Hollywood’s long, rancid love affair with Castro is no secret. Oliver Stone, Steven Spielberg and Robert Redford have previously lined up to be ravished by Cuba’s prison warden-in-chief. (A while ago, I wrote a piece about Errol Flynn’s wacky docudrama, Cuban Rebel Girls, made with Castro’s OK.) That a producer of two Oscar-winning movies is willing to portray an unflattering side of “the bearded cigar smoker,” even as a subplot, is astonishing. One possible caveat: That bit about “other historical perspectives.” This could be Hollywood-speak for “American aggression,” with a nod to the botched Bay of Pigs invasion. And the timing of the announcement – months after Castro stepped aside – is worth noting. Still, the movie will be a worthwhile endeavor if one of Ms Fernandez’s childhood memories survives the final cut: According to her Wikipedia entry, “[She] remembers Mickey Mouse being replaced on the television with executions ordered by Fidel Castro.”
