"Conservatives' Unwillingness to Support the Arts is Not Caution but Cowardice"

Conservatives, like France in World War II, saw the looming onslaught of the left cultural blitzkrieg in Hollywood and surrendered.

Hoping to pick up a few crumbs from the victors and eek out an existence on the ideological sidelines.

Subsequently, conservatives outside the movie industry have complained about Hollywood, but they don't do anything to counter the malign influence of Hollywood.

The struggle is left to independent producers who risk everything as they try to expose audiences to a viewpoint not rubber stamped by California cultural overlords.

Harold Fickett, writing in the Daily Signal, reviews the book "Making Reagan" by Mark Joseph. The book shows just how difficult it is to make a movie that expresses a conservative point of view.

And at the risk of being accused of a conflict of interest, your columnists are going to say the book is as good as the movie.

Joseph set out to fill a cultural void intentionally left empty by Hollywood groupthink.

"In many ways, Ronald Reagan was an obvious biopic subject. Alongside Pope John Paul II, he helped bring down the Soviet Union.

"Yet in 2005, when Joseph began, no major film on Reagan existed. Hollywood’s leftward tilt and the cultural incompetence of the right shared the blame."

The accepted wisdom in movieland was Reagan was not worthy of remembering.

"Critics dismissed him as a cheerful B-movie actor spouting conservative clichés."

An actor who also starred in a movie with a monkey.

Joseph read "The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism" by Paul Kengor and was convinced Reagan deserved a movie.

Joseph acquired the film rights and began a 19-year odyssey to turn the book into a movie.

"For 15 years, Joseph endured false starts, rewrites, and betrayals. At one point, Nicolas Cage agreed to play Reagan after meeting Joseph, but later backed out.

"Funding was just as difficult. Joseph turned down financiers who demanded creative control, fearing Hollywood would compromise Reagan's story."

Suffice it to say, Joseph's phone wasn't ringing off the hook with calls from "conservative" rich folks wanting to put their money where their mouths were.

By 2020 Joseph was tired of waiting.

He set out to start the movie with only partial funding.

His one advantage was Dennis Quaid had agreed to star as Reagan.

He moved lock, stock, and actors to Guthrie, Oklahoma and began filming.

It was a tremendous risk that paid off handsomely.

"The film finally debuted [in 2024], defying expectations with a 98% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and $30.1 million at the box office, reaching No. 1 both at the box office and later on the DVD charts.”

Naturally, left wing critics tried to have the last work with a rating of 18%, which was ignored by the public.

There is a happy ending to the story of "Reagan," but not to the continuing fight to counter the poisonous influence of Hollywood.

Fickett is correct when he concludes, "If we are ever to rebuild a healthy culture, it cannot take 19 years to make a movie about Ronald Reagan.

"Conservatives' unwillingness to support the arts is not caution but cowardice. Without investment in culture, their ideals may vanish."

Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Mr. Reagan is an in-demand speaker with Premiere Speaker's Bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.

Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.