ZEITGEIST

Never mind the change Obama's about to bring to Washington; what's his presidency going to mean to entertainment? Most Commanders-in-Chief leave big footprints on the culture. JFK launched America into the New Frontier amid visions of Camelot and cheery fare like The Dick Van Dyke Show. Reagan made it morning in America with a patriotic surge that produced Tom Cruise in Top Gun and the sweet excesses of Dynasty. George W. Bush set the world stage for jittery, paranoid dramas brimming with government conspiracies (even the Dark Knight violated wiretapping laws). And now there's a new guy moving into the West Wing — elected on a platform of hope — with the potential to plant Sasquatch-size tracks all over the zeitgeist. ''The idea of change and hope has permeated the country, regardless of politics, and that includes Hollywood,'' says Kevin Feige, president of production at Marvel Studios, home to Iron Man and the soon-to-be-launched Captain America. ''Discussions in all our development meetings include the zeitgeist and how it's changed in the last two weeks. Things are being adjusted.''

Entertainment Weekly
Nov 21 2008