The entry begins:Edmund Burke in America (The Movie) would call for a "cast of dozens." Options that spring quickly to mind are Anthony Hopkins as the inscrutable John Adams, Daniel Day Lewis as the wacky Rufus Choate, and (a middle-aged) Dustin Hoffman as the conservative alchemist Russell Kirk. Although Johnny Depp is the obvious choice for Tom Paine, I'd rather see Charlie Chaplin (talkie version) inhabit that role. Who better than Spencer Tracy to portray the twin sides of Theodore Roosevelt (Rough Rider/frontier adventurer and presidential Victorian-Progressive)? Vincent Kartheiser (of Mad Men) will be at his inconsequential best playing any of the younger Burkean conservatives of the 1990s (frustrated little characters!). All these men (there are no significant parts for women in this ideological war movie) must ultimately act in the shadow of the legendary British statesman, Edmund Burke.Learn more about Edmund Burke in America at the Cornell University Press website.
Actually there are several Edmund Burkes; that is, there are multiple sides to his personality and political philosophy. The actor best able to project each of them while remaining true to the character's core identity was Raymond...[read on]
My Book, The Movie: Edmund Burke in America.
--Marshal Zeringue
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