Will Ferrell Pulls Out of Reagan ‘Alzheimer’s Comedy’

Last updated on: April 29, 2016 at 9:11 am by Kate O'Hare

Will Ferrell Pulls Out of Reagan ‘Alzheimer’s Comedy’ 2016-04-29T09:11:47-08:00 Kate O'Hare

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Well, that was fast.

As I reported here yesterday, Variety was circulating news that Will Ferrell was attached to star in a comedy about former President Ronald Reagan. Here’s how the trade publication described the script:

Penned by Mike Rosolio, the story begins at the start of the then-president’s second term when he falls into dementia and an ambitious intern is tasked with convincing the commander-in-chief that he is an actor playing the president in a movie.

Patti Davis, daughter of Reagan and his late wife, Nancy Davis Reagan, was livid and penned an open letter to Ferrell, sharply criticizing the storyline and the notion that there is something amusing about her father’s battle with Alzheimer’s.

Perhaps you have managed to retain some ignorance about Alzheimer’s and other versions of dementia. Perhaps if you knew more, you would not find the subject humorous.

Today, news comes that Ferrell has hit the road. From PageSix.com:

Will Ferrell has backed out of a comedy about Ronald Reagan’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease following outrage from the former president’s family.

The 48-year-old comic confirmed Friday that while he had seen the script and considered signing on to star and produce “Reagan”, he was no longer going ahead with the project.

A spokesperson for Will said, “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 a ‘Alzheimer’s comedy’ as has been suggested, Mr. Ferrell is not pursuing this project.”

Davis said to PageSix.com:

This movie is cruel, not just to my father, but to the millions of people who have the disease, and the millions more who care for them and watch them suffer every day.”

Also, it appears that the premise to the movie — which was still in its very early stages — doesn’t line up with reality. Also from PageSix.com:

And former Reagan staffer James Rosebush told “Fox & Friends” that Reagan did not suffer from Alzheimer’s in his second term, and the movie was “an egregious attempt to rewrite presidential history, which to paraphrase Ronald Reagan, ‘will fall on the ash heap of history.’”

With any luck, that’s exactly what will happen.

Click here to read the whole story at PageSix.com.

Image: JellyBelly portraits of Ronald and Nancy Reagan, from the Reagan Presidential Library, Courtesy Kate O’Hare

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Will Ferrell as Ronald Reagan: So, Alzheimer's Is Funny Now?

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