Diego Luna Interview: 'I Didn't Feel Pressure For Cesar Chavez Movie'
- Details
- Category: Interviews
- Created: Friday, 21 March 2014 10:15
- Published: Friday, 21 March 2014 11:18
- Written by Lupe R Haas
Diego Luna brings us the first ever movie about Cesar Chavez, the legendary labor leader, to the big screen, and he did so with the permission of Chavez’s family.
CineMovie sat down Diego Luna, the Mexican director and actor, in Los Angeles to talk about his passion project on the iconic leader who gave us “Si Se Puede” and led a movement to bring human rights to California farm workers.
Diego tells us he wanted to avoid the Hollywood clichés and present Cesar Chavez as the humble and quiet leader who wasn’t a saint, but an average human being. He found the right person to do that in Michael Peña, but he did put him through the casting process to make sure they would be compatible as actor and director. Luna says the casting process is important for that reason.
Diego Luna also sought out the approval of Cesar Chavez’s family before taking on the film for his Mexican production company Canana Films, which he runs with Gael Garcia Bernal. The Mexican-American filmmaking community at first didn’t think a Mexican production company should handle telling the American story, but the only approval Luna needed was that of his wife Helen and their children. Luna says he’s obligated to them to present an honest story, and the only pressure he feels is that his children and father will like the movie.
For more with Diego Luna, watch our interview with the CESAR CHAVEZ director. The film opens March 28, 2014.