Scott planning to make Reagan movie

Director Ridley Scott is making a new movie about late US president Ronald Reagan's dealings with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

The as-yet-untitled film will reportedly focus on the pair's famous 1986 summit conference that took place in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Scott tells the US trade journal the Hollywood Reporter: "I want to show who they were and why they did what they did.

"Their actions helped shape history, paving the way for the end of the Cold War."

And although the American Gangster director has yet to begin casting, he insists "physical resemblance is secondary".

He adds: "It's less about visible appearance, more about the acting. (But) you have to acknowledge the physicality. 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."

Ronald Reagan, the 40th American president, died in 2004 following a decade-long battle with Alzheimer's disease.