Che Guevara is still the rage among the uber-liberal elitists of the world, and there's nowhere on the planet with more uber-liberal elistists than Hollywood. So it's no surprise that every week or two you hear about some brave director planning a Guevara movie. Today's Che contender is Steven Soderbergh.
Variety says Soderbergh is so into Che that he's shooting two movies about him, back to back. So it's kind of like The Matrix sequels, only Neo is a hardcore communist. Is that cool? I can't tell anymore.
The film will be shot primarily in Spanish language, with Benicio del Toro as Guevara. Javier Bardem, Franka Potente, and Benjamin Bratt are in negotiations to co-star. The movie could start shooting in Mexico next May.
The movies will begin where Motorcycle Diaries ends, with Che abandoning his life to run off and become a revolutionary. In the first movie, titled The Argentine, Che joins a band of Cuban exiles led by Fidel Castro. They land on Cuban soil, mobilize popular support, and kick out the United States' pet puppet Fulgencio Batista.
In movie two, called Guerilla, Che's adventures in communism continue as he takes a trip to New York in 1964. There, he speaks at the United Nations and makes it big in high society circles.
Steven has been planning this thing for a while, apparently he's even already shot opening footage with Del Toro and Julia Ormond as TV journalist Lisa Howard.
Stoner teenagers getting high on mommy and daddy's money rejoice, your terribly ironic Che Guevara t-shirt just got that much cooler. Don't you feel validated?
