2007
Steven Soderbergh praises Demian Bichir's acting.
For the American director Steven Soderbergh,
the interpretation of actor Demian Bichir as Fidel Castro
in the film The Argentine has been extraordinary.
" He is amazing, a great actor, I am delighted that the film
also includes his brother Bruno , although I would have loved
to also have Odiseo , " said Soderbergh.
In a brief chat, which took place on Thursday during
one of the breaks in the filming, Soderbergh added that
it has been a pleasure that The Argentine has locations in Mexico.
"
I am very happy to be here in Campeche, we needed places
that resemble as closely as possible to Havana, and here
is where we have found them. Besides, being with
the (Mexican production) team has been wonderful,
because people are hard-working, in fact I already have
the experience of having worked in Mexico (with 'Traffic')
and it has always happened
very well,
" said the director.
This week completes the filming of
The Argentine
in Campeche
and after that the filming continues in Bolivia.
Demian Bichir
Steven Soderbergh
(Source: El Diario )
November 16, 2007
The filming of The Argentine should be completed
on November 19 th in Campeche, Mexico.
Extras of The Argentine preparing to film a scene
in the area of the Plaza of the Republic.
(Source: Novedades Campeche )
November 15, 2007
A scene of The Argentine, in which a train derails while the rebels
exchanged gunfire with their enemies , was performed successfully.
It is a crucial scene, one of the most difficult take of the film.
The struggle of Ernesto "Che" Guevara ends now. At least
it looked like it yesterday, during one of the most shocking scenes
of the film , which was filmed on location in Campeche.
Anna Roth, the Mexican producer of the The Argentine , said she
was proud that the locomotive has been built by national talent.
" That was the scene that concerned us the most, because there is
only one shot, something that can not be repeated, that's is why
it was taking our breath away ", she elaborated.
From 5 o'clock in the morning on, a total of 200 people in the film
began arriving at La Ermita with a plan to preparing the wagons,
placing explosives on the nearby sidewalk and remov ing the net in
the football field where it was damaged, and the train in the midst
of a thick cloud of smoke.
The degree of difficulty of the filming was such, that not even
the governor of Campeche, Jorge Carlos Hurtado, wanted to
miss the opportunity to watch it.
Once everything was completed, the production team was
warmly applauded and the governor said he was pleased that
Campeche ha d been chosen to recreate a part of Havana,
specifically Santa Clara.
"
It's an extraordinary opportunity. We are looking to attract people
to visit us during holidays, and this puts us in an important
position ," he stressed.
"
It is estimated that the dividend that
this film
will leave
is around 30 million pesos, apart from the fact that
the hotel occupancy is a t 100% ."
The Governor also praised the incredible scene of
the
train derailment, for which was used a six meters long ramp,
which reached its highest point at one meter and twenty centimeters.
"
It was very good! Those are incredible effects, it's a wonder
that everything can be done with props ," he said.
Benicio
was not involved in those scenes.
Filming of a scene for The Argentine
Filming of a scene for The Argentine .
(Source: Yucatan.com.mx )
November 15, 2007
Below is an o riginal poster by the Juventud Civica Cubana.
The poster reads as follows:
" These are the two men who want to bring our youth
to the death and destroy our wealth. We are Cubans
not Russians. Let's fight against them! "
And here's a reproduction of the poster
which will be used in The Argentine :
(Source [poster reproduction]: TlacuachExpress )
November 14, 2007
The photo below was taken in Puerto Rico on October 27, 2007
at the premiere of Things We Lost In The Fire .
(Photo: Paola Silva / Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular )
November 13, 2007
The filming of The Argentine has left in the Mexican state
of Campeche almost 3 million dollars in two weeks,
official sources reported today.
The
filming
team is composed of 400 people,
occupying hundreds
of hotel rooms, according to Efe Ramon Jimenez Gomez,
a spokesman for the Secretariat of Tourism of Campeche,
in southeastern Mexico.
Four hundred
local people have been hired as
extras
and it generated temporary employment for an equal
number of people, said Jimenez Gomez .
The production team
will be finished this week
with the filming in Mexico.
(Source: Yahoo Noticias España )
November 13, 2007
Another photo from the set of The Argentine :
(Source: El Joaquines )
November 13, 2007
Click on the photo below to view new photos
from the set of The Argentine.
(More particularly photos 81 to 93)
(Source: Eliana's blog )
November 12, 2007
Today is the sixth day of filming in Mexico for the production
team of The Argentine . This time, the Pdte. Adolfo López Mateos
and Adolfo Ruiz Cortínez grade schools , in the neighborhood
of Santa Ana , were used to film more scenes of Che's invasion
of the city of Santa Clara to free it from the army of Batista.
The filming is taking place without giving specific details to the press.
(Source: Novedades Campeche )
November 11, 2007
The following article by Paul Lieberman was published
in the Los Angeles Times:
A MOMENT WITH . . .
BENICIO DEL TORO
There's a new movie to promote (
Things We Lost in the Fire
),
but he'd rather talk Stooges.
"
I love the Three Stooges, man, are you kidding?
"
Benicio Del Toro says. " Yeah, if the Three Stooges come up
right now " -- he gestures at a wall cabinet, which presumably
holds a TV -- " we stop this conversation ."
The 40-year-old Puerto Rico-born actor had been talking mostly
about his just released Things We Lost in the Fire , in which
he plays a drug addict opposite Halle Berry, but then looked
forward to his coming projects, his now-filming doubleheader
with Steven Soderbergh on the revolutionary Che Guevara,
and then a remake of The Wolf Man .
And that last project led naturally to the Stooges, for if he could
shoot two movies at once with Soderbergh ( The Argentine
and Guerrilla ) why couldn't they do the same with
The Wolf Man , and remake not only the straight account
of the unfortunate nobleman whose form morphs under a full moon,
but also the version in which the hairy fellow terrorizes
Abbott and Costello?
Yes, of course, they're not the Stooges . . . but they're
close enough, all cinch occupants of the Slapstick Hall of Fame,
if there is such a thing.
" Yeah, that's a cool movie ," Del Toro says of Abbott and
Costello Meet Frankenstein , the 1948 flick that includes the
Wolf Man encounter. "[But] the Three Stooges were
a little more edgy
."
Make no mistake, Del Toro's acting role models are,
as he terms them, "the usual suspects" --
Brando, Nicholson, Bogart, Anthony Quinn.
Yet we often talk about how comedians thirst to do
serious drama, the Bill Murrays and Steve Martins.
Why shouldn't our best dramatic actors get a chance
to tiptoe onto their turf of physical comedy?
In Things We Lost in the Fire , Del Toro did get to do one bit,
when he's hit in the face with a ball, from kids playing outside.
" We did that 10 times and he loved it ," recalls the director,
Susanne Bier, who was aware of the actor's passion --
he hardly keeps it a secret -- for such lower-brow antics.
When it comes to the Stooges, no surprise, his favorite
is Curly, the skinheaded nyuck-nyucker. " Curly's a genius ,"
Del Toro says, recalling the scene from Dutiful but Dumb
in which Curly is eating oyster soup " and the oyster spits up
the soup in his face and he starts to, like, go crazy and
eventually he gets his gun and starts shooting the plate.
It's masterful ," Del Toro says.
" There's another one, they're in some house
and a little monkey shows up. 'Larry, I'm seein' gorillas! ' "
OK, maybe we have to concede that the boys weren't perfect,
that for starters " the treatment of women is not so correct ,"
Del Toro notes. " That's why the Stooges have kind of like been
kept in the back -- they were in their own club
and it was the boys club
."
But we could fix that, throw in a little semi-adult flirtation,
totally plausible with Del Toro playing, say, Moe.
Sure, he'd better do the straight
Wolf Man
first --
Anthony Hopkins has signed on to play his dad, Sir John Talbot,
and he wouldn't want to miss that acting interplay. But afterward,
keep the sets, keep the crew and go on to remake the
Abbott and Costello classic, or tweak it to sub in the Stooges.
"
There's a lot of good actors that could do it too
," Del Toro says.
He doesn't name names, but hasn't De Niro shown he can mug
with the best of 'em?
The danger, obviously, is the same one the comedians experience
when they try to be serious -- it ain't so easy to cross over.
"
I don't know
," Del Toro says finally. "
I might not be able
to do it as good as somebody else
."
Maybe, maybe not. Maybe someday we'll see him do slapstick.
Or maybe, after playing all those drug dealers and drug users
and one Oscar-winning Mexican drug cop, in Soderbergh's Traffic ,
he'll try a romance first.
November 10, 2007
Click on the photo below to view new photos
from the set of The Argentine .
(Source: Eliana's blog )
November 9, 2007
New photos of Benicio on the set of The Argentine :
(Source: Faded Youth blog )
November 8, 2007
Latest photos taken on the set of The Argentine
in Campeche, Mexico:
Benicio as Ernesto "Che" Guevara.
Catalina Sandino Moreno and two co-stars .
Catalina Sandino Moreno and two co-stars .
(Photos taken by Eliana )
(Source: El blog de Hucho )
November 8, 2007
C urious people (inhabitants and tourists) who closely approached
the site of the filming of The Argentine , many of them with video
and photo cameras, disturbed the filming, their murmuring and
other sounds were heard in the takes and such, it affected the work
of the filming team. Hence the security measures and restrictions
have been increased, more security personnel has been hired
to have more control over the whole situation and to keep
people further away from the filming. Spooky Stevens , the
production's spokeswoman, said that she bought all the newspapers/publications of Campeche and looked through them
and decided that: " They have already taken enough pictures and
received enough information. Now it is essential that we can work ."
Understandably, that's why the media coverage
lessen e d after the first couple of days.
Extras from The Argentine taking a break.
(Source: Yucatan.com.mx )
November 8, 2007
Catalina Sandino Moreno as Aleida March
o n the set of The Argentine :
November 8, 2007
Today was the second day of filming The Argentine
in Campeche, Mexico.
Benicio on the set of The Argentine .
Benicio is on the cover of today's issue of Novedades Campeche.
(Source: Novedades Campeche )
November 7, 2007
More photos taken on the set of The Argentine :
Benicio in the Historical Center
of San Francisco de Campeche.
Extras receiving their weapons for a scene.
Extras waiting to be called for a scene.
The Governor of Campeche, Jorge Carlos Hurtado Valdez
(in front, on the right, with the white shirt)
visiting the set of The Argentine .
The Governor of Campeche, Jorge Carlos Hurtado Valdez
(with the white shirt) visiting the set of The Argentine .
(Source: Yucatan.com.mx )
November 7, 2007
The Argentine leads the Cuban revolution
in
the Historical Center
of Campeche.
And the filming started. El "Che" (Benicio) ran between
the hasps of the doors of Santa Clara (Historical Center),
for shelter, while a group of soldiers was shooting at him.
This is only one of the scenes from the The Argentine ,
which
began filming in Campeche yesterday.
The work started very early, at seven o'clock in the morning,
and Gov. Jorge Carlos Hurtado Valdez and
Mayor Carlos Oznerol Pacheco Castro visited the location,
greeted the actors and received a brief explanation
from the production team.
Barricades, vintage cars, billboards and shootings aroused
the admiration of campechanos and tourists
who observed part of the filming.
Clothed in military uniforms and dressed as guerrillas,
armed with prop rifles, the bearded and brown faces of
the 500 Mexican extras were seen throughout the streets
of the "city-set", which the Historical Center has turned into.
Gunfire, some wounded ones and a large contingent of soldiers
under the command of the dictator Fulgencio Batista revived
the bloodiest battle that occurred in Santa Clara.
The filming will continue today and more Mexicans will join
the
scenes as guerrillas under the command of Ernesto "Che" Guevara,
Camilo Cienfuegos and Fidel Castro Ruz.
Tomorrow and after tomorrow the production will be moved
to the traditional neighborhood of Santa Ana.
Contrary to expectations, the team of The Argentine ,
did not implement stringent surveillance measures
in the areas of the filming, so that many people could watch,
although far away from the actors.
It happen e d as scheduled the closure of some businesses
and several streets in the center of the old town, however,
this will not lead to bigger inconveniences for motorists.
One could even walk in the streets surrounding the filming.
At peak hours there weren't serious problems,
because at least 70 establishments
were closed in the first district of Campeche.
Although there were some complaints from merchants,
it did not generate major problems.
Steven Soderbergh and Benicio on the set of The Argentine
yesterday in the Historical Center of Campeche .
Benicio on the set of The Argentine
in the Historical Center of Campeche .
One of the tanks used in the filming of The Argentine .
Extras as guerrilleros on the set of The Argentine .
Governor Jorge Carlos Hurtado visits the set of The Argentine .
Extras as guerrilleros on the set of The Argentine .
(Source: Yucatan.com.mx )
November 6, 2007
Two photos of Benicio on the set of The Argentine
in Campeche, Mexico:
(Source: Eliana's blog )
November 6, 2007
The filming of The Argentine made it clear that
Campeche is a "city-set" for historical films and soap operas.
Thus, with a dividend calculated at 30 million pesos,
the city is transformed into a replica of Santa Clara, Cuba,
a township which was the scene of several passages
in the life of Argentinean guerrilla Ernesto "Che" Guevara .
The Historical Center, the district of Santa Ana and
La Ermita are the locations chosen for the film.
The mentioned sites have been changed, but the commitment
is that at the end of the filming, which takes place from today
on until Thursday November 15 th , everything must return to
the way it was before, hence El Zócalo again must wear its
greenish iron facades and its original colonial colors, and
in Santa Ana, where a police station is reproduced, the
demolished columns and playgrounds for children
must be replenished.
In The Argentine , campechano extras will serve as
guerrilla fighters, soldiers and Cuban policemen.
Auditions were held in Merida.
A utomobiles used during the Cuban revolution were brought
to Campeche. A few days ago a train passed through the capital,
but it does not belong to the company
Itsmo de Tehuantepec, it is a prop.
While the production team worked in the "armored train",
to be derailed by the rebels under the command of "Che",
in the stadium Nelson Barrera Romellón extras
who play the troops of the dictator Fulgencio Batista
were receiving military training under
the Guide of former American soldiers.
The Argentine production will donate computers
to the primary school of Santa Ana.
People observe the train (built with brass and wood)
that will be used in the filming of The Argentine
(Source: Yucatan.com.mx )
November 6, 2007
The filming of The Argentine in Campeche, Mexico, has
officially started today in the main park, causing a few problems
to the local population.
The filming began at
4
:00 AM
with
hundreds of extras
from
Campeche, working for a daily wage of between 400 and
800 pesos, depending on the role they are called to portray.
There are soldiers, guerrillas, people who attend the
hotel bar, and other people who work at the sites.
Things are not good for students, teachers and office workers
who have been prevented access to their work places.
But these nuisances stem from the lack of information coming
from the transport authorities, and motorists are the most affected
by the chaos that is happening in the streets surrounding
the filming.
This morning the State Governor Jorge Carlos Hurtado Valdez,
accompanied by Mayor Carlos Oznerol Pacheco and Alfonso Esquivel
of the Institute of Culture, visited the set to wish good luck to the
workers,
extras,
and to
the producers and
to
Benicio.
Extras from Campeche
(Source: W3Radionet )
November 6, 2007
The filming of The Argentine and Guerrilla will move this week
to the state of
Campeche
in Mexico.
Nearly 1,000 people will participate in the filming
in the center of the capital of the homonymous state,
located
880 kilometers east of Mexico City.
Other scenes will be filmed in the fort located on the coastal area
of the state, where some sequences already filmed in Puerto Rico
will be cumulated.
Maps of Campeche
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge)
(Source:
La Voz
)
November 6, 2007
Talking about The Wolfman , Anthony Hopkins said:
" I'm Wolf Man Sr. I don't know how they're going to
transform us, but it's a great script. "
(Source: USA today )
November 5, 2007
Yesterday, Benicio toured the streets of Campeche's capital city,
which will serve as locations for the filming of The Argentine .
A
ccompanied by the
film's
production team,
Benicio
visited
the sets to be used for the filming in this capital, like the
former Cine-Selem, and the park of Santa Ana.
(Source: Diario40.com )
November 5, 2007
A book entitled The Argentine: The Book of Steven Soderbergh's
New Movie Starring Benicio del Toro as Che
(Che Guevara Publishing Project)
is scheduled to be published this month in pa perback format.
Th e book includes key excerpts from Che Guevara's
Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War - the basis of
Steven Soderbergh's biopic-and a selection of Che's diaries, letters,
articles, books, and photos, from the time when he sets out
to "discover" Latin America as a wide-eyed medical student to his
transformation into the revolutionary hero the world knows as Che.
Features of the book The Argentine include:
-
An explanation of how Ernesto acquired the name "Che"
-
36 pages of original photos of the period plus stills from the movie
-
Movie tie-in cover
-
Blurbs by Benicio and Steven Soderbergh
The book contains 160 pages
and is published in English by Ocean Press (AU)
ISBN-10: 1920888934
ISBN-13: 978-1920888930
Click here to pre-order the book.
(Source: Amazon.com )
November 4, 2007
The following article and photos were published today in El Nuevo Día:
2001
1998
2001
Date unknown
1979
1996
1998
2000
2 002
2003
2004
2006
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge)
(Source: El Nuevo Día )
November 4, 2007
Click on the photo below to watch a new interview
with Benicio and Halle Berry about Things We Lost In The Fire :
(Source: AZFamily.com )
November 4, 2007
Another release date has been announced for The Wolfman :
Russia : April 16, 2009
(Source: IMDB )
November 4, 2007
Benicio threw a 40 th birthday party for producer Laura Bickford
last week on the roof of a hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
(Source: The New York Post )
November 3, 2007
You can now rent or buy downloads of some of Benicio's films.
Please visit our new DOWNLOADS page for more details.
November 2, 2007
In a recent interview, actor Armando Riesco
talked about working in The Argentine :
" Currently, I and many other people are in Puerto Rico, working
on The Argentine . I play the role of "Benigno", a character
who is actually more involved in the second film ( Guerrilla ),
when attempting to start a revolution in Bolivia.
It has been an unforgettable experience,
filming Guerrilla in Spain for two months in the summer
and we managed to travel around and making friends
among Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Bolivians, Spaniards etc.
It was like going to a summer camp, we were all on
a cloud all the time. Now, the filming here
in Puerto Rico promises to be equal or even better.
(Source: www.ArmandoRiesco.com )
November 1, 2007
La Fortaleza published today three photos of
the Governor of Puerto Rico visiting the set of The Argentine :
Puerto Rico's Governor A níbal Acevedo Vilá and Benicio
Benicio and Governor A níbal Acevedo Vilá
Steven Soderbergh and Governor A níbal Acevedo Vilá
(Source: La Fortaleza )
November 1, 2007
A clip of an interview with Benicio in Puerto Rico at the
premiere of Things We Lost In The Fire is available online.
Click on the photo below to view the clip:
(Source: YouTube )
November 1, 2007
The following articles were written by Eliezer Ríos Camacho
a nd published in today's edition of El Vocero de Puerto Rico.
Click on the titles to read the articles:
How Che arrived in Puerto Rico
A blessing" filming in Puerto Rico
The Governor and the “Comandante”
November 1, 2007
Benicio and Steven Soderbergh met
Puerto Rico's governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá.
(Photo: Enid M. Salgado-La Fortaleza )
(Source: El Vocero de Puerto Rico )
November 1, 2007
Reviews are still coming in for Things We Lost In The Fire :
Diane Saenger / Review Express
... Benicio Del Toro is marvelous in his role ...
From every down trodden moment to the times when
he reaches high with hope and then crashes to the
ground again, Del Toro keeps us riveted to Jerry.
He was my comforting bowl of chicken noodle soup.
November 1, 2007
The photo below of Benicio and Micah Berry on the set of Things We Lost In The Fire
was added today in Micah Berry's Flickr album .
(Source: Flickr.com )