The announcement that James Franco would be playing former Cuban leader Fidel Castro in the upcoming film Alina of Cuba did not sit well with John Leguizamo, but the controversial casting has garnered a ringing endorsement from the actual subject of the film. Alina Fernandez, an outspoken critic of the Cuban government who happens to be Castro's real-life daughter, has since weighed in on the situation. Speaking with Deadline, Fernandez made it clear she fully supports the casting choice.
"The project is almost entirely Latino, both in front and behind the camera. James Franco has an obvious physical resemblance with Fidel Castro, besides his skills and charisma."
Fernandez went on to praise the rest of the main cast members, including Ana Villafañe as herself and Mía Maestro as her mother. Ultimately, it seems Fernandez also hopes that people will focus on "the conversation about Cuba" more so than who might be playing who in the film, stressing how confident she is in the talent put together to bring this movie to life.
“I find the selection of the cast amazing. Ana Villafañe is extraordinarily talented, and not only as an actress because she is also a great singer, a very complete performer. I’m sure that Mía Maestro, an actress I admire, will understand and interpret Naty, my mother, in a unique way and I can’t wait to see her building her character. The rest of the cast is going to be a wonderful surprise for all audiences. The filmmakers worked a lot and I can’t be more grateful to them for their overall inclusive selection. To me, the most important thing about this movie is that the conversation about Cuba is alive. Personally, the experience is so far too unexpected but more than anything, humbling.”
Alina of Cuba's Producer Also Defended James Franco's Casting
This fiasco began with John Leguizamo blasting the casting with a post on Instagram. Leguizamo felt that Franco's casting was taking away an opportunity from a Latino actor who should have been in that role instead. You can read what Leguizamo said below.
“How is this still going on? How is Hollywood excluding us but stealing our narratives as well? No more appropriation Hollywood and streamers! Boycott! This F’d up! Plus seriously difficult story to tell without aggrandizement, which would be wrong! I don’t got a prob with Franco but he ain’t Latino!”
That would later get a response from producer John Martinez O'Felan, who argued that by getting involved this way, Leguizamo was only creating division in the community. O'Felan also makes a comment about the actor's "blood history," seemingly pointing to Franco's Portuguese heritage. As the producer said:
"His comments are culturally uneducated and a blind attack with zero substance related to this project. The reality of the ignorance piece falls within his statement suggesting his personal view on being ‘Latino,’ because a land mass or living area does not determine a person’s blood history or genetics. [Leguizamo's] note is a great talking point because they represent the same confusion and identity crisis in Hollywood right now within the Hispanic community in America who are arguing that we should only identify as Latin, which is mostly because of the falsehoods being spread by the actors who are supposed to be representing us, but instead create division amongst their own people.”
What's been made clear is that Franco is not going anywhere, despite any criticism leveled against Alina of Cuba by Leguizamo. The film doesn't currently have a release date but shooting is slated to begin on Aug. 15.