Reagan may return to Hollywood as a movie character

DIXON, Nov 14, 2008 (Daily Gazette - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- EFGU | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- What do time travel, Ronald Reagan and Demi Moore's husband have in common?

They all could become elements of a feature film about Reagan that's being marketed as "historical fiction."

"It's sort of a nostalgic trip through history on the life of Ronald Reagan," Mike Beecher, of Beecher Public Relations, said at a Chamber of Commerce meeting Thursday.

If enough investors sign on, "Lowell Park," based on a book by former Dixonite Mike Chapman, will be shot here starting next summer, Beecher said.

Chapman is a history buff and former executive editor of the Telegraph, now living in Newton, Iowa.

The project has about half of the short-term, $2 million production goal; total cost to make the movie will run about $4 million.

If made, the full-length, 2-hour feature will be distributed worldwide, said Beecher.

Finding investors could be difficult given the economy, Beecher acknowledged, "But we're fairly confident that we'll raise the money to do the movie."

At least half of the $4 million would be spent in and around Dixon during production, with hundreds of crew members renting facilities, staying in local hotels and dining in local restaurants, he said.

The budget is relatively small compared to other movies, in part because all filming would be done in one area, Beecher said.

Dixon Mayor Jim Burke said the movie could benefit the city not only because of its content, but also because of its timing: The projected release date for "Lowell Park" would be in 2010 -- a year from Reagan's 100th birthday celebration.

"I just hope they can get this going, because I think with the storyline and with the Reagan centennial coming up ... this movie could just dovetail with this thing and it'd really be a great thing for the city of Dixon."

Several "big names" are being reviewed for the film's cast, including Mandy Moore, Blake Lively, Jon Voight, Tom Selleck, Billy Baldwin and Ashton Kutcher (Demi's husband), Beecher said.

"It's an A-list group."

Some of those actors, who have a personal affinity for Reagan, have expressed interest in the project, he said.

The film's production company, Empire Film Group, reported that Selleck and Reagan used to play golf together, and that Selleck attended Reagan's private funeral.

If the $2 million target is met in the next few months, filming will start in the summer, he said.

The plot of "Lowell Park"

Grad student Jenny Brix saves the life of a professor. As a reward, he tells her he will send her anywhere in time she wishes to go. Although she doesn't believe him, she doesn't want to hurt his feelings. She selects summer 1932, when Ronald Reagan is a lifeguard at Lowell Park.

The time machine malfunctions, and Jenny winds up in 1832, in what will become Lowell Park, where she is chased by Indians into the arms of Abe Lincoln, then a 23-year-old captain serving in the Black Hawk Wars. She's captured by Chief Black Hawk, and as Abe and his troops rush to her rescue, she suddenly finds herself in 1932, watching a group of kids swimming in the Rock River.

There she meets Reagan, "a handsome 22-year-old Adonis in a black suit," and a romance ensues. Jenny is faced with a dilemma: Does she stay in 1932 with Dutch, or return to 1990?

Source: Promotional material distributed by Beecher Public Relations

Investors needed

Those interested in investing in "Lowell Park" can contact Mike Beecher, president of Beecher Public Relations in Des Moines, Iowa, at 515-237-0087.

About the author

"Lowell Park" is Mike Chapman's 15th of 19 books, and his third historical novel.

Chapman was executive editor of the Dixon Telegraph from 1987 to 1997.

He met Ronald Reagan on Oct. 30, 1990, during the former president's last trip to Dixon, and was on 26 national radio shows the week after Reagan died in 2004.

He left Dixon to become publisher of a Shaw Newspapers sister paper in Newton, Iowa, where he and his wife, Beverly, still live.

He has retired from newspapers, and now is executive director of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.

Source: International Wrestling Institute and Museum

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