# 288: A $500 Speeding Ticket in Reagan's Hometown Sets a Movie in Motion Igniting a Hollywood Story

Producer Mark Joseph joins host David Sams to talk about the theatrical re-release of Reagan, arriving in theaters September 25 as part of America's 250th anniversary celebrations. Joseph shares the story behind the director's cut — ten additional minutes restored, including an opening line about making America great again that traces back further than most viewers would guess with bipartisan history — and reflects on the winding, almost accidental path that led him to make the film in the first place, starting with a speeding ticket that stranded him overnight in Reagan's hometown of Dixon, Illinois.

As Joseph explains, politics happens to be Reagan's eventual occupation, but the movie is about the man: his setbacks, his comeback, and above all, a genuine love story between Ronald and Nancy Reagan that carries the film from beginning to end.

The conversation covers the film's origin story, including how the movie's memorable opening sequence came to Joseph in a dream; what made Dennis Quaid the right choice to play Reagan after years of development with other actors attached; the surprising real-life COVID transmission that happened on set during a pivotal hospital scene; and how AI is already reshaping — and could have reshaped — the filmmaking process. Joseph also discusses working with Mel Gibson on The Passion of the Christ, the making of The Chronicles of Narnia, the film's soundtrack featuring Bob Dylan, Clint Black, Gene Simmons, and Tanya Tucker, and the audience-versus-critics divide that has made Reagan a record-setting outlier on Rotten Tomatoes.

Learn more and find theater listings at reagan.movie.

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