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This full length Star Trek episode review series comes to you from Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland and covers episodes from TNG, DS9 and Voyager specifically.
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Remember when you could talk about politics without it being hazardous to your health? We think we’ve found a loophole. Each episode, Eric Buchman and Ben Oren take a deep dive into a fictional American president from film or TV, to see just how much fiction there really is. It’s a podcast sorta about politics and kinda about pop culture, hosted by two former politicos turned TV writer/producers who’d much rather talk about real movies and fake politics than fake movies and real politics.
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The Listening Podcast features conversations with fascinating people in the world of music, film & art. We talk about how they got started, obstacles they faced, their personal creative process, and what inspires them.
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This Halloween, let's take a spookily ironic look at EVERY president ever portrayed in any episode of any version of THE TWILIGHT ZONE! 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 Trembl…
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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…
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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 Plum…
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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…
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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, W…
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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 Jul…
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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 - IN…
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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 …
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Yes, Virginia, there is a Fake President (SOME WANNABE HALLMARK MOVIE YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF)
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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 lov…
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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 …
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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 firs…
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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 -- …
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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 …
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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 mar…
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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 p…
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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!…
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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 Stat…
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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…
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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 …
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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 thi…
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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…
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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…
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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 ab…
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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…
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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)…
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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 ab…
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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…
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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 c…
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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 onl…
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After introducing the world to one of the greatest fake presidents in INDEPENDENCE DAY, director Roland Emmerich is back with not one, but TWO fake presidents in 2004's climate-themed disaster movie THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW. Also in this movie's oval office -- a really weird (and distracting) choice of houseplants. (See a photo of this movie's oval o…
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Just in time for Halloween it's a SCARY MOVIE. The third one! The one that introduced Leslie-freakin'-Nielsen as an American president! What happens when uber-republican director David Zucker (of AIRPLANE fame) teams up with uber-democratic producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein (of getting arrested fame) to make a movie with a fake president? Let's fi…
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Who knew there was a fake president in this 80s mermaid rom-com? Directed by Ron Howard, SPLASH made, um, waves at the box office. It also made Tom Hanks a movie star, Howard an A-list director, and Roger Ebert very angry. Does this movie have actual politics for us to discuss? (Surprisingly, yes!) Does this movie have a surprise in the end credits…
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When an assassin targets the SCOTUS, it's up to Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts to expose a POTUS. Robert Culp is the nameless (but not blameless) President in this 1993 adaptation of John Grisham's most political thriller. Future fake president Tony Goldwyn is the person who really runs the White House. Stanley Tucci is the mysterious internat…
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Ben and Eric will take another dip into the Fake President's mailbag to answer questions about... - Who are their favorite fake first ladies? - What is the beef between Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman? - Why does James Patterson REALLY want to work with Bill Clinton? - What is Eric's favorite presidential fact he's learned making this podcast? - A…
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Today we take a look at a fake president played by Morgan Freeman. No, not that fake president. The OTHER fake president played by Morgan Freeman, in 2019's ANGEL HAS FALLEN, the second sequel to OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN. Gerard Butler is back as the ultimate secret service agent, Freeman gets a nice promotion into the oval, and...well, that's about all …
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You know what they say, "it's always Shark Week somewhere." This episode we take a look at President Marcus Robbins from the third entry of Syfy's SHARKNADO series, played by Mark Cuban. The movie is kind of a mash-up of WHITE HOUSE DOWN and JURASSIC WORLD with a little bit of DUE DATE and ARMAGEDDON thrown in for good measure. On SHARK TANK, Cuban…
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Bill Pullman stars alongside Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum in 1996's White House-exploding, #1 blockbuster: INDEPENDENCE DAY. You know the president. You know the speech. But do you know his political party? We think we do! And we think we've figured out so much more... Happy Fourth of July! Email us at fakepresidents [at] gmail.com to join the conv…
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Writer/director (not to mention producer/editor/composer) Robert Rodriguez is back on our radar with another fake president, this time taking the form of an actor credited only as "Carlos Estevez." But who is Carlos Estevez really? (Charlie Sheen!) Are the hard R-rated MACHETE movies really just spin-offs of the PG-rated SPY KIDS franchise? (Danny …
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Rob Reiner and Aaron Sorkin leave little to the political imagination in their 1995 romantic comedy, THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT. Michael Douglas, as the widower POTUS Andrew Shepherd, is without a doubt a pre-Tea Party, far right Republi--- Nope... Not at all... He's clearly a centrist Democrat. So instead of just talking about Shepherd's judicial cour…
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William Hurt is the Fake President in this 2008 political thriller in the vein of Rashomon. Sigourney Weaver is in yet another movie with a presidential body double, Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox are secret service agents, only one of whom is good at their job, and Forest Whitaker did such a bang-up job directing our last movie (First Daughter), he …
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Michael Keaton is the empty nester fake president in 2004's FIRST DAUGHTER, starring Katie Holmes as a first family member who is definitely not Chelsea Clinton going to a college that is definitely not Stanford. Is this fake POTUS legitimately funny, or is he just portrayed by a great comic actor? (Little bit of both.) How did this movie go from a…
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Gerard Butler is back to save a Fake President. Or Not. Maybe the POTUS is a bad guy in this movie? GEOSTORM is a 2017 action movie about weather controlling satellites and the politicians who love them. Gerard Butler plays the world's most brilliant scientist. Andy Garcia is the President. Ed Harris (his third FP appearance!) is a nefarious Secret…
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The writer/director/producer of SIN CITY (Robert Rodriguez) casts the villain of HAPPY GILMORE (Christopher McDonald) as a very fake president in a very family-friendly movie. What really went through George W. Bush's head while he read that book to those elementary school students? What movie franchise has made 6 films with only 3 plots? How is Ro…
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It's Presidents Day! So we're doing something a little different this week. We're taking a look at a different kind of "fake" president. That's right, we're hosting an NCAA-style tournament to see who's the greatest Saturday Night Live presidential impersonator of all time! The cast members in contention include: Dana Carvey, Chevy Chase, Phil Hart…
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Kevin James is the (fake) president in Pixels, a 2015 action-comedy directed by Chris Columbus and also starring Adam Sandler, Michelle Monaghan, Josh Gad, and Peter Dinklage. How does a President triple their approval numbers? (You gotta save the planet) Is it ever okay for a Geek Squad tech guy to try to kiss a client? (No, definitely not) Is thi…
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This is the episode THEY didn’t want YOU to hear! (They = Ben and Eric, because it was originally recorded as a practice episode months ago, not intended for wide release) But recent events have, um, changed our opinion of this movie about an insurrection on Capitol Hill during a special joint session of Congress as high ranking members of the Exec…
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We look ahead to see what may be in store for the world of Fake Presidents in 2021, but only after we've totally gutted 2020. In this episode, we cover all the FP developments of last year that we missed (like a new FP show possibly coming to TV in the fall!), a musician-turned-fake president that we adored (Ariana Grande!), and a surprise return o…
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Sure, Gal Godot and Chris Pine are back in the 1984-set WONDER WOMAN sequel along with newcomers Kristen Wiig and The Mandalorian himself, Pedro Pascal, but you know what got Ben and Eric really excited this week? Finding out there's a fake president in the movie, too! What would the 80s be like without Ronald Reagan and why didn't he get the part?…
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So many firsts this week! We cover our first fake TV president with 1600 PENN's "Dale Gilchrist." We have our first guest with 1600 PENN writer, Dan Hernandez (POKÉMAN DETECTIVE PIKACHU, THE TICK, ONE DAY AT A TIME) to shed some light on what it's actually like to write for a fake president. And we have our first discussion about Hall of Fame POTUS…
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Not since Macaulay Culkin in HOME ALONE 2 has someone so evil gotten lost in New York. Kurt Russell stars in John Carpenter's classic 1981 action/thriller about a fake president that gets trapped in the worst place on Earth...at least until the sequel. Donald Pleasence (Dr. Loomis from HALLOWEEN) plays the President, but Eric and Ben disagree on ju…
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