Why Bill Clinton And George W. Bush Are Portrayed In A Tom Cruise Movie About An Infamous Drug Smuggler . 
George W Bush
But both Spinelli and Liman understood that , as with the Bush family , they could n't tell Seal 's story and not at least tip their hats to the cottage industry of fringe Clinton conspiracies involving him . 
The most eyebrow-raising moments in American Made , however , come when Seal crosses paths with two other major historical figures : Bill Clinton and George W. Bush . 
Seal was murdered in 1986 , by Colombian nationals allegedly carrying out a contract on his life -- a fact that , coupled with the fuzzy details surrounding his possible collusion with federal intelligence officials , makes him terrific fodder for a different kind of storytelling , and is ultimately what led the filmmakers to include Clinton and Bush in American Made . 
For example , Spinelli said , "one of the big conspiracy theories around Barry is that he was -LSB- George -RSB- H.W. Bush 's personal pilot , and when Barry was killed , he had Bush 's phone number in his back pocket ." 
Which is how American Made , which opens Sept. 29 , ended up with a scene in which Seal is waiting for a meeting at the White House while sitting next to a young George W. Bush -LRB- Connor Trinneer -RRB- as they exchange small talk about piloting planes . 
"I just wanted to put a little fun thing between Barry and George W. Bush to just sort of say , ` We 're not ignorant of those allegations , '" said Liman ." 
Spinelli said that since Seal reportedly did visit the Reagan White House , he was OK with placing him next to Bush , who also regularly visited the White House when his father was vice president . 
"You know , there 's dramatic license there , but both -LSB- Seal and Bush -RSB- were pilots , and I just thought it would be a cool moment to have -LSB- H.W. Bush 's -RSB- son meet Barry in the hallway ," he said . 
-LRB- Representatives for George W. Bush did not respond to a request to comment . -RRB-
But both Spinelli and Liman understood that , as with the Bush family , they could n't tell Seal 's story and not at least tip their hats to the cottage industry of fringe Clinton conspiracies involving him . 
The most eyebrow-raising moments in American Made , however , come when Seal crosses paths with two other major historical figures : Bill Clinton and George W. Bush . 
Seal was murdered in 1986 , by Colombian nationals allegedly carrying out a contract on his life -- a fact that , coupled with the fuzzy details surrounding his possible collusion with federal intelligence officials , makes him terrific fodder for a different kind of storytelling , and is ultimately what led the filmmakers to include Clinton and Bush in American Made . 
For example , Spinelli said , "one of the big conspiracy theories around Barry is that he was -LSB- George -RSB- H.W. Bush 's personal pilot , and when Barry was killed , he had Bush 's phone number in his back pocket ." 
Which is how American Made , which opens Sept. 29 , ended up with a scene in which Seal is waiting for a meeting at the White House while sitting next to a young George W. Bush -LRB- Connor Trinneer -RRB- as they exchange small talk about piloting planes . 
"I just wanted to put a little fun thing between Barry and George W. Bush to just sort of say , ` We 're not ignorant of those allegations , '" said Liman ." 
Spinelli said that since Seal reportedly did visit the Reagan White House , he was OK with placing him next to Bush , who also regularly visited the White House when his father was vice president . 
"You know , there 's dramatic license there , but both -LSB- Seal and Bush -RSB- were pilots , and I just thought it would be a cool moment to have -LSB- H.W. Bush 's -RSB- son meet Barry in the hallway ," he said . 
-LRB- Representatives for George W. Bush did not respond to a request to comment . -RRB-