It is way to early to think about this (or maybe not, since Oliver Stone’s “W” dramatized the life of a sitting president), but I keep hearing the word “history” used over and over again today in the media. Barack Obama getting elected the 44th President of the United States is certainly historic. I even heard a caller on a talk show this morning talk about how tears were streaming down his face while he watched the TV last night.

“It was like the ending of ‘Ben-Hur’!” he said.

History being compared to movies. I think that’s a signal that now it’s time to think about who will play Obama in the eventual biopic of his life.

“Too soon!” you may say. And, technically, I might agree. But isn’t it fun to play the game?

It’s crazy how quickly current events are turned around into historical films these days. HBO’s recent “Recount” was about the fight over the 2000 election. Paul Greengrass’ amazing “United 93″ conveyed the immediacy and urgency of Sept. 11. On the less serious side of things, the usual turnaround of TV movies about sensational news stories like the Texas cheerleader scandal, the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan incident, or the baby caught in a well has been traditionally very fast. (And how many Amy Fisher/Joey Buttafuco movies were rushed into production?)

Especially in this lightning-fast communications age, we are also able to see history as it happens. What’s bizarre is how quickly an event can be registered as “history.” No doubt, yesterday was one of those days. And movies and TV played a huge part in the making of yesterday’s election results. Don’t think that they didn’t. Besides the fact that Americans had two full years to observe the way Obama carried himself as a public figure, we also had two years to get used to the idea of a black president. It wasn’t that hard; it’s something that has been out there in the culture for quite awhile.

It’s often said the Hollywood is extremely liberal, so black actors portraying the President in movies like “Deep Impact” (Morgan Freeman) or “Head of State” (Chris Rock) are no surprises. (Not to mention “The Fifth Element,” “Idiocracy,” “The Man,” although those weren’t necessarily game-changers). Probably the role with biggest cultural effect, however, was from Fox’s “24,” a TV show created, ironically, by a conservative writer/producer.

David Palmer (played by Dennis Haysbert, the reassuring presence from those Allstate commercials) was one of those tough presidents who tackled problems with an equal amount of smarts and morality. He was the kind of president you’d wish we could have in the White House one day, and his run on that popular TV show did a lot to get the country used to the idea of a black president, I believe. He was assassinated after he was out of office, and his brother Wayne Palmer (D.B. Woodside) was elected not long after that. Two black presidents. One show. Plus lots of sketchy, scheming white men swirling around them…

Now that the moment is upon us, let’s get hypothetical. What current actor has the range, gravity, and physical characteristics to play President-elect Barack Obama in a movie?

My top choice would be Jeffrey Wright, who was so good as the moral compass in “W.” He played Colin Powell as a character, not an impersonation. His conflict and conscience were guiding lights in a movie where virtually everyone else had their own agendas. He’s proven in tons of great supporting roles (Bill Murray’s loquacious best friend in “Broken Flowers” and the uber-confident villain in “Shaft” leap to mind) that he’s got the chops and I think he could portray Obama’s tenacity in all the key moments in his life.

Will Smith would obviously be any movie producer’s first choice due to his box office clout, and I think he could handle it. He made me forget he was Will Smith in Michael Mann’s flawed-but-interesting “Ali,” and would have the same uphill battle portraying another very famous face were he to tackle Obama.

Terrence Howard, recently let go as Jim Rhodes in the “Iron Man” series, might be a good choice. He was totally convincing in his Oscar-nominated role as the pimp-turned-rapper in “Hustle and Flow,” and that same year played a successful yuppie TV producer in “Crash.” (Though I hated the movie, his performance was quite good.)

Lastly, I think British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is a true chameleon. Having appeared in everything from “Children of Men” down to “Love Actually,” he is probably the most versatile actor on this list. Plus, he is not a household name or a bankable actor yet, so his personality won’t get in the way of Obama. Right now, especially with his hard-to-pronounce name, he is still “that guy who’s always good in everything he does.” He also has a history of choosing really risky roles with great directors over more commercial work,

Now it’s time to hear from you all. It’s probably too early, but we all know it’s a great story, and Hollywood loves great stories, especially the against-all-odds “only in America” kind.

Who do you think should play President-elect Barack Obama in the inevitable movie biopic?

Tags: actor, barack, biopic, Chiwetel, dennis, Ejiofor, film, haysbert, hollywood, howard, jeffrey, life, movie, obama, play, president, should, smith, terrence, who, will, wright

The official lineup for the 61st Cannes Film Festival was unveiled yesterday in Paris. “Changeling,” starring Angelina Jolie and directed by Clint Eastwood, and Steven Soderbergh’s two Che Guevara films, were last minute additions. Soderbergh’s films, “The Argentine” (starring Franka Potente, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and, of course, Benicio del Toro in the title role) and “Guerrilla,” (starring all three again, plus Julia Ormond, Benjamin Bratt, and Lou Diamond Phillips) will screen back-to-back at a running time of four hours on May 21. I suppose if you started with Walter Salles’ “The Motorcycle Diaries” (which concentrated on the revolutionary’s formative years),  one could have six and a half straight hours of full-on Che action. I don’t think anyone has undertaken this kind of a mammoth project on the same subject since, well, Eastwood put out “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima” four months apart in 2006.

You know, I am excited that summer is right around the corner and the big event movies are finally here, but every year around late August, I need an antidote. It is nice to know now what some of the big-time heavyweights will be that will arrive in the Fall.

One movie in the main competition that I’m super-excited about is Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut, “Synecdoche, New York” (which wins the award for the most unpronouncable film title ever) starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Williams, Emily Watson and Catherine Keener. Kaufman is well-known for writing “Being John Malkovich,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” and “Adaptation,” but this is the first time he has also stepped behind the director’s chair. Hell, it worked for Tony Gilroy, a screenwriter whose first foray into directing last year was “Michael Clayton,” which won him an Oscar nomination for Best Director and put him at the forefront of A-List “serious” film directors. Of course, Kaufman already has his Oscar (for writing “Eternal”), so expectations are even higher. I don’t care what the film is about, I’m so there already.

Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” screens out of competition on May 18 and it will be his first trip to Cannes since 1985’s “The Color Purple.” Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” which stars Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz, is screening out of competition. This year, Sean Penn presides over the jury, along with Natalie Portman. Other big names in the lineup are Wim Wenders with “The Palermo Shooting,” Atom Egoyan with “Adoration,” and Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas’ “Linha de Passe.” Marina Zenovich’s documentary “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired,” which competed in Sundance, will get a special screening.

Also of note: Ang Lee is directing a movie revolving around the Woodstock music festival. From a sensationally-titled article on the movie in Yahoo!: “Taking Woodstock” centers on the colorful life of a Greenwich Village-based interior designer and part-time Catskills hotel manager who headed the Bethel, N.Y., Chamber of Commerce. He issued the permit for the legendary 1969 concert on his neighbor Max Yasgur’s farm. It is based on Elliot Tiber’s 2007 memoir “Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life,” which he wrote with Tom Monte.

And, from Variety: “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” helmer Nick Stoller is reteaming with Judd Apatow for the comedy “Get Him to the Greek,” with Jonah Hill and Russell Brand attached to star. Stoller has been tapped to write and direct the laffer, which centers on a fresh-out-of-college insurance adjuster (Hill) who is hired to accompany an out-of-control rock star (Brand) from London to a gig at L.A.’s Greek Theater.

Finally, from MTV.com: After co-directing “Sin City” and single-handedly helming the upcoming adaptation of Will Eisner’s “The Spirit,” Frank Miller has decided that the only person he’d want directing a “Hard Boiled” movie is himself. “I’m in love with directing,” he gushed. “I’ve found a way to expand my career. Comics and directing are really two sides of the same coin. That’s what Robert Rodriguez taught me…good drama is good drama.”

Tags: cannes, changeling, clip, eastwood, film festival, guerrilla, hollywood, joint, kaufman, new york, soderbergh, synedoche, the argentine