"LBJ" Movie: Director And Actor Talk About LBJ And Trump
PAUL: So, the new movie "LBJ" was just released in theaters this weekend. And it chronicles the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson just after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.</s>SAVIDGE: CNN's Jake Tapper sat down with director Rob Reiner and star Woody Harrelson about re-creating the Johnson presidency.</s>JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "THE LEAD": Joining me is the director of "LBJ" Rob Reiner and the star Woody Harrelson. Thank you for both for coming on. Appreciate it. So, Woody, one of the things you were able to accomplish in this is showing how LBJ is really different people, depending on the audience. When he is in front of the Kennedys, he's aggressive, even if they are kind of chuckling at that notion. When he is talking to Southern Democrats, racists like Sen. Richard Russell, he is one of them. In fact, let me play a little clip. Here is LBJ talking to Sen. Russell, an opponent of the civil rights legislation.</s>WOODY HARRELSON, ACTOR, PORTRAYING LBJ: The best leaders at the time for both of our states voted for secession. And they were great men who nearly destroyed America. I don't ever want a history book to say that about me.</s>TAPPER: It's so fascinating because there are tapes of LBJ being racist, and yet he also pushed through the great civil rights legislation of that era.</s>HARRELSON: Yes. He was very facile that way, I guess you could say. And he did, a lot of times, what was politically expedient. But what's really interesting about him pushing through the civil rights act is that it was not a time where it would necessarily help him, you know? Because there were times earlier when he did some - basically, where he voted against civil rights legislation because it was politically expedient. He wanted to be on the right side of the southern caucus. But, this time, right after Kennedy was assassinated in '63, there was nothing that said this was going to help you get re-elected in '64. Or get elected in '64. So, I think it really was his - he was passionate about it. He did care about it.</s>TAPPER: And you really see him working the phones, pressing the flash, talking to senators, cajoling, flattening, threatening, is there a lesson President Trump can take from the successes of LBJ legislatively? I know you don't want him to have those successes.</s>ROB REINER, DIRECTOR, "LBJ": No. I would love to have any kind of success to see government work. But you asked the question, are there lessons he can take? Unfortunately, I don't think there are any lessons because he is not willing to learn. He doesn't want to learn. And that's really the tragedy of what we see right now. He doesn't have any understanding of how government works and he doesn't want to learn. Lyndon Johnson came up from the bottom. He came from poverty. He came into the legislature when FDR was president. He was leader of the senate. He understood how government worked. But he had a strength, which was the ability to get things done and, unfortunately, you ask that question, I don't know that Trump would be able to - I wish he could take some lessons, but I don't think he will.</s>TAPPER: And, Woody, this is the third actual person that you've played. You've played Larry Flynt in "The People vs. Larry Flynt", you played McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt in "Game Change" and now you're playing LBJ. How did you become him? Beyond the latex, how did you try to inhabit him? It's the first one of these characters that you've played that you didn't get to actually meet.</s>HARRELSON: Yes. Well, I tried to focus on how he moved. And there is a lot of him. But what really bogged me down was how he talked because we are both from Texas and you'd think there'd be a benefit. In some ways, it is. But he is also from the hill country and it's a very different way of speaking. Rob would see me all the time freaking out about - that wasn't right, Rob. We should do that again because - and he'd just go, relax, you just chill out! He wanted me to embody the humanity of -</s>REINER: And the essence of him. And that's really what we wanted. I don't think people are going to nit-pick exactly the outside of Houston accent as opposed to the hill country. He had everything that I wanted to see because Johnson was a very complicated Shakespearean type character. As much as he had the bravado and arm twisting and bull in the China shop, he was also incredibly insecure. And we wanted to show that. And that's why Woody - I was lucky to get Woody because he has all that humanity, all the humor. I'm not just saying because you're here.</s>HARRELSON: No, it's very nice. It's always lucky to walk with you. You're one of the greatest directors of all time.</s>REINER: I paid him a little to say that.</s>HARRELSON: But I've got to say Brian Cranston did help me quite a bit. He played LBJ in "All the Way." And heh really helped me. Like, I talked to him on the phone. He connected me with people in Austin and connected me to go out to the ranch and to the library and really, like, helped me out. And I was like, I can't believe you're doing this. I'm not sure I'd do this for you. He says, no, it's not competition. It's a big tent. Let's fill it.</s>TAPPER: That is beautiful. And the movie is "LBJ." It opens nationwide in theaters on November 3rd. Woody Harrelson, Rob Reiner, thanks so much.</s>HARRELSON: Thank you.</s>REINER: Thanks for having us.</s>PAUL: Anybody else have a hard time</s>CNN. SAVIDGE: Meanwhile, next, Alec Baldwin returns to "Saturday Night Live" as President Trump. He talks to Paul Manafort and others while in the shower.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, can't you just pardon me?</s>ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR, PORTRAYING DONALD TRUMP: Unfortunately, it's not that simple, but we have a plan. The great plan. Isn't that right, Jeff?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.