WASHINGTON – It’s happening again: Movie makers are blowing up the White House, this time in the film “White House Down.”
The film’s D.C. premiere on Friday night drew celebrities, VIPs and fans to the AMC Loews Georgetown theater.
The film is about an armed takeover of the White House and Jamie Foxx plays President James Sawyer. Foxx says he’s met President Obama, and did not do an impersonation of him in the film.
“He’s just the coolest dude in the world, so we wanted to bring a little bit of that cool to the movie, but at the same time show the president vulnerable, to make it real. We had a fly fun time,” said Foxx.
Maggie Gyllenhaal plays a Secret Service agent in the film, and says there was someone there to give her advice during filming.
“There were times when the Secret Service guy who was on set would come over and say, ‘Oh no no no, she would have her gun in this pocket in this place,’ and we kinda went, ‘Well yeah, but then my suit would look bad’.”
Channing Tatum plays the role a Capitol Police officer and was asked by a reporter on the red carpet if he shows a lot of skin onscreen.
“I’m definitely not taking off my clothes,” was the first answer he gave with a laugh. Moments later he changed his tune. “Actually, that’s not true, I do take off my clothes,” Tatum said as he left the red carpet and headed toward the theater for the screening.
In the movie, the President makes peace deals with other countries and that angers an opposition group into launching an assault on the White House.
“We have to start figuring out how we make peace in this world. One day we have to, because otherwise something really, really terrible will happen,” says Director Roland Emmerich, the man behind a series of disaster movies including “Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow” and “2012.”
“When you see these beauty pageants, they always say ‘What do you want the most?’ ‘World peace!’ I think they should have politicians saying ‘What do you want to do the most?’ And they should say ‘World peace!'” Emmerich added.
Emmerich says he’s very pleased with how this film came out.
“It’s a fun movie. Everything came together. It’s a really cool story, really suspenseful, (with) actors who are really really super entertaining in their parts.”
Among the VIPs at the screening was Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.
“I saw the title ‘White House Down’ and I went oh no, no, no. It can’t be, it can’t be,” she joked.
I asked Napolitano if movies depicting fictional domestic attacks are something people like her pay close attention to ensure they can be prevented in real life.
“Not really. I mean, obviously if we see something that we hadn’t thought about, that we had not already been putting into a scenario, we’ll think about it. But I’m here tonight because I think it’s going to be a fun movie.”
“White House Down” is due in theaters next Friday, June 28.
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