Adam McKay, a movie director, producer and screenwriter who was a creative force behind the proposed film entitled Reagan that was intended to depict the 40th president of the United States as suffering from the effects of Alzheimer’s during his second term, was said to be “in the middle of a truly bizarre 'nontroversy'” in an article on the Daily Beast website.
Before interviewing McKay, Marlow Stern -- an entertainment editor and writer for the website -- noted that the project was to star liberal comedian Will Ferrell as Ronald Reagan, who was convinced by an intern that he was still an actor now playing the occupant of the White House.
The movie, which was to be produced by Hollywood favorite Gary Sanchez, “came under heavy fire from conservatives – including members of Reagan's own family – for allegedly mocking the oft-heralded politician,” Stern stated.
“The problem?” the writer asked. “Nobody really knew if the film was going to mock Reagan for his illness. Outlets simply saw Ferrell as a rumored candidate for the role, and their imaginations ran amok.”
Actually, Justin Kroll, a film reporter for Variety, stated in an article on its website that “the fictional movie about Ronald Reagan was penned by writer and actor Mike Rosolio and 'begins at the start of the ex-president’s second term when he falls into dementia.'”
As a result, “an ambitious intern is tasked with convincing the commander-in-chief that he is an actor playing the president in a movie,” Kroll noted.
However, McKay stated:
I’ve never been that close to a story like that where so little information became such a tidal wave. It was really crazy to behold.
People hadn’t even read the script; it was just three words: “Reagan, Ferrell, Alzheimer’s,” and it became this huge thing.
“Finally,” he claimed, “The Hollywood Reporter wrote a piece where they actually read the script and thought it was a really thoughtful script and tender towards Reagan, but yeah, it’s this culture we live in. It’s all about clicks, clicks, clicks, and hits, hits, hits.”
Of course, that reading must have been very brief since it contained only three words.
Nevertheless, “I kept saying when that story snowballed, ‘Is there anyone who really thinks Will Ferrell would make a comedy about a horrible disease like Alzheimer’s?’ In a million years, no one would do that!” he continued.
“You’d have people on the left and right coming after you,” McKay continued. “I think it’s more about the deification of Ronald Reagan, where you can’t go near the subject of Ronald Reagan.”
Also, McKay said: “Will wasn’t even attached to do the movie! He was just looking at it. It didn’t even have a director yet or was set up. It was just one of 30 projects Will was looking at.” Nonetheless, Ferrell was forced to formally announce his separation from the project.
“Because of the numerous -- and erroneous -- media reports from both the Hollywood trades and right-wing websites,” Stern asserted, “McKay found himself in the cross-hairs of a mad-as-hell fraternity of conservatives who flooded his office with threatening letters and phone calls.”
“It was scary, man,” McKay noted. “There are some scary people out there who respond to stuff like that. There were scary messages left at our office. Stuff like: ‘How dare you say anything bad about Ronald Reagan; you better watch your back.’ Some very scary voicemails.”
Before he earned his Academy bona fides with a film called The Big Short, McKay was chiefly known as a comedy director, having helmed hits like Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers and The Other Guys.
He also wrote and produced the 2012 political comedy The Campaign.
And McKay, an outspoken Democrat, also directed and co-wrote the 2009 Broadway play You’re Welcome, America. A Final Night With George W Bush, which saw Ferrell reprise his George W. Bush character from NBC's Saturday Night Live program
“Despite the lowly Dubya years, the political climate has gotten even crazier now,” Stern claimed, “as epitomized by the rise of former Celebrity Apprentice host Donald J. Trump, now the presumptive Republican nominee for president.”
“When asked whether, given how insane things have become, it’s difficult to pull off political comedy these days,” McKay remarked before pausing. “I think it’s incredibly hard. I mean, what do you really do? You almost just need to have someone on camera just screaming!”
“It’s really remarkable,” he stated. “You’re really seeing America just completely unravel.”
“For 20 years now, we’ve been saying: ‘We’ve got to be careful, we’re heading down a bad path, America is going to become a banana republic!”
“Well, we’re here,” McKay claimed. “Donald Trump is the kind of guy who would be president of a banana republic. … It’s really heartbreaking.”
