Reagan on the Internet

It seems that during Gipperwatch's latest hiatus, the internet has responded to the vacuum with a few new Reagan-themed websites.

1) The Reagan Record

Also on Blogger, this site is dedicated to monitoring the events of the centennial, while also delving a bit back into Reagan's past. The Tenuto Family of Illinois promises to review copies of the Reagan Record, his old fan club newsletter, as well as every one of his 53 movies (conveniently amounting to one a week for a year, thereabouts). I'm not sure if this is possible (how many are available) but good luck to them! Gipperwatch will be reading, and no doubt poaching their work.

2) The Ronald Reagan Legacy Project..

..is back online! And flashier than ever. Grover Norquist's outfit, committed to naming as many things as possible after Ronald Reagan, used to blog about their efforts but lost steam a couple of years ago - I'm not the only one. In advance of the 100th birthday, the RRLP has launched a new website, complete with an interactive map displaying their progress so far. The site also offers a strategy guide for citizens and elected officials interested in furthering the mission: "Schools are an excellent opportunity to name a project after Reagan, they are being built every day."

3) Reagan to the Rescue

A gallery of Reagan's awseomness.

4) Reagan the Movie

Not Michael Rogin's psycho-biography of Reagan's film career, but a site promoting the Reagan film, discussed here before. No new news though, and seems a bit buggy.

Reagan the Movie

The Hollywood Reporter has broken news of a new Reagan biopic in the works. This seems to be an insurgent project, lead by Mark Joseph, apparently new to Hollywood, and his built-for-purpose production company, Rawhide Pictures. Joseph saw a gap in the market following the failure of CBS' The Reagans:

Only in Hollywood could you make an insulting, condescending movie about a much-loved historical figure, hire an actor who loathes the man, watch it flop and then somehow conclude that Americans don't want to see a movie about him. I watched Americans line up and wait for 10 hours for the simple privilege of passing by his closed casket. They love this man.

The tone of the film is predictable, considering that Joseph wants it based on Paul Kengor's two books, God and Ronald Reagan and The Crusader. These are highly admiring, and engaging, portraits of Reagan, together presenting his life as a determined battle against Communism, grounded on a certain, guiding faith. In each there is a sense of destiny to Reagan's unequivocal Cold War victory, both in Kengor's narrative and in the emphasis on Reagan's own belief in the divinely ordained purpose to his life.

It is significant that the script, written by Jonas McCord, begins with Reagan's assassination attempt, flashing back and forth through his life from that anchoring event. Kengor emphasises in both books Reagan's spiritual understanding of his survival - "I now know that whatever days I have left belong to Him" - and aligns it with his assault on and victory over Communism. "His sense of divine purpose", shared by religous figures he spoke with after the shooting, "now reinforced and amplified his Cold War purpose". Kengor offers important biographical analysis, echoing and expanding on other biographers' observations, but throughout his work there is an implicit invitation to share Reagan's beliefs. There is a narrative inevitablity, a fondness for moments of poignancy and portent, and above all, a conviction in the righteousness of Reagan's life and achievements. These characteristics could translate well to film. If Reagan, the movie, is made in these terms, it could well be a Christian parable of America in the 20th Century, an assertion of destiny, exceptionalism and faith. And could thus be a very successful film, and an interesting one to 2012 audiences.

My hopes, anyway, of a movie based on Dutch, appear to have been dashed.

"If you think I can play Ronald Reagan, you must be French"

I am looking forward to seeing Farewell, a French espionage movie about a KGB mole and the stories surrounding him. Eighties Cold War thrillers are always a winner for me, but I am chiefly excited for its rare inclusion of Ronald Reagan as a character, and more so for the fact that Fred Ward will be playing him. If Ward brings to the film everything he brought to Tremors, it may be the best representation of Reagan ever (though there is little competition). An interview with the director is here, and the trailer is below: