So far they've always received permission when they wanted to visit Cuba (i.e. for the research work)... So I'd say the chances are high -- especially because this is going to be a special gala presentation...

That would then mean on December 4 the screening of 'CHE' in Miami (4+ hours) and after-party, on December 5 the press conference in Miami and then on Saturday (6th) already the gala presentation of 'The Argentine' at the Havana Film Festival and on Sunday (7th) the gala presentation of 'Guerrilla' at the Havana FF...

Officially officially confirmed now, eventhough there really wasn't any doubt... They have received the permission and are going to Havana for the weekend...


... El presidente del Festival, Alfredo Guevara, dio la bienvenida a participantes e invitados, a los que se unirán a lo largo de esta semana el actor puertorriqueño Benicio del Toro y el escritor colombiano Gabriel García Márquez, presidente de la Fundación del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano con sede en La Habana.

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Actores Del Toro, Santoro y Cabrera presentarán películas del Che en Cuba

I thank you, Rosana! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Benicio del Toro presenta en Cuba las dos películas sobre Che Guevara

-'El argentino' y 'Guerrilla' se proyectan el sábado en el Festival de La Habana. Madrid, 3 dic. (COLPISA, Redacción). Benicio del Toro presentará en Cuba las dos películas sobre Che Guevara dirigidas por Steven Soderbergh. 'El argentino', que se ha estrenado en España, y la todavía inédita en nuestro país 'Guerrilla' se proyectarán el próximo sábado en el Festival de La Habana, certamen en el que el actor portorriqueño y promotor de este macroproyecto estará acompañado, además de por parte del equipo, de los hijos del Che, de algunos guerrilleros que lucharon con él y de ministros y autoridades cubanas. 'El argentino', la primera de las dos partes de esta coproducción, se estrenará comercialmente en la isla en los primeros meses del próximo año, señalan los productores del filme, entre los que está Telecinco. Julia Ormond, Jorge Perugorría, Franka Potente, Catalina Sandino, Damián Bichir, Unax Ugalde, Carlos Bardem, Oscar Jaenada y Elvira Minguéz arropan a Del Toro en las dos películas. La primera ha recaudado en la taquilla española cerca de 7 millones de euros y ha llevado al cine a 1.200.000 espectadores. En el primer trimestre de 2009 llegará a nuestras pantallas 'Guerrilla'. Source

Well, the Cuban guerrilleros who survived the Bolivia campaign and are since considered "Revolutionary Heros" in their homeland, namely Urbano and Pombo, actually participated in this project as consultants and were hence in a way involved in the production... And there are of course others who fought alongside Che in the Cuban Revolution only that are alive and well... Among those, some could show up too...

And Che's son has given the *thumbsup* to Benicio, as we've read...

I'm really curious to see who all will show up...

Enjoy the read, folks!


Benicio del Toro: "There Aren't Two Ché Guevaras, Only One"

The American actor is traveling to Cuba to present the two films in
which he plays the guerrilla commander.

By Jorge Garrido and Luis Notario

"It's hard to know what Hollywood is thinking" about the two Ché
Guevara movies made, said famed US actor Benicio del Toro. "I knew
him only superficially as the warrior, as the revolutionary," he says
on the preparation he underwent to play Commander Guevara. "There
aren't two Ché Guevara, only one, the thinker and the man of action,
in one man," he adds. The two movies, directed by Steven Soderbergh,
will premiere this week at the 30th Havana Festival of New Latin
American Filmmaking and immediately after in the United States.

It is a baptism of fire for Benicio del Toro: traveling to Cuba and
presenting to the Cubans his performance of Ché Guevara, a figure
much revered and widely known on the Island. The actor became famous
with the movie License to Kill and gained even more popularity with
Traffic, which earned him an Oscar as best supporting actor. Del Toro
went through a careful process of role preparation to play the
guerrilla commander in the two films, entitled The Argentine and
Guerrilla, both directed by Steven Soderbergh. The movies deal with
two stages in Ché's life: the guerrilla struggle in Cuba, in the 50s
of last century, and then in Bolivia, where he was assassinated in
1967.

The films will be screened in Havana this week and will premiere in
the United States in the next few days. There will be reactions from
two different publics. Cuba, from the respect and deep-rooted
knowledge that moviegoers have about Ché Guevara's figure. The United
States, from the reactions that the films may have in sectors opposed
to the ideas and image of the guerrilla commander.

It may be the toughest test for Benicio del Toro: to convince
everywhere the films are screened that his Ché Guevara performance
leads back to the human being that Guevara was in real life.

What does Benicio del Toro think about what is going to happen when
these films premiere in many other countries? Will they be plausible,
believable, since these are biographic movies?

Benicio del Toro has the floor:

What were your thoughts before and after studying Ché's personality
and making the film? Were there two Ché Guevara? Which is your Ché
Guevara?

I knew him only superficially as the warrior, as the revolutionary.
Through my studies, I learned there was much more to him. He was a
doctor, intellectual, humanitarian, statesman, poet, photographer,
visionary and teacher. There aren't two Ché Guevaras, only one, the
thinker and the man of action, in one man.

Did you manage to delve into the psychology of a character like Ché,
so difficult for any actor who has respect for his historical
dimension? What was the process like to identify with the real
character? What were your sources? Who told you the ins and outs of
Ché's inner world?

The process to identify myself with Ché Guevara was first to learn
about what the man said and wrote.

My sources were, among others, the film Motorcycle Diaries, Letters
to his mother and family while he was in Guatemala and Mexico,
Reminiscences of a Revolution, The African Dream, The Bolivian
Diaries and other writings suggested by the Cuba-based Center for
Studies on Ché Guevara.

The people were Aleida March (Ché's widow), Aleida Guevara, Camilo
Guevara and María del Carmen (children), his surviving fellow
combatants, the family in Argentina, the Cuban Institute for Movie
Art and Industry (ICAIC).

Did you lose any sleep over Ché?

Wouldn't you lose any sleep over such a great responsibility?

Do you have any misgivings about the reactions of the Cubans to the
movie?

No. I'm actually looking forward to showing this movie to the Cuban
public.

What does Hollywood think about this film?

It's hard to know what Hollywood is thinking. The movies haven't come
out in North America yet.

Why did you shoot in Europe?

The decision to shoot most of Guerrilla in Spain was a practical and
financial one. The decision to shoot at the UN in New York is
obvious, as was the decision to shoot in La Paz. The decision to
shoot the Sierra Maestra in Puerto Rico was made because of the
tropical vegetation. Because of the embargo we were not allowed to
travel to Cuba. The decision to shoot in Campeche, Mexico, was for it
to double for Santa Clara (located in Cuba's central region, where
Ché's last fights in the Cuban guerrilla took place).

Did you feel comfortable working with Cuban and other non-American
actors, some of whom were unknown to you?

I felt quite comfortable working with Cuban and non-North American
actors. Good actors are good actors. It doesn't matter where they're
from.

What information do you have on Cuban cinema? What do you think about
it?

Information about Cuban cinema? How about a list? Tomás Gutiérrez
Alea, Santiago Álvarez, Manuel Octavio Gómez, Pastor Vega, Humberto
Solás, Fernando Pérez. My opinion? All filmmaking industries are
different. But what I can tell you is that these six filmmakers are
among the most influential in the world.

* Translated by Angel Ramón Milán Dobson

Source