Man behind the Myth: Killer Films options novel on Castro & co.

After Soderbergh’s double Che biopic offerings (logically rumored to play out at this upcoming Cannes edition), it is Castro that might get the big screen treatment, or at least by the sound of the project, he’ll be the film’s co-star. Sensing that the sand clock is running out for the former president/dictator of Cuba, Variety reports that Killer Films and Moxie Pictures have snapped up the rights to a book which the “NYTimes describe as ‘fascinating and admirably dispassionate” and the indie prod. company might be prepping a big picture project for a timely release.

Written by NYT correspondent Anthony DePalma, The
Man Who Invented Fidel: Castro, Cuba and Herbert Matthews of the New York
Times examines how Matthews’ mythmaking profiles of Castro set the stage for his rise to power. Matthews, one of the top foreign correspondents of his era, was smuggled into the jungles of the Sierra Maestra Mountains to get the first detailed interview with Castro. That and other glowing articles impacted American perception before the fall of the Batista regime and Castro’s takeover of the Cuban government.

A screenwriter will be handed out the project shortly – and Moxie’s Dan Levinson and Killer’s Christine Vachon will have not only the book but the author at their services as well. Look for a title change.