The film is really a battle for power between the Democratic President Jackson Evans, played by Jeff Bridges, and the Republican Senator Shelly Runyon, played by Gary Oldman.
That's true. What I think is that Shelly Runyon and Jackson Evans are Bush and Gore. They had to go up against each other, and I think Shelly believes he should be the president. He is very resentful of Jackson and will not let him have his legacy. It's not about Laine at all. She is their pawn.
How have politicians reacted to the film?
In research screenings, we discovered Republicans and Democrats both liked the movie. But if you're a really hardcore conservative, ultra-right wing, you're not going to like it. There's one critic like that in the US, Michael Medved. He was the only guy who ripped the movie to smithereens. His partisanship was eeking through. The film's central conflict - about this orgy that Joan's character may or may not have been involved with - has nothing to do with being left or right. It has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with human behaviour. I could've made Shelly a Democrat and her a Republican, and it wouldn't have mattered.
Joan's character, Laine Hanson, must be one of the most sleaze-free politicians put on screen.
It is difficult to buy, but they come around once every 30 or 40 years. The film is about the DNA of greatness. It's about what truly makes great people. It is not in Laine's character to respond to these allegations. She would rather be beaten by these batons, from which she can easily defend herself. There's a line in the film where she says, "Principles only mean something if you stand by them when you're inconvenienced." That is truly the definition of greatness.
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