Well, it didn't take long for there to be a conservative freak out over news Will Ferrell would be making a comedy about Ronald Reagan's struggles with Alzheimer's. Suddenly, the Party who were okay with Donald Trump making fun of a journalist's physical ailments were really super offended that anyone could be so "cruel", as Reagan's family said, to old Saint Ronnie. And soon after that firestorm erupted, Ferrell has decided not to pursue the project, although he says it's for a different reason.
"The Reagan script is one of a number of scripts that had been submitted to Will Ferrell which he had considered. While it is by no means an 'Alzheimers comedy' as has been suggested, Mr. Ferrell is not pursuing this project", said Ferrell's spokesperson about the decision.
The film was written by Mike Rosolio and had been a popular selection on the Black List, the best unproduced screenplays making the Hollywood rounds. What's interesting is that the people most pissed off have never even read the screenplay, all they know is the logline...
"When Ronald Reagan falls into dementia at the start of his second term, an ambitious intern is tasked with convincing the Commander-In-Chief that he is an actor playing the President in a movie.”
But THR got their hands on the script and say the movie is actually "good-natured" and "well-researched", offering an alternate take on history similar to the underrated Watergate comedy, Dick.
I'm inclined to think that Ferrell didn't take the project because he's too busy with any of a thousand other films, and that some day he will help bring Reagan to the big screen. His Gary Sanchez production banner picked up the rights for a reason, after all. But I would hate to think that a few ignorant loud-mouths with a Reagan fetish were able to have any kind of influence.
