Portraying A President

James Brolin and Judy Davis star as Ronald and Nancy Reagan in the miniseries "The Reagans." Following a storm of protest and threatened advertiser boycott, CBS said it was pulling the movie, and would licensing the completed film to Showtime, a pay cable network that, like CBS, is owned by Viacom.

James Brolin stars as Ronald Reagan in "The Reagans." He portrays Mr. Reagan as he moves from his film career to California governor to president.

Ronald Reagan appears in a video still during a getaway to his beloved California ranch. The former president, who turned 92 in 2003, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1994 and hasn't been seen in public since.

James Brolin as President Ronald Reagan poses on the set of CBS' "The Reagans," in this undated publicity photo. The two-part miniseries about former President Reagan and his wife, Nancy, airs Nov. 16, 2003 and Nov. 18. The November rating "sweeps" begin — AP / CBS

Brolin appears as Reagan in a scene from "The Reagans." The New York Times printed excerpts from the script Oct. 20, drawing fire over perceived inaccuracies in the portrayal of the former president, especially concerning Nancy Reagan's influence and his attitude toward AIDS. Others questioned airing any dramatization of his life while he struggles with Alzheimer's.

Nancy Reagan shakes hands with several crew members aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, July 11, 2003. In a statement issued to Fox News, the former first lady said, "The timing of (the mini-series) is absolutely staggering to me. Obviously, it's very hurtful."

Australian actress Judy Davis, who won Oscar nominations for "A Passage to India" and "Husbands and Wives," appears as Nancy Reagan. Critics of the miniseries were angered by reports that the first lady would be portrayed as increasingly in charge of the White House. In one scene leaked on the Drudge Report Web site, Treasury Secretary Don Regan refers to Nancy as "Madame Fuhrer."

"Nobody's seen the film," CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves, pictured, told a cable news show at the start of the controversy. "So any criticism now, in the middle of October for a film that isn't finished, is rather odd, we think." He added that the rough cut was undergoing some editing "to present a fair picture of the Reagans."

Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, pictured, sent a letter to CBS President Leslie Moonves asking for a historical review or a disclaimer on the miniseries. "We live in a culture today of reality TV," he told reporters. "Lines between fact and fiction get blurred. I am concerned that its portrayal of our 40th president and his wife is not historically accurate."

A remark by the president on AIDS - "They that live in sin shall die in sin" -- was reportedly to be cut from the movie. There's no proof he ever said it. Mr. Reagan has faced criticism for his response to the epidemic during his time in office. The president, pictured here in the oval office, first laid out a national plan to combat AIDS in 1987, five years after the CDC definitively linked the virus to blood.

"The Reagans" was produced by Neil Meron, left, and Craig Zadan, far right, seen here with others after winning the 2003 Best Picture Oscar for "Chicago." A CBS statement said, "although the producers have sources to verify each scene in the script, we believe it does not present a balanced portrayal of the Reagans for CBS and its audience."

James Brolin poses with entertainer Barbra Streisand, his wife of five years and a vocal Democratic fundraiser. A statement on her Web site says suggestions that she would have affected her husband's performance in the movie are "ludicrous." The statement asserts a biopic on either presidents Clinton or Kennedy would undoubtedly also include both the good and the bad.

Shad Hart and Zoie Palmer co-star as Ron Reagan Jr. and Patti Reagan in the miniseries. Ron Jr. and Patti are the president's children with Nancy; He had two others, Michael and Maureen, with his first wife, Jane Wyman.

Patti Reagan Davis appears before a crowd of nearly 18,000 opponents of atomic power at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, June 15, 1981. Patti rebelled against her father's conservative politics in the '70s, but reunited with him shortly before his Alzheimer's diagnosis.

Shad Hart (Ron Reagan Jr.), Judy Davis (Nancy Reagan) and James Brolin (Ronald Reagan), left to right, in a scene from "The Reagans."

Ron Reagan Jr., in a 1992 photo. Ron dropped out of Yale in the '70s to pursure a ballet career. A political liberal, he has since worked as an actor and journalist.

In a publicity photo now tinged with historical irony, former President Ronald Reagan, who hosted CBS' General Electric Theater, stands by a model of CBS Television City in 1952.