The Presidents in Movies: DC 9/11
George W. Bush was certainly portrayed differently in movies at the beginning of his Presidency compared with at the end. Today, let's look at a movie portraying Bush at the beginning of his first term, immediately following the September 11th attacks, in the Showtime television movie DC 9/11: Time of Crisis. This movie re-enacts the events of the September 11, 2001 attacks as seen from the point of view of the President of the United States and his staff. It was directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith and starred Timothy Bottoms as President George W. Bush. Other cast members included John Cunningham as Donald Rumsfeld, David Fonteno as Colin Powell, Penny Johnson as Condoleezza Rice, Stephen Macht as Paul Wolfowitz, Mary Gordon Murray as Laura Bush, Lawrence Pressman as Dick Cheney, and George Takei as Norman Mineta.
The movie aired on September 7, 2003, shortly before the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The film begins with the day of the attacks, and follows President Bush's historic visit to Ground Zero, including with his now famous bullhorn speech and his national address nine days after the attacks. The film portrays the many difficult decisions and tasks faced by the President and his staff in those difficult days. The film interweaves actual footage from the events with the dramatization.
The film opens on the morning of September 11, 2001 as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is hosting a breakfast for a number of members of the United States Congress to procure an increase to the defense budget. In the film Rumsfeld tells the attendees they will soon need the money as something big is likely to occur soon given the rise of Islamic Extremism against the United States.
The film also shows President Bush at Emma E. Booker Elementary school in Florida as White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card informs Bush that "a second plane has hit the second tower." The movie shows Bush on Air Force One and Cabinet members, who have been escorted to the Presidential Emergency Operations Center. Bush arrives at the White House that evening and addresses the nation, informing them that they are now in a war on terror. Over the next hours and days, Bush meets countless times with his cabinet to determine an appropriate response, which ultimately lead to his declaration of the Bush Doctrine.
The film was met with mild controversy during production and upon broadcast on the Showtime network in the United States. The film was also praised by Fox News for portraying Bush's strong leadership in a time of crisis, while Michael Moore and others on the political left have branded the film as propaganda attempting to portray Bush as a strong leader in complete command of the situation.
Following is the trailer for the movie:
The movie aired on September 7, 2003, shortly before the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The film begins with the day of the attacks, and follows President Bush's historic visit to Ground Zero, including with his now famous bullhorn speech and his national address nine days after the attacks. The film portrays the many difficult decisions and tasks faced by the President and his staff in those difficult days. The film interweaves actual footage from the events with the dramatization.
The film opens on the morning of September 11, 2001 as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is hosting a breakfast for a number of members of the United States Congress to procure an increase to the defense budget. In the film Rumsfeld tells the attendees they will soon need the money as something big is likely to occur soon given the rise of Islamic Extremism against the United States.
The film also shows President Bush at Emma E. Booker Elementary school in Florida as White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card informs Bush that "a second plane has hit the second tower." The movie shows Bush on Air Force One and Cabinet members, who have been escorted to the Presidential Emergency Operations Center. Bush arrives at the White House that evening and addresses the nation, informing them that they are now in a war on terror. Over the next hours and days, Bush meets countless times with his cabinet to determine an appropriate response, which ultimately lead to his declaration of the Bush Doctrine.
The film was met with mild controversy during production and upon broadcast on the Showtime network in the United States. The film was also praised by Fox News for portraying Bush's strong leadership in a time of crisis, while Michael Moore and others on the political left have branded the film as propaganda attempting to portray Bush as a strong leader in complete command of the situation.
Following is the trailer for the movie: