The 2024 biographical drama Reagan, directed by Sean McNamara and scripted by Howaard Klausner, gives the audience an insight into the life of the 40th president of the United States of America- Ronald Reagan. Based on Paul Kengor’s 2006 book The Crusader:Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism. The movie is based on the true story of Ronald Reagan and the collapse of communism as portrayed in the movie by Dennis Quaid, Penelope Ann Miller, Robert Davi, Lesley-Anne Down and Jon Voight. The movie not only presents Reagan’s political life but focuses on his political career and personal life: the story of ordinary boy from a small town, which turns to be one of the most perspective political leaders of the recent history.
Story Overview
Ronald Reagan guides the viewer through the Presidents own life starting from boyhood days in Dixon, Illinois, via Hollywood, to the White House. The story is presented by two former KGB agents, Viktor Ivanov, portrayed by Jon Voight and Andrei Novikov, played by Alex Sparrow. His experiences acting, his tenure as Governor of California, his two first and second terms as President: concentrating on his part played at breaking the Cold War and transforming the politics of the United States of America.
But at the base of it, it also shows the side of Reagan as a husband to his wife Nancy played by Penelope Ann Miller on how much she influenced his success. From eight decades of the American history Reagan captures the audiences in an element ofшевfulness of our social history as well as an inspiring chance to rethink critically through the great influence of America’s icon.
Where was “Reagan” Filmed?
Reagan (2024) shooting commenced in early September 2020 with principal photography taking place in October 2020. Most of the shooting was done in Oklahoma and some parts in California. On October 22, 2020, it was reported that the shoot has been halted after several members of the show crew contracted COVID-19. The shootings got back up on November 5, 2020. Here are the details:
Guthrie, Oklahoma:
Guthrie was one of the main shooting locations especially in regard to the scenarist and propagandist portrayal of the Berlin Wall. Some of the most historically commemorative segments of the town, for example, the buildings and streets, were used well in these scenes.
Santa Monica, California:
Shooting of some scenes depicting the Reagan Ranch was done in the Santa Monica in order to portray the Californian life of Reagan who was a governor as well as lived in California most of his times after his presidency tenure.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma:
Signs of Oklahoma City and scenes of different epochs and places in the life of Reagan were filmed. The places that have been used in shooting enabled the filmmakers to depict multiple important episodes from the life of Reagan.
Edmond, Oklahoma:
Another location which was filmed was Edmond, a city near Guthrie: more locations were necessary for the film.
Dennis Quaid for instance who played the role of Ronald Reagan has been very close to this film and enjoyed his time shooting in Oklahoma. Best known for portraying real life astronauts in The Right Stuff and various other classics, Quaid now considers Reagan as his favorite project, all the more due to the things that happened to him during the shooting in the Sooner State.
“I judge my films based on the time that I had while I was making them, and Reagan has now taken the top spot in that — and a lot of that does have to do with Oklahoma and the time that we had here. It’s a very special film for me,”– Quaid said at the beginning of the premiere of the picture in Oklahoma.
The actor thanked Oklahoma for the warm hospitality, excellent local cast and crews, and their flexibility to work with during the COVID-19 period. The opportunity of keeping the film production going can be attributed to the fact that the state had open doors while other places, for instance, California were closed.
In particular, Quaid interpreted Reagan in a very personal way because the actor appreciated the above-mentioned president and even voted for him. He describes Reagan as a film that deal with the American story and spirit regardless of party affiliation to tell the story of the man who captured the ethos of America.
When the Reagan finally debuts across movie houses all over the country, the public can look forward to a biopic that pays tribute to the former president as well as to the collective hard work of all the people behind the scenes in making the movie possible. It must also come from Oklahoma and from the heart-felt performances Reagan has the potential to make its mark on moviegoers similar to the man it profiles.
