in other news

White House Movie of the Week

20061219sitroom.jpg

Photo: NYTimes.com


Here’s the photo that ran in today’s Times of the newly refurbished White House Situation Room. Although still not as sleek and/or oppressive as its many Hollywood avatars, from 24 to Strangelove’s War Room, at least now it has LCD flat screens, better sound isolation, fiber-optic ca — wait a second. Who’s on that screen on the right? It sure doesn’t look like Tony Blair or Pervez Musharraf or Dick Cheney. Is it … could it be … yup, a quick canvass of our filmic colleagues provides a consensus: It’s Nicolas Cage. Note the thoughtful chin-gripping action — so intense. The scene, then, is one of the earlier sequences from Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center. (“God, I do hope it’s Con Air,” said New York film editor Logan Hill, before conceding it’s not.) We’re, of course, shocked that the White House would play a movie about 9/11 while showing off the new Situation Room. But ever better is this: The DVD just came out last week.

Overhaul Moves White House Data Center Into Modern Era [NYT]

White House Movie of the Week