The summit (or meeting, depending on who you ask) came after “an unexpected invitation from Gorbachev,” says Pete Souza, the former Presidential photographer for Reagan. At the time the Reagan administration refused to call it a summit.
The summit’s purpose was to discuss the arms controls between the two nations, in hopes of bringing an end to the long-lasting threat of nuclear war hanging over both countries, and the world as a whole. Over 30 hours, Reagan and Gorbachev fiercely debated in an effort to bring peace and the end of the Cold War. Now, a new film from writer-director Michael Russell Gunn, The Brink of War, gives this historical moment a worthy spotlight. The film stars Jeff Daniels as Reagan, Jared Harris as Gorbachev, and J.K. Simmons as Secretary of State George Shultz.
There was one particular detail from their conversation that made Gunn realize the Reykjavik Summit was a pivotal moment in world history. “Schultz told me he asked Gorbachev years later—and I included this in the movie—what changed to bring an end to the Cold War,” says Gunn. “Gorbachev responded with one word: ‘Reykjavik.’” From that moment, Gunn knew he had a movie.
A moment from the Reykjavik Summit (left); the summit recreated in 'Brink of War' —Courtesy of Pete Souza and Angel StudiosGunn was struck by how generous Shultz was with his time, and he gave the filmmaker something that would allow for an exceptionally realistic approach: the declassified transcripts of the meeting. The transcripts allowed Gunn another first-hand account of the summit, as well as the opportunity to lift dialogue directly from the real conversations into the script. A number of conversations are nearly verbatim to what the transcripts show, though Gunn admits to finessing certain moments for cinematic purposes. “I tried to make it as close as I possibly could,” says Gunn.
Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev (left); Jeff Daniels as Reagan and Jared Harris as Gorbachev in 'Brink of War.' —Courtesy of Pete Souza and Angel Studios
Gunn calls himself a lifelong fan of Souza’s photography, and he pulled the original proofs from Souza’s summit photography at the National Security Archives. On a whim, he cold emailed Souza to see if he was available to join them on the film shoot to produce the film’s still photography. To Gunn’s delight, Souza accepted. The veteran photographer provided Gunn great assistance in faithfully recreating the summit, and the photos Souza took have a striking resemblance to the original photos from ‘86.
That excitement was all too brief. As a condition of eliminating these weapons, Gorbachev demanded an end to the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), nicknamed “Star Wars,” a missile defense system proposed to protect the United States from attack. “The whole SDI thing doomed that hope. Gorbachev wanted Reagan to not go any further with the SDI. That was the sticking point, and the mood changed to disappointment,” says Souza.
Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev at the Reykjavik Summit (left); Jeff Daniels as Reagan and Jared Harris as Gorbachev meeting up in 'Brink of War.' —Courtesy of Pete Souza and Angel Studios
The summit was considered a failure at the time, with no agreement struck at the end. However, it ultimately provided a breakthrough between Reagan and Gorbachev. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed on December 8, 1987, which was an enormous step forward to the end of the Cold War, which ultimately concluded with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. If it wasn’t for the Reykjavik summit, it’s likely that treaty never would have been signed.
“For one, I want the audience to walk out of the cinema with hope. That as divided as we are, it's been worse,” Gunn says. “We were literally about to blow up the world with enemies, and we found a way out of that. The second thing I want people to walk out with is courage. It takes courage to engage with people you disagree with. We've decided that listening means we agree, and that's not true.”
Adds Gunn: “They didn't agree, but they listened to one another, and they found a way to make a better, safer world.”
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