During his travels in 1831, French writer, Alexis de Tocqueville, observed that America was an exceptional nation with a special role to play in history. Tocqueville wrote that, unlike in Europe, where social standing defined a citizen, America was a new republic where liberty, equality, individualism, and laissez-faire economics defined the “American Creed.”

Citizens United Productions will premiere a documentary film about American Exceptionalism, entitled “A City Upon A Hill,” hosted by Newt and Callista Gingrich, this Friday, April 29 in Washington, D.C. “A City Upon A Hill” is written and directed by award-winning film maker, Kevin Knoblock (“Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous With Destiny,” “Nine Days That Changed The World,” “America at Risk”).

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Throughout our history, the United States has risen to meet great challenges — sometimes out of necessity but often out of the determination to create a better future for the next generation. At the time of our founding, no other nation had adopted the radical ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. No other nation had declared, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” — rights that no king or government could take away.

“A City Upon A Hill” explores the concept of American Exceptionalism from its origin to the present day. What makes our Declaration of Independence and Constitution special? Why did George Washington relinquish power? How did we climb out of the Great Depression to become the world’s greatest economic power? Why did we lead the liberation of Europe during World War II? And why was it important to be the first to land on the moon? Learn the answers to these questions and more in “A City Upon A Hill.”

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The 38th Annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is being held this week from February 10 – 12, and I am proud to announce that Citizens United, the nation’s premier conservative filmmaker, will once again be sponsoring the CPAC Theater and Film Festival throughout the weekend.  The festival will showcase some of the best conservative films in the country from both Citizens United Productions and many other critically acclaimed filmmakers.

We have some exciting events planned for this year’s Film Festival at CPAC 2011!  Starting at 2pm on Thursday, February 10th, Newt and Callista Gingrich will introduce our film America at Risk: The War With No Name.  America at Risk, hosted by the Speaker and Mrs. Gingrich, takes an in-depth look at the war against radical Islam featuring exclusive interviews with some of the top national security experts in the world.  After the film, join us for a reception with Mr. and Mrs. Gingrich.

On Friday afternoon February 11th, we have a special event planned to honor conservative women.  Fire from the Heartland: The Awakening of the Conservative Woman, will be screened at 1:30pm, featuring an introduction by co-star Rep. Michele Bachmann.  After the film, conservative icon and Fire from the Heartland co-star Phyllis Schlafly will deliver remarks to the audience.  This much anticipated speech will be followed by a panel discussion on the film, co-sponsored by the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. 

Be sure to stick around Friday evening for our celebration of President Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday beginning at 8pm!  This event, which is co-sponsored by Young America’s Foundation, will begin with their Ronald Reagan short film, Still Point in a Turning World. This will be followed by the presentation of President Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday cake, made especially for this event by Carlo’s Bake Shop from the hit television show “Cake Boss”!  Then have your cake and eat it, too, while watching our unforgettable feature film Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous With Destiny. Live introductions and remarks will be made by Governor George Allen.

In addition to these fantastic events, please see the complete Film Festival schedule below or view it online at CitizensUnited.org/CPAC!  All screenings are free of charge to CPAC attendees, and will be held in the Delaware Ballroom. 

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Newt Gingrich is much taller in person than he is on TV. The lovely Bride of Konig (author of I Wear The Maternity Pants In This Family – www.susankonig.com) and I were invited to a screening of the Newt and Callista Gingrich – produced documentary Ronald Reagan Rendezvous With Destiny the other night, and we got to meet the former Speaker of the House. For some reason I always thought he was on the short, roly poly side. TV’s short, roly poly is, in person, tall, barrel chested and imposing. This is, oddly, the exact opposite of me. On TV I am tall and thin, in person I’m short and fat. 

Reagan, Judy Garland, Henry Fonda, Boris Karloff, Gene Kelly

This rare date night out without the various Spawn of Konig, naturally coincided with a gig for me: as my wife was settling into the Director’s Guild Screening Room on W. 57th. 72nd street performing a comedy sketch with TV host extraordinaire Bill Boggs in his live show Talk Show Confidential. The cue for my sketch with Bill is the end of his Richard Nixon anecdote. Boggs tells a very funny story of being a teen-aged intern in the 1960s on a talk show, and the guest is Richard Nixon. Boggs is assigned to Nixon, to make sure Nixon gets to the set on time. En route, Nixon makes a pit stop. Young Boggs is then confronted with his first major, television talk show crisis: how to tell the imposing former Vice President that he’s not only about to go on camera with his fly open, but it’s a “Grand Mal Unzipping,” the kind where your shirt tail is hanging out of the fly. (more…)

Hosted and narrated by Newt and Callista Gingrich, “Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous With Destiny” looks at the life and varied careers of America’s 40th President and would make an excellent primer for anyone interested in what made the great man tick and the incredible legacy he left behind. Well paced and insightful, the 90 minute documentary presents a number of brand new interviews with, to name a few, Bill Kristol, Fred Barnes, James Baker, Linda Chavez, Bill Bennett, P.J. O’Rourke, Michael Reagan and Edwin Meese, along with ABC newsman Sam Donaldson, who had the White House beat during Reagan’s two terms, biographer’s Douglas Brinkley and Lou Cannon, and Poland’s Lech Walesa.

While Reagan’s childhood, Hollywood career, and two terms as California Governor are covered, the meat of the focus is on Reagan’s handling of the Cold War. Through the interviews and Reagan’s own handwritten diaries, we’re given an insider’s look at the beat by beat history in what proved to be, much to everyone’s surprise, including many of Reagan’s allies, an astonishingly successful quest to put the Soviet Union on “the ash heap of history.” (more…)