Dick Cheney 'levied a lot of damage', says Vice director Adam McKay
Adam McKay, director of US political biopic Vice, speaks to Sky News' Lucy Cotter about its subject, Dick Cheney.
Friday 18 January 2019 03:25, UK
Vice writer and director Adam McKay clearly likes controversy.
His latest film has been described as the most divisive out this season.
This unconventional political biopic paints former US vice-president Dick Cheney as a megalomaniac who puts his own political agenda above virtually everything else.
McKay is not averse to drawing comparisons with the current administration, telling Sky News that in terms of political manoeuvring, his subject was far more shrewd than Donald Trump.
"Cheney was quite brilliant in what he did and he definitely loosened the screws on democracy and he was definitely smart enough to get in there and work the system," he says.
"The current guy who's president doesn't have that kind of bureaucratic knowledge, doesn't really understand government.
"I jokingly call Dick Cheney the safe-cracker - he's the one who got the diamonds out and then the current president is the one who came in and started walking around the empty office, trashing the office and eating a sandwich."
McKay says Mr Trump is "dispiriting and upsetting because he doesn't care about anything", but Cheney "levied a lot of damage; we invaded a country, we started torturing - there's some pretty major stuff, the world economy collapsed on his watch".
The film stars Christian Bale as Cheney and Amy Adams as his wife Lynne, and has already won a clutch of awards - including best actor for Bale at the Golden Globes.
However, it has certainly not been embraced by all, with reports Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner walked out of a screening.
This is something McKay seems to relish.
"I think a lot of the Republicans wanted to pretend that the Bush-Cheney years never happened, so some were very unhappy that this movie came out.
"As far as Ivanka and Jared walking out, that is the least surprising thing I've ever heard and I'm amazed they bought a ticket.
"I think they meant to buy a ticket for Mule and got Vice," he says, referencing the latest movie from Clint Eastwood, based on the true story of a Second World War veteran in his 80s who became a drug courier.
"They knew it was about some cranky old white guy and couldn't figure out which."
McKay, who had huge success in 2015 with The Big Short, which looked at the financial crisis of 2007-2008, also hinted at making another movie about the "crazy political system in the United States".
He says both Vice and The Big Short are part of his 'What the heck is going on?" trilogy, aiming to make audiences "unsettled, uncomfortable and surprised".
:: Vice is released on 25 January