Would you like to see Obama play himself in "The Avengers"?

[Gaith]

^ Agreed. Digital shading creeps me the hell out. Give me ligne claire any day!

 

[Tulin]

I was referring to the actual art work. In the second panel Spidey's head looks like that long necked Jedi Master from the PT! Plus Obama's face looks.....odd. Maybe they weren't allowed to draw him completely "as is".

If so, they succeeded!

 

[Too Much Fun]

Obama seems to get shit from his detractors for every little thing he does. I'm sure if he appeared in this movie (or any movie), they would be outraged, asking how dare he waste time playing around in a movie when he has much more pressing matters to deal with. If Obama is going to appear in any movie, it would probably be the way Clinton did in "Contact" and since I found that special effect unnecessary and distracting, I'd rather not see it again. I can't see a president appearing in a movie while they're still in office, and I don't think it would really help a movie. Might be cool a few years after he's done, though.

 

[Christopher]

It's sad that we're so polarized as a country that people have to hate and condemn a president they disagree with rather than respecting him as a leader who's earned his status even if he has different points of view. Mature people are able to set aside their differences of opinion and get along when their differences aren't directly at stake. It's a shame that the level of political discourse in this country has been dragged down to a grade-school level of maturity.

 

[the G-man]

Movies are a big industry and appearing in a movie would surely boost sales so..

How? By pissing off approximately one-third to one-half of the country that either doesn't like his administration or considers this beneath the dignity of the office?

 

[Buck Rogers]

The G Man,
I was mainly stating the fact that if Obama were to have a small role in Avengers movie would only be a few minutes to launch the Avengers Initiative ,and the rest of the film Nick Fury,and AI will go forth to defend our country and the rest of the world from attack.
That's all.

Signed
Buck Rogers

 

[Listener4]

No.

 

[Sci]

The sitting President appearing in a film would be a bad idea on so many levels. At its most basic, though, it's beneath the dignity of the office.

Would the Secret Service *allow* a sitting President to take part in the filming of a major motion picture? I always thought they would not, citing danger and/or security concerns.

The Secret Service has no authority to allow or not allow a sitting a President to do something. Being elected President of the United States does not mean you lose your rights as a citizen to freedom of movement. Their job is to protect the President as he does what he does, not to control him.

The better question is whether or not accepting employment as an actor in a film would constitute a legal conflict of interests and therefore be illegal so long as the President is a federal employee (that is to say, as long as he's in office).

Has this ever actually happened?

Not that I'm aware of. I can't imagine that any sitting President was ever dumb enough to open themselves up to accusations of dereliction of duty by appearing in a film. The closest equivalent I'm aware of would be Governor Schwarzenegger's recent appearance in The Expendables.

Though, now that I think about it, Senator Patrick Leahy did voice work for an episode of Batman: The Animated Series called "Showdown" and had cameos in Batman and Robin and The Dark Knight.

Sure. If he's willing to do a minor show like Mythbusters (hey I love it, but it's just a little cable show) then why not do a big Hollywood blockbuster movie that will have far more economic impact and awareness?

Presumably for the same reason President Clinton appeared on Martha Stewart Living: Appearing in one episode of a half-hour non-fiction television program is just another form of communicating with the public. Appearing in a fiction film about superheroes is not. You get to set the agenda on what you're going to do and say in the former; someone else decides what you do and say in the latter.

Well, it'd necessarily only be a scene or two. He could go to LA for the usual fundraising day, drop in on an Oval Office set for an hour or two, and be out. And:

Acting -- especially film acting -- is much more intensive and takes much more time than that, even for very short scenes. If you're talking about the President doing a small speaking role, you're talking about a full day's worth of filming, minimum. Which means you're talking about at least a two-day trip out to Los Angeles.

^ Breaking news: even presidents are allowed occasional leisure time. They don't turn into constantly-working robots upon inauguration.

Yeah, but appearing in a film is not leisure. It's work. It's an entirely separate employment. Taking film work raises legal and ethical questions, and it would take far too much time out of his schedule to reasonably be able to do it without negatively affecting his legitimate work as President.

 

[the G-man]

The G Man,
I was mainly stating the fact that if Obama were to have a small role in Avengers movie would only be a few minutes to launch the Avengers Initiative ,and the rest of the film Nick Fury,and AI will go forth to defend our country and the rest of the world from attack.
That's all.

And I stand by my earlier comment on the scenario:

How? By pissing off approximately one-third to one-half of the country that either doesn't like his administration or considers this beneath the dignity of the office?

You really need to look at the recent election results. Whether you, personally, support him, it's clear that a lot of people don't like Obama (just as a lot of people didn't like his predecessors at one point or another).

Putting a sitting president in a movie threatens to alienate the ticket buyers who don't like that president, dates the movie and, as noted above, opens up a can of worms about the dignity of the office that isn't really worth the slight boost in publicity that it would bring (and, really, does an Avengers movie need a boost in hype?).

 

[Forbin]

nah, just get a looky-likey and shoot him from behind.

removed

 

[the G-man]

nah, just get a looky-likey and shoot him from behind.

removed

Not cool. That kind of shit is secret service bait, mister.

 

[Neroon]

Forbin, I know you were only joking around, but I'd rather we err on the side of caution by not making those kinds of jokes. It might save us all some headaches.

 

[Saquist]

(I don't know why a similar thread of mine was closed two years ago, so let me just DISCLAIM that this thread is not intended to be political. If you don't like the idea because you don't like Obama or his policies, feel free to say so, but no debate as to which policies you agree/disagree with or why, please.)



Simple question: suppose Obama were willing to use a few hours of down time to portray himself in one or two scenes of The Avengers. Would you like to see this? Should Marvel/Whedon make the offer?

​

Myself, I think it'd be totally awesome. Tony Stark, Cap, the Hulk, Thor, ScarJo, Renner, SLJ's Nick Fury, and Number 44 himself, all in one epic movie? That would be win so pure it might have to be added to the periodic table.

I really don't care...
Politics is the use of poison to cure the disease.

I don't care for the moaning and groaning from the mirads of people that can't properly handle their own check books or the corporations looking for a bailout for even worse spending.

Presidents are jeered while their in office and honored in retirement. Clearly the people don't know who's right to run the country because every vote is a popularity contest.

I have no politics.
If they want to put Obama in the movie it would be nice for continuity in relating to our current time if that is what they want but I'm not going to get bent around a rock because of him or anyone else.