Will Ferrell 'Not Pursuing' Upcoming Ronald Reagan Comedy
— -- After Ronald Reagan's family expressed their disappointment over a planned comedy that was reportedly set to star Will Ferrell as the former president, the actor has said he is not pursuing the project.
A rep for the actor told ABC News, "The REAGAN script is one of a number of scripts that had been submitted to Will Ferrell which he had considered. While it is by no means a[n] 'Alzheimer’s comedy' as has been suggested, Mr. Ferrell is not pursuing this project."
Earlier this week, it was reported that Ferrell had been cast in "Reagan." The actor was also reportedly set to produce the project.
According to Variety, the script centers on Reagan's second term as he's dealing with the effects of dementia, and an intern must convince him he's an actor playing the president in a movie.
Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease after his presidency, and died in 2004.
Reagan's oldest son, Michael Reagan, initially reacted to the reported Ferrell casting news on Thursday, tweeting, "Alheimers is not a comedy it robs you then it kills you."
After news came of Ferrell not pursuing the project Friday, he tweeted: "Thank you for taking the right path.If u want to know more about the decease contact myself or Patti."
Reagan's daughter and Michael's half-sister, author Patti Davis, also spoke out Thursday when news initially broke, posting an open letter on her website directed at Ferrell.
"Perhaps you have managed to retain some ignorance about Alzheimer’s and other versions of dementia. Perhaps if you knew more, you would not find the subject humorous," she wrote.
She recalled, "I watched as fear invaded my father’s eyes -- this man who was never afraid of anything. I heard his voice tremble as he stood in the living room and said, 'I don’t know where I am.' I watched helplessly as he reached for memories, for words, that were suddenly out of reach and moving farther away. For ten long years he drifted -- past the memories that marked his life, past all that was familiar ... and mercifully, finally past the fear.
"There was laughter in those years, but there was never humor," Davis added.
