UPDATE: Will Ferrell 'Not Pursuing' 'Reagan' Movie
Will Ferrell's many memorable roles --- on Saturday Night Live and as the beloved Buddy the Elf --- have made him a household name for nearly two decades. His latest project, however, will likely divide a good chunk of his fans and upset conservatives everywhere.
Ferrell announced he will be working on a movie about Ronald Reagan, but the focus will be on the Alzheimer years. Friday on The Glenn Beck Program, Glenn couldn’t help but feel the pain this could cause and asked what this says about our culture.
“I know people hate Ronald Reagan, but there's a lot of people that love Ronald Reagan,” Glenn said. “And there's a lot of people that tasted freedom for the first time in their life because of Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul and Margaret Thatcher. But that's a political thing. But when you take on somebody -- anybody -- on Alzheimer's, have we really crossed the line as a culture to where that's funny?”
Glenn wasn’t the only one upset by the announcement, Reagan’s daughter Patti Davis wrote an open letter to Ferrell in hopes of educating the entertainer on the serious nature of what Alzheimer’s does to victims and their families.
“There was laughter in those years, but there was never humor. Alzheimer's is the ultimate pirate, pillaging a person's life and leaving an empty landscape behind. It sweeps up entire families, forcing everyone to claw their way through the overwhelming grief, confusion, helplessness and anger,” Davis said in her letter. “Perhaps for your comedy, you'd like to visit some dementia facilities. I have. I didn't find a single thing comedic there. And my hope would be that if you're a decent human being, you wouldn't either.”
Davis’ pain is palpable and Glenn couldn’t wrap his head around the thinking behind making a movie like this.
“I have to tell you, cancer patients -- you could make a comedy, a love story, a horror movie, any genre of cancer -- and that's one of the most brutal diseases there is. It ravages the human body,” Glenn said. “Cancer doesn't take who you are. It only destroys your body. Dementia and Alzheimer's, it steals you. It destroys you. Almost every other disease, you are just a prisoner of your body.”
Despite their differences in opinions, Glenn has respected Ferrell and made a passionate appeal to his humanity.
“Will Ferrell has always struck me as a nice man. We don't agree politically, but he's always struck me as a nice guy. I can't imagine ever watching Elf again and enjoying it, if this is the sick and really dark and inhuman kind of man he really is,” Glenn said.
Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program:
Featured Image: Actor Will Ferrell attends the 'Zoolander 2' World Premiere at Alice Tully Hall on February 9, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)