In short, Stone hardly seems like a man looking for a fight.

Still, he's about to find himself in a doozy, especially if he manages to complete and release W before November's election. His producers insist the film will be ready by then; they're already planning to run TV spots opposite McCain's ads this fall. Stone hedges, but agrees it's theoretically possible. ''I could have it in theaters before the inauguration without a problem, but October?'' he says as he wanders into a large, airy room with an ornate fireplace and several floor-to-ceiling windows shaded by flowing drapery. ''It depends on how fast an edit I do. It would cost money to rush it, but I've done that kind of thing before. This would be the fastest of my life, but it's not impossible. I can do it.'' Especially now that he's finally found George Bush's bedroom. (Additional reporting by Adam B. Vary)

NEXT PAGE: More colorful scenes from an early script draft