Giving voice to Republican gripes, a political reporter has ripped Hollywood for casting Michael Douglas, an "uber liberal," to play Ronald Reagan in an upcoming indie film about the 1986 Reykjavik summit.
U.S. News and World Report's Peter Roff complained on Tuesday that Douglas will play the nation's 40th president, claiming the actor isn’t "presidential material."
"Casting a Reagan 'critic' like Douglas is emblematic of how Hollywood liberals feel about the man,"
Roff wrote on his blog. "His portrayal of Gordon Gecko [in Wall Street] was widely viewed by movie critics, professors of political science at elite universities, news commentators, and just about everyone else as an attack on Reagan's economic policies — especially the infamous 'greed is good' speech that comes midway through the film."
Roff argued that Hollywood has always "hated" Reagan, citing "countless references in films to Reagan being a criminal, an idiot, a national embarrassment, and the cause of just about everything that is wrong in the world today."
Actor-turned Republican president Reagan won his second term by the largest electoral margin in history in 1984, implementing sweeping economic initiatives with his "Reaganomics" policies and became a conservative icon.
Many Republicans had the same stance as Roff when the news first broke over the summer about the active Democratic fundraiser, who is best known for his roles in "Basic Instinct" and "Wall Street."
Some came to Douglas' defense, countering Roff.
"Douglas is a good actor…hope he does Ronnie proud," one user, Loj, commented on a story by The Blaze, which reported on Roff's blog post.
A similar story by the Hollywood Reporter garnered this comment from user Oryx11: "What difference does his personal philosophy make? His on screen roles are typically conservatives (sic) types — sympathetically played. 'Wall Street,' 'Falling Down,' 'The Game' are just a few that quickly come to mind. Besides I don't think Douglas is a raging liberal by any stretch."
The film, called "
Reykjavik," tells the story of the 1986 meeting in the Icelandic capital between Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The two met to iron out arms control issues, but the talks came to a screeching halt when both parties walked away from a deal.
Douglas is lined up for a number of new films since entering remission from throat cancer in 2011. He will star with fellow Oscar winners Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman, and Jack Nicholson in this year's upcoming "Last Vegas," a comedy about a group of 60-something friends who reunite for a stag night in the city.
Filming for "Reykjavik" is slated to start in March in Germany.
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