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EXCLUSIVE: Focus Features is making a rights deal for David Grann’s massive article in the May 28 issue of The New Yorker, The Yankee Commandante, with George Clooney attached to direct. He will produce with his Smokehouse partner Grant Heslov.
The article is about William Alexander Morgan, an American who helped Castro and the Cuban rebels overthrow Fulgencio Batista. He’d reached the status of Comandante, the sole foreigner other than Argentinian Che Guevara to be so highly regarded. Shortly after, Morgan — a shadowy man whose motives for being there were subject to suspicion — was imprisoned and facing a firing squad, charged with working for U.S. intelligence. At the same time, his exploits as a rebel soldier led J. Edgar Hoover and everyone else scrambling to sort out his motives and who he was working for.
Clooney most recently directed The Ides Of March, and got an Oscar Best Actor nom for The Descendants. He just produced the Ben Affleck-directed Argo and stars with Sandra Bullock in the Alfonso Cuaron-directed 3D space adventure Gravity for Warner Bros. Clooney is repped by CAA, which also brokered the deal for Grann along with The Robbins Office.
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Will never get made.
Still with the Castro obsession. He’s a ruthless dictator who’s been in power for over 50 years without ever holding an election. He’s a fascist who has masqueraded all this time as a benevolent socialist. People drown trying to flee his prison island. He’s worse than Batista ever was and yet the glitterati are still obsessed with making him look like George Washington. When will it end? When will there be an accurate look at the misery and devastation he brought to Cuba?
The New Yorker article ultimately portrays Castro in a negative light. I imagine the film’ll do the same.
You should read the article, it’s amazing. It paints a portrait of Morgan as a true believer in democracy, who worked for Castro when he didn’t realize Castro’s true ambitions. Both Castro and Che Guevara come off very badly, revealing their true totalitarian colors and murdering Morgan, the true champion of liberty.
Not that Morgan was some kind of saint, but his worst crime seemed to be that he was a footloose dreamer, the kind of guy who could easily get used by unscrupulous schemers.
I totally disagree with your opinion about Che Guevara but it’s a long story and unfortunately I don’t speak English very well. Morgan ”great history” is such ridiculous, he had only a very marginal role during the uprising against Batista.
Sara, you are completely wrong in your statement. My father fought with William Morgan in the 2nd Front Unit in Cuba against Batista. You don’t know what you are talking about. Read the article, my father contributed to it. He was there, he remembers, he fought, he speaks the truth.
Focus has been on a roll lately. First Promised Land, then 50 Shades of Gray, now this…
Have any of you actually read the NYer story? Somehow I doubt it.
As long as it’s good for Steckler, it’s okay by me.
It’s a well written and detailed article about a fascinating character. Many interesting developments chalk full of opportunity to make a great film. All in the writing.
Fellow non-illiterate: *I’ve* read the piece and am kind of embarrassed to say that, as I read it, I thought it would make a terrific movie. I’m gobsmacked that it got optioned so lickety-split!
I read the article last week and couldn’t put it down, it’s a gripping story. If done right could make a great film.
Great article and not a pro-Castro one…I really wanted this article, bastards.
If they tell the story as happened , Chavez will be proclaiming this film as American Propaganda as the story of Morgan is one that really shows Castro for what he is.
Clooney’s perfect. It will be fascinating. Stranger than fiction and playing out in one of the most extraordinary theaters in modern history. Morgan is complex and tragic. Castro is far from heroic. Clooney is perfect.
Morgan is a Hemingway character come to life (as someone in the article pointed out), it’s almost too amazing to believe. I wonder who will play Olga? I’d say Selma Hayak but Olga was supposed to be much younger…
The New Yorker article actually takes a lot of its info from a book written in 2007 about this same guy titled: “The Americano: Fighting with Castro for Cuba’s Freedom”. Grann cites the book in the article. The movie may not get made right away but the story is a very good one.
I certainly hope this portrays Castro for what he is.. But I have a hard time believing that, after seeing the portrayal of Che by Clooney’s friend, Steve Soderbergh. My uncle was tortured and murdered by Che and Castro. It is so offensive when these spoiled ignorant Hollywood types want to send a message about a subject they know nothing about..
Knew when I read it someone would rush to get the rights. Imagine it won’t be made soon, but a lot will depend on script and casting. Sadly, Brad Pitt is too old to play Morgan, IMHO, and Leonardo Di Caprio is in his upper 30′s, and also would have been perfect. Need someone who can act and is also a box office draw. What about James Franco? Robert Pattinson? And, to play Olga? Must be someone out there. But, this movie won’t be made overnight. Right? So, let’s all wait and see, and hope for a great telling of the story — as compelling as Grann’s article in The New Yorker.