Speaking with MTV, Tony Scott has revealed plans for a biopic about the first Mexican revolutionary general Francisco “Pancho” Villa with “No Country For Old Men” star Javier Bardem as the lead.
Described the as a “big, epic Western,” Scott discussed his plans and noted he’s been talking to Bardem about since nearly the turn of the decade. “I’ve been talking to him about it now for… about eight years,” Scott added. “[Javier told me] ‘I am Pancho Villa.’ ” We give Scott some credit for knowing who Bardem was before ‘No Country.’
Reports are, though, that Bardem is being persuaded by and may possibly already be set to play the Mexican revolutionist in estimable Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica’s upcoming, “Seven Friends Of Pancho Villa And The Woman With Six Fingers,” that was announced in the trades in February of 2009. Maybe that’s what the actor meant when he said “I am Pancho Villa”? Would you pick Scott over Kusturica? Only if you wanted to make bank and uhh, want your movies to actually be seen in North America (nervous laughter).
Kusturica’s picture is based on James Carlos Blake’s 1996 novel “The Friends of Pancho Villa” and is, according to reports (from a very sketchy, take-with-a-grain-of-salt source), set to co-star Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek with Johnny Depp in talks to join. However, Depp previously worked with Kusturica on the wacky and underrated “Arizona Dream” from 1993 so maybe this isn’t total wishful thinking.
Shooting on Kusturica’s project is said to begin later this year in Mexico whatever the cast may be. Thank god, Kusturica’s “sabbatical” away from filmmaking appears to be over. Sure, he directed that “Maradona” documentary on fallen angel Argentinian futbol superstar Diego Maradona in 2008, but that never even saw a proper release in the United States and he seems to be content to play rock music in Slavic bands.
And let’s not forget that the exalted filmmaker has won two Palme d’Or prize at Cannes for “When Father Was Away on Business” and “Underground” within the span of ten years (has any other filmmaker done that? Ok, Coppola did it within a span of five years in the ’70s, but still) and if you can’t appreciate his madcap, and deliriously comedic whirling dervish cinema, well, there’s just something deeply wrong with you. Make the right choice Javier, stick to your European roots and or seriously, anyone but Tony Scott.