The Argentine/Guerrilla - Che Guevara biopics

[MacGuffin]

Soderbergh Replacing Malick on Che
Source: Variety

Steven Soderbergh will replace Terrence Malick as the director of Che, the film about Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara that will star Benicio Del Toro, reports Variety. Focus Features is in early talks to distribute the project.

Soderbergh has committed to begin production in South America in August 2005, and he will supervise the writing of a new script. The story of Che, a handsome and charismatic physician killed while still a young man, has attracted attention from many filmmakers over the years.

The helming change resulted after Malick abruptly dropped his plan to shoot Che this summer and instead committed to direct a film he'd been developing simultaneously, Colin Farrell starrer The New World, for New Line.

The producers are hoping that Javier Bardem, Benjamin Bratt, Ryan Gosling and Franka Potente will remain involved if their schedules allow them to be in South America next year. That quartet had been set to play Guevara's key group of revolutionaries.

[Jeremy Blackman]

[phil marlowe]

JB YOU DIRTY FUCKING COMMIE ! !

oh, and great news

[Jeremy Blackman]

Well he was a flawed man... I hope they show that side of him. But the Soderbergh direction and script involvement certainly makes me happy.

[phil marlowe]

yeah soderberg is a great choice for this project

[ono]

In the words of Cartman, "Hooray!"

[Weak2ndAct]

Yeah, this was definitely coming.  Like Terence Fuckin' Malick was gonna make back-to-back movies.  Sad thing is, I don't expect the other one to go forward and we'll have to wait another decade.

[Kal]

He was the original person supposed to direct this before Malick came.... I dont know why he decided not to do it in the first place... but its good that he is back

[Ultrahip]

I'm reading John Lee Anderson's "Che" biography right now, and if Soderbergh uses half the stuff in there, a third of it even, this could be one of the greatest movies ever. There's even potential for awesome black comedy, and great guerrilla warfare sequences. He has to do the battle at Santa Clara in particular. Che's 340 rebels beat Batista's 5,000 soldiers. So Awsome. And Del Toro will own.

[Ronen]

I know absolutely nothing about this.

Explain to me why Che Guevara isn't a terrorist.

Again, I know nothing about this -- please no angry rants.

[Kal]

he was a terrorist... but people are dumb and nobody knows what the hell they admire about them

everyone uses the CHE tshirt as if they were Mickey Mouse tshirts...

[Pubrick]

I know absolutely nothing about this.

Explain to me why Che Guevara isn't a terrorist.

Again, I know nothing about this -- please no angry rants.

it was good terrorism,. it wasn't against bush so don't feel threatened.

my advice to u is to NOT get ur information about historical figures from an internet message board.

[Ultrahip]

P is right. Read the aforementioned John Lee Anderson's "Che."

...but i personally prefer to think of che as a guerrilla warrior rather than a terrorist, who was handicapped by his iron convictions, which were thankfully shaken somewhat when Russia got involved and he saw that the utopian communist society was not what he'd imagined. unfortunately, che was not one to admit he was wrong, so he kept on fighting for what he originally believed to be humane, despite his waning confidence in fidel in the world around him, which was both brave and stupid, and led to his death fighting for, what were at this point practically imaginary ideals, in bolivia. but of course, he looks so good in that picture, so his pigheadedness becomes doggedness (a word?) and his refusal to give up the utopian ideal becomes endearing and empowering, rather than childish. Oh, I love Che.

And as for all those murders...well, Raoul Castro was a heck of a lot worse, and if you look at Che's killings, they did tend to have military or political motivation...not a justification for Che, but, from his point of view and that of the revolution, they were necessary, rather than Raoul's obvious enjoyment of execution (he did that whole line 'em up in front of a ditch, shoot, bulldoze routine)

[polkablues]

Here, then, since it's clearly necessary, is an exhaustive historical perspective on the man, the myth, the anti-capitalist logo which has made somebody a pantsload of money, Che.

Che Guevara was a man who had wild coming-of-age adventures on a cross-country motorcycle trip.  Then he did... something.  And then Steven Soderbergh made a movie about him.

Public schools work!

[ElPandaRoyal]

I have mixed feelings about Che, myself. It's very complicated for me to have a clear opinion about him and most of his attitudes, simply because I can never agree with anything that results on the death of whoever. Be it islamic terrorism or the invasion of Iraq by that Texas Ranger guy who happens to be called Walker. That said, I'd love to see a movie directed by Soderbergh about a personality as complex as Che Guevara and learn a bit more about him.