Michael Douglas To Play Ronald Reagan In Mike Newell’s ‘Reykjavik’
Michael Douglas is in talks to portray Ronald Reagan in director Mike Newell’s upcoming historical drama Reykjavik, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus director Ridley Scott was originally attached to direct the independent feature, though he will now serve as producer.
Participant Media, who produced the award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, will finance the picture; the company has reportedly ponied up $10 million for the film’s budget. Reykjavik will mark Newell’s first endeavor following the completion of Great Expectations, an adaptation which stars Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, and Jason Flemyng.
Screen Daily reports that the upcoming drama is about “the meeting between US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the mid-1980s which helped bring about the end of the Cold War.” Kevin Hood, the man responsible for penning the Anne Hathaway feature Becoming Jane, tackled scripting duties for the film.
While waiting to hear whether or not Douglas will portray Ronald Reagan in aforementioned Cold War drama, fans of the Wall Street star will be able to enjoy his performance in Steven Soderbergh’s star-studded biopic Behind the Candelabra. Douglas, who portrays Liberace in the TV movie, will be joined by the likes of Matt Damon, Rob Lowe, Dan Aykroyd, Debbie Reynolds, and Scott Bakula.
According to Cinema Blend, Michael Douglas is also attached to star in National Treasure director Jon Turteltaub’s Last Vegas. The film, which also stars Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Jack Nicholson, follows the adventures of four friends in their 60s who decide to throw a bachelor party for the only guy who never married.
The fact that Michael Douglas is back in the cinematic saddle is definitely good news. In 2010, the actor was diagnosed with throat cancer, which he confirmed during an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. After receiving extensive treatment, Douglas explained during a 2011 interview that the tumor was gone.
Do you think Michael Douglas is a good choice to portray Ronald Reagan?
