Ridley Scott to make Ronald Reagan movie

Rex Features

Ridley Scott is planning to make a film about the 1986 Reykjavik Summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.

The director believes the film, which doesn't yet have a title, can be completed by the end of the year and released in early 2009.

"These are fascinating historical characters, larger-than-life figures, but I want to show who they were and why they did what they did," Scott told The Hollywood Reporter. "Their actions helped shape history, paving the way for the end of the Cold War."

Following the summit, the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was agreed between the US and the Soviet Union. It resulted in the disarmament of more than 2,000 nuclear weapons and allowed both sides to inspect each other's military facilities.

Scott believes finding good actors for the project is crucial, with former President Reagan being the most difficult role to cast.

"You have to acknowledge the physicality," Scott said. "Reagan was tall and elegant while Gorbachev was stocky, like a front row rugby player. In some ways, Gorbachev is easier to cast. Reagan is more colourful."

Scott will add this film to a roster of upcoming projects that includes Body of Lies, Stones, Nottingham, Monopoly and an untitled film about the Gucci family.