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Gemma Arterton & Andrew Garfield Join Michael Mann's 'Capa'

by Ethan Anderton
December 27, 2010
Source: TotalFilm

Over a year ago we heard that director Michael Mann (Public Enemies, Collateral) was developing a biopic of renowned war photographer Robert Capa, focusing on his two year romance with fellow photographer Gerda Taro during the Spanish Civil War. Simply called Capa the story begins in Paris in 1935 where Capa, a refugee from Hungary, met Taro, a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany. It sounds like Mann has found his leads in some promising young talent as TotalFilm caught up with Gemma Arterton (Clash of the Titans, Prince of Persia) who revealed that she and Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) are set to star in this.

Garfield, who is currently in the midst of shooting Marc Webb's new Spider-Man, will play the titular photographer while Arterton (who, despite her beauty, has sort of tried my patience as an actress) will play Taro. Based on the Susana Fortes novel Waiting for Robert Capa, this is not your typical romance as the two lovers begin as exiled Jewish Communists Gerta Phorylle and Endre Friedmann who change their names to Gerda Taro and Robert Capa in order to sell their photographic work more easily and document the Spanish Civil War. However, tragedy looms for their romance just around the corner.

While I've yet to see The Disappearance of Alice Creed, I've heard Arterton's talents are much better than her work in the aforementioned epic blockbusters, so maybe she can really prove her talents with Michael Mann. As for Garfield, he was phenomenal in The Social Network, and I've heard nothing but good things about his work in Mark Romanek's underseen and underrated film Never Let Me Go. And if he's good enough to snag the role of your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, then he's definitely doing something right. We're not sure when this project will take off, but count me interested for now. How about you guys?

Explore tags: Casting, Movie News, Opinions

Cruzer

Arterton's acting in The Disappearance of Alice Creed wasn't a big deal, her boobage on the other hand was a standout!
Fisherr

It's a kind of a bizarre mash up with the a typical romance synopsis, but i am reay for anything these days.
A5J4DX

hmm
Ryan

I am a photographer and count Robert and Cornell Capa as my hero's. As much as Garfield does not really fit the bill as Robert i can get on board. He was outstanding in The Social Network, Never Let Me Go and Red Riding so he has the talent but Gemma Arterton is a big big mistake, i beg Mann to recast. Along with The Bang Bang Club i have been waiting for both these films for a long time, Arterton is a bad move, cast an unkown, the subject needs someone better than Arerton. Please PLEASE, dont ruin another film with her. Clash broke my heart thanks to her and the Avatar guy. And i LOVED the 1st Clash. Dont let her near it.

AD

Don't forget that one of Michael Mann's big defining characteristics is that he takes seemingly miscast actors and transforms them. Nobody expected Jamie Foxx to do as well as he did in Ali, or Will Smith to be so spot on either. Daniel Day Lewis was no action star either before Last of the Mohicans. Tom Cruise was against type in Collateral. Either way, I look forward to what he can do with Gemma.

Huffy

How can a film be underrated when you haven't even seen it yet? But whatever, I don't get why Arterton gets so much hate. Most of the time she's nothing special, but how can she be given the quality (or lack thereof) of scripts like Clash of the Titans or Prince of Persia? Not saying she's Katherine Hepburn reincarnated but the one time I've seen her act with a good script (Alice Creed) she did an very good job.
Orge

Bah. The new Spider-boy and Strawberry Fields. The only thing that sounds remotely fascinating is Michael Mann's direction.