Why A Major Outrage Made Will Ferrell Pull Out Of His Own Film
Over the last couple of decades, Will Ferrell has starred in many beloved movies that will go down in history. For example, at this point, it seems all but certain that Elf will continue to be a Christmas classic for years to come. As a result of all the popular movies that Ferrell has starred in, it is very clear that he has cemented his legacy as one of the best actors of his generation.
If there is one thing that Hollywood history makes clear, it is this, once an actor stars in enough hit movies they become so powerful that they seem untouchable. Even though Will Ferrell has headlined enough hit films to reach that level in his career, it seems clear that he doesn’t have a big enough had to act untouchable. After all, when there was a sizable backlash once the world learned of a movie he was set to star in, Ferrell quickly opted to abandon the project.
The Black List
Since the mid-2000s, a group has been surveying some of the most powerful people in Hollywood in order together something called The Black List. Unlike the famous Hollywood Black List from the ‘40s, this survey has nothing to do with banning people from working in the movie business. Instead, this survey is all about ranking the most popular unproduced scripts that are making the round among the powerful people in Hollywood.
When a script makes it onto the Black List, the chances of it being quickly sold and put into production go up exponentially. For example, some of the scripts that made it onto The Black List in the past got turned into movies like The Social Network, Looper, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Slumdog Millionaire among others.
In 2015, a comedy script called Reagan was the ninth most popular project to appear on that year’s Black List. For that reason, there was so much interest in the project that Lena Dunham, John Cho, and James Brolin performed a live reading of the script. As a result of all the hype around Reagan’s script, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Will Ferrell’s production company bought it and he planned to headline the film.
The Script
After most American Presidents leave office, the world starts to learn things about their tenure that didn’t come to light while were in The White House. After all, once a President leaves office and their cabinet finds themselves in search of work, a lot of them decide to pen tell-all books about their time in The White House.
In the years since Ronald Reagan left office, a lot of people have come to believe that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease throughout his second term as the President. While that contention will never be proven, it is fascinating to think about since Reagan was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease five years after his second term ended. Of course, a rumor doesn’t have to be proven for there to be a movie made about it, especially if the film is going to be a comedy.
Obviously very aware of the rumors about the former President, a writer named Mike Rosolio penned a comedy script for a movie about them. Considering that he rose to fame in part because of his portrayal of another American President, it makes sense that Will Ferrell's production company bought the script for Reagan.
The Backlash And Exit
Throughout Will Ferrell’s career, he has made it a habit to play a long list of extreme characters. As a result, Ferrell may have assumed that nobody would bat an eye when they learned that he was set to portray an Alzheimer's afflicted Ronald Reagan. Assuming Ferrell believed that, he would prove to be extremely wrong.
After it was announced in 2014 that Will Ferrell was set to star in Reagan, a sizable backlash took hold remarkably quickly. While a lot of people took issue with the idea of an Alzheimer's comedy, it was most notable that Ronald Reagan’s kids spoke out against the proposed project. In the case of Michael Reagan, he quickly came out to say that anyone involved with Reagan “should be ashamed” since “Alzheimer is not a comedy”. Reagan’s daughter Patti Davis went even further by writing an entire open letter about her father’s struggles and why they shouldn’t be mocked.
As everyone should already know, so-called celebrity cancelations are common these days. However, back in 2014 when plans for Reagan were announced, they weren’t yet the cultural phenomenon they are now. Even still, Will Ferrell quickly exited the project as a result of the backlash.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiuobFdlnqurcmoqWanpam%2ForPEZqSanJVixKq4y2adnqqimrmtec%2Buo6Vln6rBbrvFZqmoppGhsW6%2BxJqemqZdm7atuY4%3D