Potus Geeks Summer Reruns: Dennis Quaid as Bill Clinton in "The Special Relationship"
(Originally posted on May 9, 2018 as part of a series entitled Movie and TV Presidents.)
The 2010 HBO movie The Special Relationship has Dennis Quaid demonstrating his great range as an actor in his portrayal of President Bill Clinton, portrayed in the movie at a time when the Lewinsky scandal is unfolding. The movie showcases Michael Sheen repeating his portrayal of British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the third time (following The Deal in 2003 and The Queen in 2006), in this dramatization of the relationship between the two world leaders. The film's title comes from the unofficial term, first coined by Winston Churchill in a 1946 speech, describing the political, diplomatic, cultural, economic, military, and historical relations between the United Kingdom and the United States. The title is also presented as a double entendre for Clinton's illicit relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky.
Originally, the film was intended to be about Blair's relationship with George W. Bush as well as Clinton, but the Bush scenes were deleted from later drafts of the script because the writer, Peter Morgan, found the Blair/Clinton dynamic to be more interesting.
Other cast members include Hope Davis as Hillary Clinton, and Helen McCrory as Cherie Blair. The film was broadcast on HBO in the United States and Canada on May 29, 2010, and was broadcast on BBC Two and BBC HD in the United Kingdom on September 18, 2010.
The film is set between 1992 and 2001, from the point that "New Labour" (the British Labour Party) begins taking lessons from Clinton's political advisors, to 1998 and the end of the crisis in Kosovo. It focuses on the international activities of Blair as prime minister and what he learns from his American ally. The film also describes the Lewinsky scandal and it's effect on Clinton politically and on his marriage.
Reviews of the film were generally positive and the film was nominated for five Emmys. (Quaid and Sheen were both nominated in the best lead actor in a movie or miniseries category.)
Following is a YouTube video of the trailer for this film:
The 2010 HBO movie The Special Relationship has Dennis Quaid demonstrating his great range as an actor in his portrayal of President Bill Clinton, portrayed in the movie at a time when the Lewinsky scandal is unfolding. The movie showcases Michael Sheen repeating his portrayal of British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the third time (following The Deal in 2003 and The Queen in 2006), in this dramatization of the relationship between the two world leaders. The film's title comes from the unofficial term, first coined by Winston Churchill in a 1946 speech, describing the political, diplomatic, cultural, economic, military, and historical relations between the United Kingdom and the United States. The title is also presented as a double entendre for Clinton's illicit relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky.
Originally, the film was intended to be about Blair's relationship with George W. Bush as well as Clinton, but the Bush scenes were deleted from later drafts of the script because the writer, Peter Morgan, found the Blair/Clinton dynamic to be more interesting.
Other cast members include Hope Davis as Hillary Clinton, and Helen McCrory as Cherie Blair. The film was broadcast on HBO in the United States and Canada on May 29, 2010, and was broadcast on BBC Two and BBC HD in the United Kingdom on September 18, 2010.
The film is set between 1992 and 2001, from the point that "New Labour" (the British Labour Party) begins taking lessons from Clinton's political advisors, to 1998 and the end of the crisis in Kosovo. It focuses on the international activities of Blair as prime minister and what he learns from his American ally. The film also describes the Lewinsky scandal and it's effect on Clinton politically and on his marriage.
Reviews of the film were generally positive and the film was nominated for five Emmys. (Quaid and Sheen were both nominated in the best lead actor in a movie or miniseries category.)
Following is a YouTube video of the trailer for this film:
Click to view