Barack Obama: My pop-culture picks

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: A lot of your pop culture tastes are already listed on your Facebook page — we know you like the first two Godfather movies and are a big SportsCenter fan — but we want to get a little more specific and probing.
BARACK OBAMA: Absolutely, sure.

For instance, who’s your favorite movie or TV president?
You know who was a great movie president? Jeff Bridges in The Contender. That was a great movie president. He was charming and essentially an honorable person, but there was a rogue about him. The way he would order sandwiches — he was good at that.

Is that one of the things you’re looking forward to? Confounding the White House kitchen staff with obscure sandwich requests?
Absolutely. I want to test them. I want to see if I can get any sandwich I want.

What’s the last movie you saw in a theater?
Oh, goodness. It’s almost certainly a children’s movie. The last few times I’ve gone it’s been with my kids. I’m trying to think back — maybe Shrek 3?

What’d you think of it?
Not as good as the original.

Who controls the remote in your house —you or Michelle?
I usually have some clout when it comes to the remote. I’m not home a lot, so Michelle is usually willing to give it up. The only time I grab for the remote is when a game is on.

So neither of you are fascists when it comes to the remote…
If I tell her, ”Sweetie, we’ve got game 5 of the NBA finals on,” she’s willing to give me a little slack. Most of the time, though, the TV is on HGTV, and I suffer that silently.

Are there any shows you two argue about?
She likes American Idol, her and the girls, in a way that I don’t entirely get.

Have you or any member of your family ever voted for an Idol?
I think the girls did vote in last year’s contest. I don’t know who they voted for, but I recall that a vote was cast. They were very excited about it. [Obama’s camp won’t comment, but rumor has it that his daughters, Malia and Sasha, were big David Archuleta fans last season.]

What’s the last videogame you played?
Pong. That gives you a sense of my age. I loved that game.

NEXT PAGE: Barack Obama on his formative movie experience, favorite sitcoms, and what’s on his iPod