If it were up to us, Wes Bentley would sport that stylish Hunger Games facial hair in every project moving forward. Alas, it probably won’t be used for Chavez, a biopic about famed labor organizer Cesar E. Chavez that will be directed by Diego Luna from a screenplay by Keir Pearson.
According to Variety, the independent film will focus on Chavez’s efforts to organize a sizeable protest in hopes of obtaining improved rights for thousands of farm laborers in California. And Luna already has an impressive cast on the books. Michael Pena, supporting player in memorable films like The Lincoln Lawyer and Observe & Report, has a chance to establish himself as a leading man with his turn as Chavez. America Ferrera has been cast as Chavez’s wife, while Rosario Dawson will play his trusted aide, Dolores Huerta.
Bentley has been hired to play attorney Jerry Cohen, who – as Variety notes – “became the backbone of the United Farm Workers' legal efforts. His work resulted in many important constitutional decisions that continue to protect farm workers to this day.”
Bentley’s name isn’t the only new one added to the cast. Luna recently tapped Jacob Vargas, Spencer Garrett, Yancy Arias and Jack Holmes for the drama, with the last on the list playing Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.
Luna will co-produce Chavez with Gael Garcia Bernal and Pablo Cruz. I’m a little surprised the labor organizer’s life hasn’t been committed to film yet, considering all that he meant to both California and the nation. Variety says Chavez began production earlier this week in Mexico, and likely will be out in 2013.
