Ain't It Cool News (www.aintitcool.com)
Movie News

Who's Playing Maradona In The Story Of His Life'!

Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...

And if you just read the headline and said, ‘Maradona who?” then skip to the next story. It’s okay. I didn’t know who he was either until about three years ago. He’s a legend in Argentina, a larger-than-life football player who is more than just another sports figure. His story is one of those great sports stories that manages to be about more than just wins and losses, and it’s not a surprise that they would want to make a film about him.

What is a surprise is the proposed casting. Check this out...

Hello Harry and Moriarty

Very long time/first time...

A very important newspaper here in Argentina just published that italian director Marco Risi is making a movie based on the life of Diego Armando Maradona, arguably the best soccer player in history. That isn't really new because the movie has been in planing stages for a couple year, however the interesting part is that Risi wants Gael García Bernal (And Your Mother Too, Motorcicle Diaries) for the role. This is kind of interesting 'cause the mexican actor would be playing his second argentinian icon; the first one being Ernesto "Che" Guevara (who was from Argentina, not Cuba for those who still make that mistake). Acording to a newspaper in Chile, director Marco Risi said: "At first I thought of Benicio del Toro, because of his face, but he's too tall, he's 1.90 meters. Instead, Gael is a good actor and he's 1.70 meters"

The movie is based on Maradona's autobiography "Yo soy el Diego" and the story will start in january 2000, when Maradona sufered his first serious hearth problem. Feeling close to his death, the soccer player starts to look back in his life, from his childhood in Villa Fiorito to current days. I think this one's something to look forward, even for people who are not big fans of the guy (I'm included). He's had a realy interesting life, being from a poor family and raising to become and idol to soccer fans worldwide. His drugs problems and his eventual fall. I hope you're interested.

Just call me "el Argentino"

PS: sorry for any mistakes, english isn't my first language

When I mentioned the casting to my wife tonight, her reaction was outright annoyance. Bernal is a very good young actor, and I thought he did a great job as Che in THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES. But he’s not the only Spanish speaking guy out there right now, and physically, he just doesn’t make sense as Maradona. I’ll be curious to see if they actually commit to him, or if this is just an early idea. Anyone close to the production, please... keep me posted.

"Moriarty" out.





Readers Talkback
comments powered by Disqus