How "Vice" Director Turned Christian Bale Into Dick Cheney

Vice director Adam McKay believes Dick Cheney to be the most pivotal figure of modern American politics.

Cheney, played by Christian Bale in the upcoming Christmas Day release, operated an entire second government right under his president, George W. Bush’s (Sam Rockwell) nose, McKay told The Hollywood Reporter, and was able to expand his power to greater heights than Bush ever could.

“He operated with just impunity,” McKay said. “There’s a lot of presidents who never wielded that kind of power.”

And the liberal filmmaker sees this rise as “the story of how we got here,” with Donald Trump as president.

“In the filming and the editing of it,” he said, “it was eerie how much it kept lining up with the (present) world.”

“I see a guy who gave it all away,” he continued. “And his story is kind of America’s story. I feel the same way about our country now. Cheney had it. America had it. Like we were rolling into the ’70s, and poverty was at an all-time low. Income inequality was like at an all-time low. I went to Temple University, a city school. I owed $3,800 in student debt when I left. The country was working, and unions were strong. You just feel we gave it away.”

But McKay also said that Bill Clinton was a terrible president.