Wow! What an amazing week!
Can I take you on a little journey with me?
This past Friday morning, Yetta and I jumped on a plane at Dulles and flew out to LAX for a screening of Revolutionary America at the Reagan Presidential Library. The evening was a screening followed by a panel Q&A with Tom Selleck, Dr. Larry Arnn, Jeremiah Regan, and me.
Confession: during the screening, I almost fell asleep (we’d been up since 4:00 A.M. AND I’ve watched the film about a thousand times, ok!?)
But then the movie ended and they called us up on stage. And man, what a rush!
There were around a thousand people at the sold-out event (check out the photo below!).
(The crowd sits under Reagan’s original Air Force One jet. Thank you Yetta for taking all of the photos of the event!)
That’s crazy! And as I contemplated that, two thoughts came to mind:
- First, our country is still full of wonderful, patriotic Americans who genuinely love learning about our history.
- Second, people really love Thomas Magnum and Jesse Stone (and its fun to see the audience’s enthusiasm for Tom’s incredible career).
Anyhow, I walked away feeling incredibly blessed to have been there. One of the biggest takeaways from the evening was the responsibility we all share to carry forward the stories of our past and of who we are as a people. It’s often said that a people who forget their history are doomed to repeat it. Whether or not that’s the exact quote, the principle is certainly true.
That’s one of the reasons I’ve felt called to filmmaking for almost twenty years.
The stories we tell ourselves and the stories we tell about ourselves shape the kind of nation we become. And they shape the kind of individuals we become. Stories quietly answer questions about what is worth loving, what is worth sacrificing for, and ultimately what it means to live a good life.
By my estimation, that’s the kind of storytelling that leads to human flourishing.
I’m incredibly grateful to Hillsdale College, the Reagan Presidential Library, Tom Selleck, Dr. Larry Arnn, Jeremiah Regan, and everyone else who made the evening possible. They’re preserving stories worth remembering and reminding all of us why those stories still matter.
Check out some of these additional photos from the event!
Also in unrelated news: This week I’m speaking with some friends at the 2026 Bridge Conference in Washington DC.
I have a session with Allen Thornburgh (Sublimity) and John Darnell (Global Outreach International) on Thursday at 11:35am. It’s titled “Attention That Converts: How Audience-Powered Film Changes Minds and Grows Your Nonprofit.”
We’ll be talking about the way we strategically developed a film that helped position Global Outreach International to get a letter of intent from Angel Studios for an upcoming series. If you’re going to be at the Bridge Conference this week, hit me up! I’d love to see you there!
Here’s to Human Flourishing!
-Ian