Veteran actor and C&I cover star Dennis Quaid plays the 40th U.S. President in the biopic opening Aug. 30.
And now for something completely different: You can celebrate July 4th this year anywhere you can access the Internet by ordering advance individual or group tickets for Reagan, the long-awaited biopic starring C&I reader favorite Dennis Quaid in the title role as the 40th U.S. President. Online sales begin here on Independence Day.
“I’ve always been told bits and pieces of the stories of Ronald Reagan’s life,” Quaid says, “but this movie puts the whole story together. I’ve played quite a few real people over the years, and I like to play them from their point of view, without judgment. It was a big challenge for me to get behind the public persona of the man and also to move beyond my own feelings of admiration for him.”
Set to open only in theaters Aug. 30, Reagan was directed by veteran filmmaker Sean McNamara (Soul Surfer, Miracle Season), and features a powerful supporting cast that includes Penelope Ann Miller as Nancy Reagan, Penelope Ann Miller as Nancy Reagan; Mena Suvari as Jane Wyman, Reagan’s first wife; Lesley-Anne Down as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; Robert Davi as Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev; C. Thomas Howell as Caspar Weinberger, President Reagan’s Secretary of Defense; Kevin Dillon as Warner Bros. studio chief Jack Warner; and Oscar winner Jon Voight as Viktor Petrovich, a former KGB agent whose life becomes inextricably linked with Ronald Reagan’s when Reagan first catches the Soviets’ attention as an actor in Hollywood.
The film follows Reagan from his humble beginnings in Tampico, Illinois to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, and finally on to his biggest role as Commander in Chief set on the world stage. “I was reluctant to portray him at first,” Quaid told C&I during an interview for our July 2022 cover story, “because he was a hero of mine. He’s my favorite President of the 20th century, really. I was encouraged by the fact that we were both actors. And we both have a sunny disposition. But it’s one of those things where you get a tingle of fear up your spine about doing.
“But you know what? Whenever I get that, that’s usually an indication that I should do something. So that’s why I did it. It was quite a journey. Really an amazing experience. And Cowboys & Indians is the perfect place to talk about him because you know what a Western icon the guy was. I think that’s really the key to him—the West and the love of the West.”
Reagan serves as the debut release from the recently launched studio ShowBiz Direct led by former exhibition veteran Kevin Mitchell, former Lionsgate distribution president Richie Fay, and former co-president of Open Road distribution Scott Kennedy.
“We are honored for the opportunity to launch ShowBiz Direct with Reagan,” says Mitchell, noting that “the cast does such an amazing job in this movie.
“Our team is ready to show the creative and exhibition communities that we want to work with you to put movies on the big screen where they belong, and are extremely excited to bring Reagan to a theater near you with our wide release on Aug. 30.”
Dennis Quaid described the challenges and rewards of playing Ronald Regan in our July 2022 cover story profile.
Click here to purchase your copy of the July 2022 issue.
