October 5, 2009

Michael Mann's Robert Capa Project (2010-2011)


Michael Mann's (Public Enemies) next film will focus on the life of photographer Robert Capa who covered the Spanish Civil War and WWII. The film is based on the novel Waiting for Robert Capa by Susana Fortes. Jez Butterworth (Birthday Girl) has been hired to work on the script. Butterworth has also written scripts for Fair Game (Sean Penn, Naomi Watts) and the upcoming James Brown biopic. We could not only see Mann's take on WWII but we could also see the Spanish Civil War as well. It's being described as a gritty low-budget film.


Robert Capa and Gerda Taro's story sounds very exciting. The novel starts off in Paris (1935), when Hungarian Endre Friedmann meets Gerta Pohorylle. Both exiled Jewish communists, the two changed their names to have a better chance in the world of photography. Taro who left Nazi Germany to become a professional war time photographer become the first woman to do so. Capa stormed the beaches of Normandy with U.S. troops during D-Day and he also had extensive work during the Spanish Civil War. There is also controversy that a famous Capa photo entitled "Falling Soldier", which protrays a solider's death captured was staged.

Casting Thoughts


Johnny Depp could be one of the many actors in mind to play Robert Capa. I could also see someone younger like Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds) cast as well.


I'd love to see actresses such as Carice Van Houten (Black Book, Valkyrie) or Johanna Wokalek (Baader Meinhof Complex) cast as Gerda Taro.

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