From our Bureau of Potentially Offensive Films with some assistance from our Bureau of Hollywood Branches of the Ministry of Truth
Wow! Get ready for “Godfather IV,” maybe also “Scarface II.” And prepare to be annoyed and offended. Some Hollywood producers and screenwriters — none of whom are Cuban — are making a film about Fidel Castro’s 1960 visit to the United Nations in New York. Naturally, the plot centers on Mafia and CIA plots to kill Fidel. So, with Al Pacino heading the cast, one must assume that this film will have genuine “Godfather” and “Scarface” DNA. This is a very important fact. Please keep in mind the immortal words of comedian Jon Stewart: “Everything I know about Cuba in the 1950’s I’ve learned from Godfather, Part Two.”
For a slight touch of realism, the producers have hired Cuban actor Hector Medina to play the role of Raul Castro. Currently, it’s unclear what roles Al Pacino or any of the other actors will play and there’s no official release date. Once again, worldwide audiences will be exposed to Cuban history through the lens of the Ministry of Truth, as always seems to happen in Hollywood.
From Hollywood Reporter
Al Pacino, Diego Boneta and Xolo Maridueña are set to star in Killing Castro, director Eif Rivera’s debut feature now before the cameras in New Jersey.
The Romulus Entertainment pic also stars KiKi Layne, Alexander Ludwig, Ron Livingston, Kendrick Sampson, Nicole Beharie, Logan Marshall and Titus Welliver. Killing Castro, written by Leon Hendrix, Thomas DeGrezia and Colin Bateman, follows true events when Fidel Castro visited New York City in 1960 to address the United Nations General Assembly as the Cuban revolutionary leader.
When met with hostility at his original hotel, Castro meets Malcolm X, who invites him to stay at famed Hotel Theresa in Harlem. With the eyes of the world now watching, a rookie undercover FBI agent originally assigned to investigate Malcolm X suddenly becomes the FBI’s most valuable asset and must keep Castro from being eliminated by the CIA and the Italian Mafia.
The film is produced and financed by Romulus Entertainment’s Brad Feinstein, along with Christina Weiss Lurie of Fourth and Twenty-Eight Films also producing. Executive producers are John Takis, Rudy Langlais, Josh Glick, Boneta, Sam Slater, Hendrix, Bateman, Piers Tempest, Joseph Ingrassia and Nick Ham.
“I am honored to be part of telling such an important story that is a piece of history, which was largely unknown. Killing Castro perfectly encapsulates the type of stories we strive to tell at Romulus Entertainment, stories that do more than entertain audiences, but create thought-provoking diverse content that bring to light the complexities of real life. We are looking forward to working with the incredible cast led by the inimitable Eif Rivera,” Feinstein said in a statement on Monday.
Nowadays when people get cancelled left and right when they offend anyone, it’s our fault for not having any institution that can challenge this type of crap. Look how Kanye West was cancelled for offending Jews. Look how Chicanos were able to cancel an author who wrote a book called Dirt that was about Chicanos, now mind you, the book wasn’t offensive. No! Chicanos were complaining because they say that white people don’t have a right to write about Chicano experiences. Now imagine a film in the works that is said to be offensive to the LGBTQ crowd! Yet, Hollywood continues to shit on us. This movie will again drive in the point that Cuba was run by the mob and fidel castro is a victim because he cleaned Cuba of organized crime. Of course, Cuban exiles will be depicted as crazy and a bunch of criminals.
I consider all showbiz products dubious and I’ve turned my back on the entire movie industry. Anything Cuba-related, of course, is to be seen as extremely suspect unless proven otherwise. This sounds like a small-time production except for Pacino, but he’s long past his heyday. But yes, it is bound to be offensive.