Reagan’s Story | Studio 5 - August 28, 2024

Welcome to this special edition of studio five, focusing on the film Reagan. We're sitting down with some of the creators to talk about the biopic, including Kathie Lee Gifford, who lent her lyrics and her voice. She has five takeaways from the film, and we're counting them down throughout the show. We begin with the moment the film's producer called Kathie Lee Gifford to craft a song for the soundtrack. he called me and he said, would you I listen to all the music in your movie, Kathy. Then came you that you co-wrote with Brett James. You. So I thought that was all fantastic stuff. He said, would you be willing to do, write a song for our film? so I said. Yeah. So I was, involved in a relationship at the time with somebody that was a brilliant musician. And, I said that. Let's write. Let's write a song for the Reagan movie. He had not been able to see it. But, usually this friend of mine, and I were able to write a song in like 20 minutes. And we couldn't, couldn't, couldn't find anything. And I said, wait a minute. That's because we've already written the song. He goes, what are you talking about? It was the first one we had ever written together. Something called, I knew it would be, you So I called Josh Turner, who's my neighbor here and a beautiful, godly guy, and everybody knows he's a great singer. So I said, Josh, you want to do a duet with me for the the new Reagan movie? He goes, yeah, actually, actually, he set it down here. yeah. So we did, we did, we recorded it. And, it's going to be on the there's a soundtrack album. and, it's gorgeous. my friend Sal Oliveri did an arrangement on it that we love, so it's fun. I didn't know what your name would be or if your eyes would be brown or blue. All that I knew deep inside him. Deep is. I knew it would be you. We have more moments with Kathie Lee. And just a little bit. We turn now to the film's star, Dennis Quaid. He plays President Ronald Reagan, who loved horses. With that in mind, we traveled here to Nashville, where we sat down with the actor at Hope and Healing at Hiland Glade, a beautiful horse farm. It's a place where brave military service members, veterans and first responders come for therapy and programs that assist in healing post-traumatic stress disorder. It's a perfect place to begin our conversation about the life of our 40th president. I will be frank with you that as a citizen, I would not like to see any political party outlawed on the basis of its ideology, because I still believe, Mr. Chairman, that democracy can handle it. You've been busy, but now you get to play raking. What does this role mean to you? It's become my favorite role I've I've ever had, actually. Reagan was a hero of mine. I voted for him twice. And, yeah, he was like everybody's dad. He was a real heavyweight. And he won the Cold War. It really meant a lot to me in my life. And for, all of us of that generation and for the generations today. And play them was the challenge of my life. Challenge. What was the hardest part? The biggest challenge of playing Reagan was, getting down to him as a person, you know? not the hero that he was to me and so many people. And, and that's, kind of warts and all, you know, because that's who we are. There was a place in Reagan in talking to people who really knew him and were close to him. That was very private, that was impenetrable. This is the great communicator we're talking about. And what was that all about? That's what makes people tick. That at their core. That was where I wanted to get to. Like I said I didn't want to do an impersonation and fear when out my spine. Reagan was like Muhammad Ali. Everybody knows him. I am about to start the biggest war of this century, and I'm not going to fire a single shot. You're going to blow up eight years of diplomacy. Well, if you think back out there on these. And what do you just wait? Knowing what you know now, having played the role. How would you compare the Reagan family to the Quaid family? We were similar in many ways. I didn't see myself as Reagan. I didn't think I looked like him. We both have sunny dispositions and I think down at the bottom of things. And, he was an actor. Tell me about Finding the Voice. Because Reagan had such a distinctive voice, and I can imagine that had to have been weighing on your mind. Yeah, well, that and the way he walked, and I was lucky because he got the part. they offered me the part 2018, and we didn't start shooting until Covid in 2020. Great time to make a movie. I basically talked like that for a year to the, to the my families, you know, they had to put up with it, I guess. In earlier life, he had a, you know, his voice was very much higher, was way, way up here, you know, and it was wasn't until about the time that he was president that, you know, it comes down to where you slow down and you and, well, you talk slower. I call upon the scientific community, those who gave us nuclear weapons to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind. And we're a peace. You, in this story, explore more of his faith. And people are probably used to seeing. Let's go. It was such a huge part of his life. It was an everyday part of his life. You know, starting from as a young boy, your he even made this decision on his own to be to be, baptized at that time. There's a purpose for your life. You can run from a bully for so long, but after a while, you're going to have to stand up to it. His mother with his was his rock. That's another way that we're very similar. And he had an alcoholic father. Which kind of similar. That does something to a, a person. And you, you need, a rock life. And he found that early on. This is also a love story. Yes. It is. Hello, I'm Nancy Davis, Nancy Davis, I'm Ron Reagan. What would you have me do? I want you to fight at the core of our of our movie is the love story between he and Nancy, which was very real and, very rare. He wrote her love letters, like, every day, a little doubt or whatever, you know, even Gravesend Hospital after the assassination attempt, actually. And, I don't think there would have been a President Reagan if it wasn't for Nancy. Ronnie, remember when we met, you told me that you wanted to make a difference in this world. You know what you have to do. How are you feeling now that the movie is finally coming out? Because many people probably thought this was released because I remember when we did The Big Splash and spread it out, I would say go around for a while. I think it was a lot of attention, you know, just with it getting made and the only thing that I really insisted upon is that it not come out during an election year. You got your. Yeah. And, because I thought, you know, I didn't want this be perceived politically and it's not a political movie at all. But then again, like interest is very high in Reagan and the times we were living in, especially 78, 79, 80 or so similar to 21, 22, three and four, actually. And so I had to say, well, what do I know, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall. He was Bill Clinton in the film The Special Relationship. Reagan is in theaters everywhere starting August 30th. And there you're going to hear the voice of Kathie Lee Gifford in the film and on its soundtrack. And Kathie Lee is sharing five takeaways from the project. Here's her take on Dennis Quaid playing the leading role. Dennis Quaid is brilliant in this year series, I he's moved here to Nashville, now to and I see him once in a while, but what a what a wonderful guy. And he loves Jesus now. And loves Tennessee and love, you know, beautiful wife and kids. I don't know, he makes me happy. Dennis Quaid makes me happy. And joy, she's got Reagan's voice down perfectly. So I'm anxious to see the movie again because I know they've done a lot of changes and things on it. Still to come. So what pulls you away from doing that work? To take on the role of Ronald Reagan's moral? Multiple reasons. Actress Jennifer O'Neill joins us with more on her role in the film as this special look at Reagan continues on studio five. What connected you to this film? What happened? well, I was invited to go to an early, early screening of it, and, I like to do that because I'm a filmmaker myself, and, I love the process, the creative process. And if I can help somebody just with my opinion or something I saw or whatever, then I'm happy to. I love the movie. Even this was back. Oh, gosh. How long ago? Last October, maybe. October. So you know, and it was supposed to come out and it was supposed to come out and I know that. But from the film. Yeah. You have to always say Lord willing it'll come off. So this one now it's finally going to come out. I was able to make a couple of comments to the, one of the producers and, I hope it helped. Welcome back to our close up. Look at Reagan in this special edition of studio five. Actress Jennifer O'Neill plays the role of Reagan's mom. It's Jennifer's heart that gave birth to hope and healing at Helen Glade, a beautiful horse farm born into a military family. Jennifer was inspired to serve America's veterans and first responders with therapy programs on the horse farm, and she generously allowed studio five to set up shop for this special. We're here in Tennessee. Yes. First, tell me about where we are. This is your farm. This is my farm with my husband. we've been here 15 years. We do equine therapy for our heroes. Our military first responders in their family. Free of charge. So we work with Fort Campbell operations. Stand down. Various organizations, the VA. Is there something that happened? What? What triggered this heart for the military? For you? Well, it was my dad. my dad was literally a war hero. I read about him in World War two from World War two and books in school. And so I grew up with TV shows like The Victory at Sea, loving our military, loving our country. as we all should. So what pulls you away from doing that work? To take on the role of Ronald Reagan's moral? Multiple reasons. I love doing it because of who she was and the impact that she had on this 40th, American president that made such a difference that people don't remember, especially our youth. today, what a great man he was and what he stood for. And his character. So that was emulated by his mother. She passed that along like a baton. She was, a disciple of Jesus Christ. She was sure to make sure her two boys knew the Lord. I thought, wow, what a what an awesome woman to represent him. How would you describe the relationship between the two of them? It was clear, at least from the film, that they were close. How would you describe their relationship? Joined at the hip. I mean, I think, she was his director. it's interesting. When he took the oath for president, he he, he held her Bible that was open to Second Chronicles 714. for those who are called in my name. if you pray and, you repent of your evil ways. I will hear you from heaven. I will heal you. And I will heal your land. What a thought for today. Well, she put a note in that Bible verse next to it saying, Ronnie, this is great to heal the nation. Now that was how long ago. And we need it more now than ever. How important was faith to the Reagan family, especially growing up? How important was it? It was integral. it was at the epicenter. God was at the head of the table, and the mother was the head of the family, in the sense that his dad had some drinking problems. His brother had some drinking problems. So she carried the whole, everything, the family on her shoulders and made sure that they knew who, who was God, who was the Trinity, who the power of the Holy Spirit. In the middle of the scene I have with Dennis. her at playing Nellie as the mother. She says, just be very careful to listen to that small voice, that whisper. Well, that's the Holy Spirit. Do you think his mom saw something in him, even at a young age, that there's something different about my job from my understanding and study of her? She did everything to make both her boys impactful, and she knew that the entire balance of their impact and their being would be based on their faith. There's nothing a retired governor can do but a president now. You can do a thing or two. only an actress, she's done work in modeling and is the author of several books. Actress singer talk show host, and bestselling author Kathie Lee Gifford has one more take away from the Reagan Project. It's actually the moment she met the man himself. actually had had met President Reagan one time. I have a great picture in my library in Connecticut of me, Mrs. Reagan. President Reagan at the time and about Bob Hope. Wow. I, I had just opened for Bob Hope. at the Hilton Hotel. That and that's later where I think where Reagan was, the the assassination attempt was right there. So. So, yeah, it was the one and only time I met him, but he was, you know, he was famous for his charm. And, I even though it was a short meeting and, I'm glad I have the picture. I know Mrs. Reagan much, much better later, because she was good friends with my husband, Frank. and they worked on, anti-drug stuff, and and they were very close, so, you know, you look at a picture like that and, you know, you're just mindful of the fact that you're the only one still here. Ahead. Tell me about the way into this story that you you've chosen. Because we get to see essentially his entire life. Yeah. I think almost every life has a theme to it. Howard Klausner breaks down the writing behind the Reagan film on this special edition of studio five. Now, you call this a rare love story that we don't get to see enough of today? What makes you say that? there's was, Oh, it was so palpable when you were around them. And I told you it was only one time. They were just like, no, they were so into one another. So, so, so, so, so aware of everything about the other person. And I think there's a lot of selfishness in relationships. And it's it starts out as selfishness and self being self-absorbed and, and it grows unless you deal with it. And you stop taking care of one another. And, boy, Mrs. Reagan was she was so, so, so supportive of him and so protective of him. And when he looked at her, you could just tell he just adored her. And that wraps our countdown of Kathie Lee's five Reagan film takeaways in this special edition of studio five. Filmmaker Howard Klausner is the man behind the script, which covers nearly the entire life of former President Ronald Reagan. For this conversation, we take you back to hope and healing at Helen Glade, a perfect reminder of the 40th president's love of horses. It's a love Klausner was sure to include as he crafted the script for this story on screen. I was a lifeguard on a river. There's no turning back. And I learned how to read the currents. Not just the ones on the surface, but also the ones deep underneath the water. I am about to start the biggest bore of this century, and I'm not going to fire a single shot. How much did you know about Reagan's story before you set out to write the script? A lot actually. you know, I've lived. I lived his presidency. So the research to to write a screenplay about it was all joy. When did it hit you that you wanted to write a screenplay? Well, I mean, it was it was a situation where, you know, I've been writing screenplays for a while, and, the producers reached out to me and said, you know, would you consider doing this? And I said, well, yes, of course I would. And I and I, you know, just in the right spirit. I said, as long as we're telling the story and, you know, no, I'm not a political writer. I just don't do that. You know, it's like politics is politics. I'm an artist. And, you know, I want to tell a story. And they said, that's exactly what we want. Tell me about the way into this story that you you've chosen. Because we get to see essentially his entire life. Yeah. I think almost every life has a theme to it. It doesn't. Every single one of every single we have a theme to whatever our journey really means. You're not going to know that until you get pretty much to the end of it. And then you look back on, Reagan's truly was finding the divine purpose of his life. His mother literally said that to him. Your job is to figure out what your divine purpose is. He figured out that divine purpose the night he was laying in the hospital bed that he mentioned and so 70 years old, he found his purpose. So that's the long answer to your question. It's the thread of this really remarkable man finding what is the purpose of my life. How important and critical was Faith to his journey? It was huge. It was huge. Right. Love the Lord. Wow. And that was clear for you in the research. 100%. 100%. Never veered from that. How critical is the love story. Everything. Everything. I think she's the one that steered him into the final and best chapters of his life. Nancy and he were they were a team and they were deeply a team. And that never ended all the way to the end of his life. So that's a big, big story. There. Casting. were you excited to have Dennis Quaid? Oh, man. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Dennis just feels like he is just. He is in full stride right now. And he was magnificent as Reagan, as you're going to see. It's a little breathtaking because there are certain elements in there where you're just, you know, believe me, I spent all this time watching these videos and like, my heavens, I'm watching Ronald Reagan right now have a favorite scene. I can't spoiler alert it. It's the wrong thing. The ending. You know, it'll make you cry. You know, there's there's there's what you write. There's what you envision. And then, you know, when, when the great creator steps in and goes, you know, I got this watch this. It was that moment to actually be there when we filmed that. And it comes out beautifully onscreen. How are you feeling about the timing of the release? Because we've been waiting for this for a long time. Here is it now coming? I think we're going back to that divine plan, man. I really do. This is the story of a man of a very good man, a very flawed man, a guy who made a lot of mistakes. But I feel like this moment in history, I don't have to quantify or qualify. This is probably the most divisive, contentious and kind of scary moments in history. And it wasn't terribly dissimilar when he was elected. But the thing is it's not a DNA thing. It's the character of this human being for all of us to look and say, remember when people like this were leading us? I don't want to make any comment on either side, any any candidate. No, it's like I what we want this movie to be is part of sort of a national healing. Can we all just take a deep breath and remember this real guy who, by the way, even his political adversary said, you can't hate the guy. Where's that? Right. Well, when I look at the leadership and they're like, where's the love? It's like, that was his secret. I mean, this dude loved his country. He loved people. We loved Nancy, and he loved God. It's you I'm running for governor, and I would like your vote. I forgot your name. Do his initials help or r. Honey? Roy Rogers is here, and he's running for governor. including Space Cowboys, directed and produced by Clint Eastwood. welcome back to studio five. Music helps us to bring you this show each and every single week. And this week's soundtrack comes from Dennis Quaid, who is not only the star of the film, he's also a recording artist. Take a listen and you'll hear why his take on I'll Fly Away is what's playing in my ear this week. Two. And lie on God's celestial snow. I fly away. I will fly away. Oh glory. I will fly away in the morning. When I die. Hallelujah. By and by I will fly away. We've got just a few moments left in the show. We want to give that time to Dennis Quaid. He's got the final word. when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, he he sat down and wrote a letter to the American people to to let them know. And, you know, to help Nancy when the time came about it, about him, he knew he would be losing, a lot of his faculties as time went by. you know, that took courage to to do that and brought a light to to Alzheimer's. And I would like, for this movie to again shine, shine a light on that because it's it's, you know, it's devastating not only to the person but to the, to the families. And, it, I think it was special the way he handled that And thank you so much, Dennis Quaid. That is a great final word for this special edition of studio five. Until next time. Make time to uplift someone around you and then please come on back, see what studio five takes you next week. Bye bye. Thank you for watching.