New Line Cinema is developing a film adaptation of Aran Shetterly's biography "The Americano: Fighting for Freedom in Castro's Cuba, an Untold Story."
- Jun 29, 2007
AceShowbiz - Set to turn the heroic tale of noted historical figure into the big screen, New Line Cinema is on the move to work on "The Americano" based on Aran Shetterly's biography "The Americano: Fighting for Freedom in Castro's Cuba, an Untold Story" telling about William Alexander Morgan, a key figure in the Cuban revolution in the late 1950s.
Morgan, an American rumored to have been a gangster and a CIA operative, went to Cuba in 1958 to then command the legendary Cuban fighting column known as the Tigers of the Jungle. Together with the small force, he was able to win the revolution against General Fulgencio Batista, thereby helping Fidel Castro to become the new leader of the country yet ironically getting executed there in 1961 after being convicted of treason.
In developing the project, New Line has got German filmmaker Robert Schwentke attached to helm with Mark Bailey penning the script and Ed Saxon producing via his ESP banner. Schwentke is currently prepping "The Time Traveler's Wife" while Bailey has just finished writing "The Zenith Man", both also for New Line.
In related news, New Line is also reported to make attempt for securing rights to a film version of popular pulp character Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. Posting a bid of mid-six against seven figures for an 18-month option with one extension, the studio now is in the state of negotiations after CAA staged an auction for rights holder Paradox Entertainment.
