Oliver Stone hopes to cast Josh Brolin, who starred in American Gangster and No Country for Old Men, as George W. Bush in a biopic of the president.

Stone, who has profiled U.S. presidents such as Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy, says he doesn't plan an anti-Bush film, but a complete portrait chronicling the Texan's rise to power.

U.S. film director Oliver Stone, shown in December 2007, has never shied away from controversial topics, including Watergate and Vietnam.
(Fernando Vergara/Associated Press)

"Here, I'm the referee, and I want a fair, true portrait of the man," Stone told Variety.

"How did Bush go from an alcoholic bum to the most powerful figure in the world? It's like Frank Capra territory on one hand, but I'll also cover the demons in his private life, his bouts with his dad and his conversion to Christianity, which explains a lot of where he is coming from."

Stone has openly opposed the Iraq war, but says he doesn't want the film to advance his own opinion.

He has said the film will contain surprises for both Bush supporters and detractors.

The script, written by Stanley Weiser, who co-wrote Wall Street with Stone, was completed before the start of the ongoing U.S. writers' strike in November.

Stone is still in talks to cast Brolin as the president.

"Josh is actually better looking than Bush but has the same drive and charisma that Americans identify with Bush, who has some of that old-time movie-star swagger," Stone said.

He is still acquiring financial backing for the film.

Stone has a reputation for tackling politically controversial subjects, including Watergate, the Vietnam War and the life of Alexander the Great.

He was set to make a film about the My Lai massacre, titled Pinkville, but that was cancelled late last year, ostensibly because of the Hollywood strike.

He won Oscars for best director for Born on the Fourth of July and Platoon and was nominated for three Oscars for JFK.

He also reinterpreted dead rock star Jim Morrison in The Doors.

In 2002, he shot a documentary about Fidel Castro for HBO but the network demanded he balance the too-flattering portrait of the Cuban leader.

Last year, he attempted to film a documentary about President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, but his request for access was denied with an official reportedly dismissing the filmmaker as "part of the Great Satan."