Fake Presidents

Ice Cube and his two adult-ish children are Earth's last line of defense in the latest incarnation of H.G. Wells seminal, sci-fi classic WAR OF THE WORLDS. Eva Longoria, Clark Gregg, and Andrea Savage are in it, too, as is voice artist hall-of-famer Jim Meskimon as the "POTUS."

It's a "movie" that is--

60% Reaction shots of Ice Cube, staring at a screen
39% Reycled stock footage where the makers had to blur the faces of people who wouldn't want to be in this movie
1% anything resembling an actual movie

Find us...

John Cena is an actor-turned-U.S. President and Idris Elba is a soldier-turned-U.K. Prime Minister in HEADS OF STATE, a brand new Amazon Prime action-buddy-comedy that at times feels straight from the 90s. But are the movie's politics straight from the 90s, too? And what connection might this movie have to Chris Rock's 2003 comedy HEAD OF STATE?

Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, Jack Quaid, Carla Gugino, Paddy Considine, Sarah Niles, and Stephen Root round out the cast of ringers.

Find us on all the socials (BlueSky, Instagram, Threads, etc.) at Fake_Presidents or email us at fakepresidents...

The world is on the brink of an AI-fueled global thermonuclear apocalpyse and only one superspy* can save it... and only one U.S. President can help him save it. 

Angela Bassett is that President in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING.

How did she get elected? Will she get a second term? What's her approval ratings? That's our mission to figure out...

(*Ethan Hunt is technically a spy, right? I mean that's why they do the whole mask thing?)

Find us on Threads, BlueSky, and Instagram, or email us at f...

What happens when crypto-minded terrorists led by Antony Starr (THE BOYS) take over a summit of world leaders in South Africa?  It's up to Viola Davis as the U.S. President to take him down in Amazon Prime's G20.

Clark Gregg (THE AVENGERS) is the homebound Vice President, Ramón Rodriquez (WILL TRENT) is the President's favorite secret service agent, Elizabeth Marvel (HOMELAND) is the brave-ish treasury secretery, Sabrina Impacciatore (WHITE LOTUS) is the head of the IMF (NOT the Impossible Missions Force), and did we mention that Anthony Anderson (KANGAROO JACK) is the first gentleman?  

G2...

It's Wes Anderson meets PADDINGTON meets CLUE, all set in the White House. Well, not the ENTIRE White House. Just... THE RESIDENCE! This hit Netflix series from Shondaland presents an offbeat murder mystery wrapped up in some truly excellent production design.  The series goes into details of how the White House works that have never been seen on screen before. But what about the Fake President? Did they give us enough detail there?  Let's put our detective caps on and find out...

Note: We actually manage to talk spoiler-free about the series for the majority of this ep...

In Netflix's 6-part series ZERO DAY, Robert De Niro plays a former U.S President with cognitive issues (who chose not to run for reelection), and Angela Bassett is a current U.S. President with a great wardrobe. Together they must figure out who perpetrated the greatest, deadliest hack in U.S. history! Well, actually, it's mostly just De Niro doing the figuring and the outing.

Joan Allen, Jesse Plemons, and Connie Britton round out De Niro's inner circle, while Lizzy Caplan and Matthew Modine are members of congress "just asking questions" about De Niro's investigative operation.<...

In Hulu's newest TV series PARADISE, James Marsden is a murdered U.S. president, and Sterling K. Brown is the Secret Service agent at the center of the investigation. Oh, and (SPOILER ALERT) the whole series takes place in [REDACTED] because [REDACTED] and the truth is that [REDACTED] also [REDACTED] and everyone is [REDACTED].

From Dan Fogelman, who also wrote THIS IS US and CARS.

Find us at Fake_Presidents on Bluesky, Instagram, and Threads, or email us fakepresidents [at] gmail.com to join the convo!

Happy Presidents Day! To mark the occasion, we rushed out opening weekend to check out the return of Harrison Ford to the White House. Well, technically, in AIR FORCE ONE, Ford never made it to the White House, but this time, in Marvel's CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, Indy gets scenes in the Oval, in the Rose Garden, in the Residence, in a battleship, and he even gets some more action aboard Air Force One (well, some Peloton action, that is).

Oh yeah, and Anthony Mackie is the Captain America with wings trying to keep President Thaddeus “Th...

We cover 2000's THE CONTENDER starring Jeff Bridges as a U. S. president sometime between 2007 and 2010. Joan Allen is a senator nominated to fill an open VP slot who refuses to address any allegations of sexual impropriety in her past. Gary Oldman is a congressman trying to destroy her during the confirmation hearings. 

Does anyone actually read these show notes? Do we need to mention that Christian Slater, Sam Elliott, William Peterson, Mike Binder, and Saul Rubinek are all in it, too, in order to game some search engines? You know, for all the Rubinek-heads out there?

Let's close out the year by digging into some messages from listeners, and then look ahead at the year to come in fake White Houses!

Topics covered:

Who do we think should play a president that hasn't?

A listener suggests our next movie to cover... should we do it?!

Our preview of upcoming movies and shows on our radar, including Shondaland's THE RESIDENCE and Dan Fogelman's PARADISE.

Is RED ONE secretly a Fake President movie?

Did Eric include a fake potus in the new Audible audio series...

What? You don't remember there being a POTUS in 2012's Christopher Nolan-directed, Christian Bale-starring THE DARK KNIGHT RISES? Neither did we!  But there is one, and he's got a whole monologue and everything!  

Find us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky, or email us at fakepresidents [at] gmail.com to join the convo!

This Halloween, let's take a spookily ironic look at every president ever portrayed in any episode of any version of THE TWILIGHT ZONE! (It's not that many)

Believe it or not, it wasn't until Jordan Peele's 2019 reboot of The Twilight Zone that we got the series' first truly fake president. In "The Wunderkind," John Cho stars as a hotshot campaign manager, Jacob Tremblay as the 11-year-old candidate for American president Cho takes under his wing, John Larroquette as "a" fake POTUS (but not "the" fake POTUS of the episode), Allison Tolman as the episode's sole voice of...

Did you know there's a fake president in Jason Statham's pulpy, hit actioner THE BEEKEEPER? We didn't! Not until a listener gave us the heads up.  British thespian Jemma Redgrave plays the American president. Josh Hutcherson is her not-quite-failson. Jeremy Irons is back in Alfred-mode. And Minnie Driver inexplicably gets a couple scenes for no real apparent reason. We know what this movie says about scamming the elderly (it's bad!)... but what does it say about American politics in the year 2024?

Find us on Instagram and Threads at Fake_Presidents or email us at fakepresidents [at] gmail.c...

It's the last cinematic voyage of the original Enterprise crew, but the first (and only) for the new Federation President, played by The 70s Show's Kurtwood Smith.  Kurtwood joins William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, as well as Star Trek newcomers Kim Cattrall, Christopher Plummer, David Warner, and... Christian Slater?

What kind photos did Kim Cattrall get in trouble for taking on the set after hours? How much Shakespheare in space is too much? If the Klingons in this cold war-inspired story are supposed to be Russians, and the Fede...

From a Ken Doll in fatigues to "action figures" with kung fu grip to an afterschool cartoon and finally to... a live action theatrical release! It's 2009's G.I. JOE: RISE OF CORBA. The fictional President is nameless, but is he also faceless? (Well...technically, yes, in a way, but we'll get to that...)

THE MUMMY'S Stephen Sommers directs a cast of literally thousands (of names).  Every character (except for The President) has at least two names, some have three.  It's needlessly complicated. But is the nefarious plan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's The Doctor aka Cobra Commander aka Re...

It's a house divided in this episode as our hosts have very differing takes on just how successfully this new film from writer/director Alex Garland (ANNILHILATION, EX MACHINA) infuses its narrative with grounded politics... and whether it needs to at all?

Nick Offerman gets an upgrade from municpal parks and rec employee to POTUS.  Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, and Stephen McKinley Henderson are journalists caught in various crossfires. And Jesse Plemons gets to recreate the moment he and Kirsten Dunst first fell in love in real life.

Join us on Threads and I...

In the spring of 2022, a new play opened on Broadway called "POTUS," with the lengthy subtitle: "OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE." 

From the director of "THE PRODUCERS" (the Broadway musical), this comedy starred Vanessa Williams, Julianne Hough, Rachel Dratch, Suzy Nakamura, Lilli Cooper, Lea DeLaria, and Julie White.

Neither of us were able to catch it. 

But this past winter, the show came to Los Angeles...

And one of us was there!

Now you can be there too. Via us!

...

Eric couldn't sleep and happened upon a late night rerun of a classic TV show from the 80s that suprisingly had a fake president. Which got us wondering... what other TV classics have one-off, nearly disposable fake presidents?!

Oh, and we talk about Gareth Edwards' THE CREATOR. Well, we talk about whether or not we should talk about it.

00:00 - INTRO
03:01 - THE CREATOR
07:48 - HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN
23:06 - SEAQUEST DSV
41:02 - LOST IN SPACE
49:19 - SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH
57:28 - CLOSING
58:56 - Post-Credits Bit

Find u...

We finally get to do something we don't usually get to do...speculate about the future! Ben and Eric take a look at two new trailers with heaps of potential for (prestige) fake POTUSes to see what 2024 may have in store for fictional politics. 

Nick Offerman is a fake president while America is torn asunder in Alex Garland's CIVIL WAR? Kate Winslet is the head-of-state of a fascistic European nation in HBO's THE REGIME? SAY NO MORE. (Actually, do say more, because these trailers are scant on details...)

Oh, and we also follow-up on a co...

A "Hallmark-style" holiday rom-com featuring a fake president? Of course we had to watch it! (So you don't have to!)

CHRISTMAS AT THE HOLLY HOTEL is a fictional movie about a real hotel that once played a role in George H.W. Bush's ill-fated reelection campaign. It stars no one you'll recognize, directed by no one you've heard of, but it's made lovingly by people who seem to care very much about getting every detail of this hotel right. 

But what about the details of the phony potus?  Did they get those right?

Let...

Uma Thurman is the faux potus in Amazon's romantic comedy RED, WHITE, AND ROYAL BLUE. Taylor Zakhar Perez is the young, handsome First Son whose public feud with a young, handsome British Prince (played by Nicholas Galitzine) threatens his mom's reelection campaign.  But things get even messier when the hate gives way to VERY different feelings for each other...

Can a congresswoman from Texas win the presidency if she can't even win a statewide election in own state?  Can a college-aged first kid throw a rager on the White House lawn? Do political rom-coms even need a gr...

A special doll-centric Halloween episode!

Did you know that the latest season of CHUCKY, the TV series based on the CHILD'S PLAY horror movies, takes place in The White House? Did you know there was a CHUCKY, the TV series? Neither did we!

Ben watched it because Eric is a fraidy-cat and reports back with all the juicy political goodness in the first couple episodes. Is it enough to get Eric to get over his scary-movie-and-TV-fears and tune in?

Devon Sawa is the POTUS. Chucky is still a killer doll. And the first e...

IDIOCRACY, co-written and directed by Mike Judge, barely got a theatrical release in 2006, but has it persevered enough to become a cult classic since then?  Or is its biggest cultural footprint simply its title?

One thing we know for sure: The movie's faux POTUS -- Terry Crews as the one, the only, President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho -- is on our Fake President Mount Rushmore for a reason.

Find us on Threads and Instagram (and other social media platforms) at Fake_Presidents, or just email us at fakepresidents [at] gmail.com to join the c...

Eric and Ben are pretty sure there's going to be a fake president in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - DEAD RECKONING PART TWO when it comes out next year, but they're less sure who it's going to be. Ben thinks it'll be a familiar face to the series. Eric thinks it'll be someone new. Are there any clues in PART ONE? (Yes! Kinda! Maybe.)

Also: We finish up our MARVEL'S SECRET INVASION coverage. Did Dermot Mulroney's President Ritson go out with a bang or a whimper? (Both? Neither? It's complicated...)

01:36 - Beginning of our SECRET INVASION talk<...

Dermot Mulroney's fake President is back in Disney Plus's MARVEL'S SECRET INVASION, and so are we! After covering episodes 1 & 2 in our last look of this series, we now get into episodes 3 & 4.  Who was right in our bet on who would be a secret Skrull in this series? We got our answer way earlier than we expected...

And then, at the 32:00 minute mark of the podcast, we discuss the returning fake President in Amazon Prime's TOM CLANCY'S JACK RYAN, season 4. Did they finally make him interesting?!

Find us on Instagram and Threads! Or just email us t...

Ben and Eric are doing something they've never done before -- covering a TV series as it airs in (near) real time!

But first, they got some more FOR ALL MANKIND stuff to talk about, now that Ben has FINALLY seen the show.

THEN they just had to dive back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe when they saw that the MCU was introducing yet ANOTHER fake president. The POTUS is not William Sadler from IRON MAN 3. It's not Harrison Ford from the upcoming THUNDERBOLTS and CAPTAIN AMERICA movies. It's... Dermot Mulroney (NOT Dylan McDermott)!

Michael Bay's THE ROCK has peak Nicolas Cage, silver age Sean Connery, and a shockingly effective (if completely unnecessary) fake president. Best summer movie ever? Could be! Best fake president ever? Let's discuss...

Find us on @INSTAGRAM or email us at fakepresidents [@] gmail.com for join the convo!

A special episode!

From mayor to television legend, few people are as representative of the cross section of politics and pop culture as the late, great Jerry Springer. 

And did you know that he also played a fake president in a movie? We didn't! Not 'til we read about it one of his many obituaries.

Jerry Springer is the President of the United States in 2004's THE DEFENDER both starring and directed by Dolph Lundgren, and we watched it so you don't have to!

(well, we watched most of it)

Our first trip into the Clancy-verse!

Amazon Prime's TOM CLANCY'S JACK RYAN stars John Krasinski as the titular CIA analyst turned field agent. In season one, he saves a president's life. In season three, he saves a president's ass.

Join us as we tackle the big questions: How does THE OFFICE alum Krasinski stack up to the Jack Ryans of Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine? Do the politics of Tom Clancy still hold up in 2023? And the biggest question of all: Why is this show so indebted to NASH BRIDGES? 

G...

It's Presidents' Day!

Which means we're back with another very special episode for this very special holiday. This time we're asking the question: What already existing fictional characters from pop culture should become POTUS within their movie/TV universes? From famous commercial pitchmen to the world of superheroes and even a dip into the works of Pixar, we leave no stone unturned as we look for the ideal candidate.

BUT before we get into that, we dive into some BREAKING NEWS regarding the addition of two new fake presidents in two big movie franchises... is...

After an unexpected hiatus, we're back!

And so is Morgan Freeman!

This time, Olympus isn't falling. It's the sky that's falling. 1998's DEEP IMPACT features an iconic fake president that originally made our Mount Rushmore of fake presidents, but does this speechifying fake prez still feel so iconic two decades later? One of us certainly doesn't think so...

Got a question? Email us at fakepresidents [at] gmail.com.

Eric is a big fan of Apple TV+'s sci-fi drama FOR ALL MANKIND. Ben has a never seen an episode. Will Ben want to watch the series after Eric tells him all about the alt-history presidential politics of a world where the Soviets beat the Americans to the moon and the space race never ended?

Let's find out...

Find us on Twitter (@Fake_Presidents) and Instagram (@Fake_Presidents) or email us at fakepresidents [at] gmail.com to join the conversation!

This week, Ben and Eric head back into world of Marvel comic book adaptations with the 2nd entry in 20th Century Fox's long-running X-MEN movie franchise. Not only is there a fake president in it, but there's a whole lotta action in the White House!

X2: X-MEN UNITED stars the usual gamut of mutants -- Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn -- this time joined by SUCCESSION's Brian Cox as "Colonel Striker" and the one and only Cotter Smith as "President McKenna."

Who is Ben's...

We're back! Hiatus over! Thanks for your patience!

Based on a TV show created by comedy legends Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, 2008's GET SMART has some pretty big phone-shoes to fill.  Does James Caan have what it takes to play a nameless President? (DEFINITELY.) Does he deserve better than being asked to do a warmed over George W.? (PROBABLY.) What about skinny Dwayne Johnson?  Can you trust him not to secretly be a bad guy?! (NO YOU CANNOT.)

Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, and Alan Arkin get to meet a fake president, too.

Wh...

Just a little note on our upcoming schedule. Are Ben and Eric taking a spring hiatus? Yes! Will they be back this summer? HECK YEAH! Should you unsubscribe? HELL NO!

Take a listen to find out what the first two movies will be when we return this summer. (Hint: One's a spy comedy based on a classic TV series, the other's a celebrated entry in a long-running comic book franchise.)

And if there's a particular fake president you want us to add to our list to cover when we get back, let us know! You c...

In honor of the upcoming Presidents' Day holiday, Ben and Eric veto their usual format to elect some fake presidents into movies that don't have one. 

Which movies without a fake president deperately needed one? Who would we have cast as the faux POTUS? FIND OUT ALL THIS AND MORE

(Okay, not that much more, we pretty much mostly just talk about that)

Find us on Twitter (@Fake_Presidents) and Instagram (@Fake_Presidents) to join the conversation. Or email us at fakepresidents [at] gmail.com

Happy Presidents' Day!!!

Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence play astronomers who make a thrilling discovery in the feel-good holiday movie of 2021!

Meryl Streep is a fake president that's all "Lady Biz." Jonah Hill is hanging around as the president's son/chief-of-staff!

Oh, and Timothée Chalamet is in it, too, but he's not in any political scenes, so we don't talk about him. Maybe in the sequel!

Find us on Twitter (@Fake_Presidents) and Instagram (@Fake_Presidents) to join the convo. Or email us at fakepresidents [at] gmail [dot] com!

Before Wolfgang Peterson directed AIR FORCE ONE (where the Secret Service completely craps the bed), he directed IN THE LINE OF FIRE (where the Secret Service almost craps the bed!)

Clint Eastwood plays a heroic but haunted secret service agent while a pre-famous John Malkovich plays the assassin Eastwood has to stop.

Also in this movie: Rene Russo plays Eastwood's much younger love interest, Dylan McDermott plays Eastwood's much younger partner, and Clint Eastwood plays the piano!

As for who plays the president, does it even matter in a movie as awesome as this...

We take one last look back at the fake presidencies of 2021 before looking ahead to 2022. Topics include:

- Our favorite fictional presidents of the last 12 months

- Succession

- Diary of a Future President

- Presidential impersonator changes at Saturday Night Live

- Competing novels featuring fictional presidents written by Bill and Hillary that came out within weeks of each other

- And so much more! (Okay, not THAT much more...but still more!)

Find us on Twitter (@Fake_Presidents) and Instagram (@Fake_Presidents) to...

Tony Stark has PTSD, Don Cheadle has a new superhero name, and the President of the United States is going to need a new plane. That's right, it's Christmastime in the MCU, which means it's time for a story of the redemption and rebirth for Marvel's favorite son...sorta?

Writer/Director Shane Black gets to board the Marvel train for his one and only entry in the MCU. Jon Favreau gets to spend more time in his trailer. Gwyneth Paltrow gets a new fitness regime. And this podcast gets to talk about the politics of being the...