Gal Gadot, Sue Kroll & Jaron Varsano Team To Produce ‘My Dearest Fidel’

Gal Gadot, Sue Kroll & Jason Varsano Team To Produce ‘My Dearest Fidel’
Warner Bros. Pictures has acquired the film rights to Peter Kornbluh’s riveting Politico article, My Dearest Fidel: A Journalist’s Secret Liaison with Fidel Castro, on behalf of Kroll & Co. Entertainment through her exclusive deal; Sue Kroll has partnered with Gal Gadot and Jaron Varsano in developing the material. Kroll, Gadot, and Varsano will produce the film, which is also a potential starring vehicle for Gadot. The project represents a reunion for Kroll and Gadot, who worked closely together on the Warner Bros. Pictures’ blockbuster Wonder Woman in 2017. Narcos co-creator Chris Brancato (EPIX’s Godfather of Harlem, Sherlock Holmes 3) will adapt Kornbluh’s article for the screen. This acquisition marks Kroll’s first major film option since launching Kroll & Co. in April.

Recently published, the article chronicles the previously untold story of how ABC journalist Lisa Howard engaged in what Kornbluh described as “intimate diplomacy” with Cuba’s revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro. Howard was ABC’s first full-time female reporter and the first woman to anchor her own television news show. Attempting to change the course of the Cold War, Howard’s three trips to Havana were pivotal in advancing one of the most critical partnerships in the history of U.S.-Cuban relations. As Howard positioned herself as one of Castro’s leading American confidants, she became a key asset in the establishment of a top-secret channel between Washington and Havana to discuss reconciliation after the Cuban missile crisis.

“I’m so excited to bring this story to life with great creative partners in Gal, Jaron, Peter, and Chris,” said Sue Kroll. “This is a remarkable true story, anchored by an incredible woman, and lends itself to a dramatic and thrilling cinematic experience.”

Added Gadot, “When I first read Peter’s article, I was entranced by his thrilling account of a complicated, fascinating woman in the midst of a high-stakes, real-life drama. I knew immediately that I had to be involved creatively with telling Lisa Howard’s story, and am thrilled to be producing this film with Sue.”

Gadot, Varsano, Brancato and Kornbluh are represented by WME. Gadot and Varsano are also represented by Robert Offer of Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern and Chris Brancato is with Carlos Goodman of Bloom Hergott. Stewart Brookman of Hansen, Jacobson negotiated the deal on behalf of Kroll & Co.

Kornbluh is a historian of U.S.-Cuban relations at the National Security Archive in Washington D.C.