‘Reagan’ builds political cachet with bipartisan screening before lawmakers

NEWS AND OPINION:

Let’s revisit “Reagan” — a movie based on the life and accomplishments of Ronald Reagan. It was released Aug. 30 and has since brought in $26.7 million at the box office, according to IMDb.com, an industry source. The film has resonated with the public and was ranked No. 3 in popularity on its opening weekend — and hit No. 1 in the nation for a day.

“‘Reagan’ defies negative reviews and holds strong in the box office top 5,” Forbes.com reported at the time.

The film also has its own political cachet.

It was screened this week before a bipartisan audience of some 60 lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, according to a source who attended the event. The screening took place in the room where Reagan himself once testified before Congress.

House Speaker Mike Johnson led a question-and-answer session with filmmakers before the movie was shown; the esteemed audience also heard a one-minute recorded greeting from producer Mark Joseph.

Sean McNamara — who directed the film — was on hand for the event, as was actor Xander Berkeley, who played Secretary of State George Shultz.

The event also provided a teachable moment and some newly realized harmony, perhaps.

“We were honored to be asked to screen the film for a bipartisan group of House members. Even though I’m a registered Democrat, I was pleased to receive an invitation from Speaker Mike Johnson to screen the film in the nation’s capitol,” said Mr. McNamara, in a written statement shared with the Beltway.

“Reagan’s story has lessons for us all and I hope it will contribute to a greater understanding of one another and our differences in this country,” he said.

THE REAGANS’ MOVIE LIST

Meanwhile, are you curious about what movies that Ronald and Nancy Reagan watched at the White House or at Camp David back in the day? They included “Nine to Five,” “Hellcats of the Navy,” “Destry Rides Again” and “Moonstruck.”

Find the lengthy list — which spans from 1981 to 1989 — at this lengthy but exact web address:

https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/reagan-administration/films-viewed-president-and-mrs-reagan.

IVY-COVERED HALLS

Here’s some noteworthy news from the Irish Rover, a student newspaper at the University of Notre Dame. They have conducted a survey to consider.

“Notre Dame students prefer Donald Trump over Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, a new Irish Rover poll of 705 students found. As the race moves into its final months, the findings highlight a campus more politically divided than at any time in recent history,” the publication said in a report released Wednesday.

“Among likely student voters, the former president leads the incumbent vice-president by a margin of 47.6% to 45.9%. Green Party nominee Jill Stein received 0.6% while Libertarian Chase Oliver was preferred by 0.3% of respondents. Another 5.5% of students indicated that they supported a candidate who was not listed on the ballot,” the report said.

The Irish Rover poll was conducted Sept. 15-18.

“The survey was conducted online and distributed to a variety of student dorms, nonpartisan clubs, and distributed in classes. Results were weighted to ensure a representative sample of the Notre Dame student body,” the Irish Rover report said.

The publication is, according to its mission statement, “an independent, non-profit, student publication devoted to upholding the Catholic mission of the University of Notre Dame.”

‘NOT ROARING AS LOUDLY’

The pollsters are busy. Election Day draws near, and the drama appears to be escalating. Here are some findings of note from a new Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday.

“Seventy percent of likely voters supporting Vice President Kamala Harris say they are very enthusiastic about supporting her, compared to 75% in August. Seventy-one percent of likely voters supporting Trump say they are very enthusiastic about supporting him, compared to 68% in August,” said Tim Malloy, polling analyst for the Quinnipiac University Poll.

Hmm.

“On the backstretch of the race to Election Day, all eyes are on which candidate can best stoke their supporter’s enthusiasm all the way to the finish line. A slight shift suggests the Harris crowd is not roaring as loudly as it was last month,” Mr. Malloy said.

See more numbers in the Poll du Jour at column’s end.

MEANWHILE, IN SPACE

Cocktails at 100,000 feet, anyone?

“Florida-based space tourism company Space Perspective has successfully completed the first full, uncrewed test flight of its luxury balloon-lifted capsule to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere.

“Spaceship Neptune Excelsior, the first of the company’s teardrop-shaped pressure pods, lifted off from Space Perspective’s Marine Spaceport Voyager vessel off the coast of Saint Petersburg, Florida, on Sept. 15. and completed its first full flight test from takeoff to landing,” reports Space.com, an industry source.

“Over the course of six hours, Space Perspective’s trademarked ’SpaceBalloon’ ascent system carried Excelsior to an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet before its slow descent to a safe ocean splashdown and recovery. If all continues smoothly through Excelsior’s remaining tests, Space Perspective founder and CEO Jane Poynter says the first crewed test flights will begin in 2025, with her and her husband, Space Perspective co-founder and CTO Taber MacCallum aboard,” Ms. Poynter told the publication.

“I am undoubtedly going to be on one of the first, if not the first human flight that we do. You’ve got to believe it,” Ms. Poynter told Space.com.

The interior of Spaceship Neptune accommodates eight passengers and includes cushioned chairs, a “bar station” and a “Space Spa” — described as a “uniquely designed restroom.”

POLL DU HOUR

• 79% of registered U.S. voters say it is “very important to them” that the next U.S. president will unite the country; 84% of Democrats, 78% of Republicans and 75% of independents agree.

• 83% of women and 74% of men also agree.

• 18% say it is “somewhat important” that the next president will unite the country; 15% of Democrats, 19% of Republicans and 20% of independents agree.

• 15% of women and 20% of men also agree.

• 1% overall say it’s “not so important”; 0% of Democrats, 1% of Republicans and 2% of independents agree.

• 1% of women and 2% of men also agree.

1% say overall it’s “not important at all”; 0% of Democrats, 1% of Republicans and 3% of independents agree.

• 0% of women and 3% of men also agree.

• 1% overall say they “don’t know”; 1% of Democrats, 2% of Republicans and 1% of independents agree.

• 1% of women and 1% of men also agree.

Source: A Quinnipiac University poll of 1,728 registered likely voters conducted through live interviews by telephone Sept. 19-22.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on X @HarperBulletin, on Facebook @HarperUniverse.

Correction: A photo caption in an earlier version of this article misidentified the actor.