At a gathering of about 300 people at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library last week, cast members of the upcoming film Reagan carefully noted that the movie is non-partisan.
An appeal to be bold and exercise your First Amendment right to free speech during the current election cycle was the closest Dennis Quaid, who plays Ronald Reagan in the movie, came to partisanship.
"Everybody should really take a side during this election and be willing to talk ... Republican or Democrat; pick a side and vote, and then let's get on with it," Quaid said.
Quaid also noted the movie is set to open at the perfect time, given how partisan things are nowadays, and noted Reagan's friendly relationship with Tip O'Neill, the Democrat speaker of the House during the Republican's tenure at the White House.
"It's emblematic of the way I wish we could be like; that we still can be, to get back to working together as Americans," Quaid told the assembled.
Library donors and other VIPs then headed for a meal beneath Reagan's Air Force One, the aircraft where some scenes of the movie were filmed, with Quaid wearing a jacket worn by the 40th president.
Not mentioned was the premiere for the movie that opens in theaters on August 30, because the red-carpet event has yet to be announced.
But Newsweek learned that there will actually be two premieres, one in Hollywood and another in Dixon, Illinois, where Reagan spent his childhood. And the guest list is formidable.
According to invitations obtained by Newsweek, President Joe Biden and the three primary presidential candidates have been invited: President Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The invitations are in the form of nearly identical letters dated July 25, 2024, from Kevin Mitchell, CEO of Showbiz Direct, the distributor of the film.
"We did not plan to release the movie during an election year, but delays due to Covid and an actor's strike have resulted in the release of this movie at this unique time in our nation's history," Mitchell wrote to the four invited guests.
Newsweek reached out to all four invitees, though none responded to a request for comment before publication.
The event is set for August 22, and the invitees, should they accept, would also tour Reagan's boyhood home and Rock River, where he worked as a lifeguard. In the movie, David Henrie, famous as the brother of the Selena Gomez character on the Disney Channel show, The Wizards of Waverly Place, plays Reagan in his lifeguarding days.
Reagan's is an "American story—not one that belongs to any political party or ideology but rather to all of us," Mitchell wrote in his letters.
Mitchell confirmed the authenticity of the letters and told Newsweek: "We hope the major candidates can set aside their differences for one evening and learn from our past."
"At a time where there is so much division in the world, we hope you will join us for this historic event in the heartland of America," he wrote.
At the Reagan Library event, cast members also noted how timely the movie is because Reagan survived an assassination attempt in his first term, just as Trump survived an attempt on his life on July 13.
The event at the library also included actors Amanda Righetti, who plays Reagan's mom, Nelle; Will Wallace, who plays Edwin Meese; and Elya Baskin, who plays a Soviet defector.
Not in attendance was Jon Voight, who plays a fictional Russian agent.
Quaid also spoke of a "shiver of fear" in playing Reagan because he was his favorite president and he felt himself "unworthy," even though he previously played President Bill Clinton in the TV drama, A Special Relationship, about Clinton and Tony Blair, who was the British prime minister during the Clinton administration.
He said he felt compelled to accept the offer to play Reagan after he visited the Reagan Ranch, the vacation home for Ronald and Nancy Reagan near Santa Barbara, California. "I could just feel him and all his work up there, so I said yes," he said.
He told attendees that he learned Reagan's walk, voice, mannerisms and "crooked smile" by watching YouTube videos over the course of two years, then the attendees at the library viewed several clips of the film.
"I'm hoping that this will be the biggest Baby Boomer movie ever," Quaid said to loud applause. He also noted that Reagan is among the favorite movies of his career, perhaps second to 1983's The Right Stuff when he played astronaut Gordon Cooper.
Hammering home the non-partisan nature of the Reagan film, Quaid and Dan Lauria, who plays Tip O'Neill, attended the Republican National Convention together and planned to make an appearance at the Democratic National Convention. While Quaid has said he will be supporting Trump for president, Lauria told Newsweek, "There's no way in hell I'd ever vote for Trump."
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