What is Waltzing with Brando all about? Everything to know
Billy Zane is set to play The Godfather‘s Marlon Brando in an upcoming biopic called Waltzing with Brando, which is making its way to Italy’s Torino Film Festival this year. Zane is best known for playing the antagonist Cal Hockley in Jack and Rose’s story in Titanic.
The upcoming biopic re-creates the moments from when Brando was preparing two of his biggest pictures, The Godfather and Last Tango in Paris. All the while, he had been collaborating with Bernard Judge, an architect, to build his Tahitian tropical retreat.
Written and directed by Bill Fishman, whose credits include Tapeheads, My Dinner with Jimi, and Car 54, Where are You?, the upcoming film will also star Tia Carrere, Richard Dreyfus, and more.
What is the plot of Waltzing with Brando?
Fishman wrote the story for the big screen based on the memoir Judge wrote about the iconic actor titled Waltzing with Brando: Planning a Paradise in Tahiti. It tells the story of Brando and Judge’s quest to build his retreat in Tahiti, right from how the actor picked Judge, who was an idealist architect in Los Angeles.
The movie hopes to retell how the Oscar-winning actor convinced the architect to leave his comfortable life in LA to build the world’s first ecologically perfect retreat in Tetiaroa, a tiny uninhabited island in Tahiti at the time. Talking about the upcoming biopic, Zane told Deadline on May 15, 2024:
“It’s a love letter to Tahiti, and him [Brando], and his passion.”
This lesser-known story about Brando and Judge started before he was called to star in the gangster movie which would become Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather. Zane told Deadline that the actor accepted to part of the aging Don Vito Corleone in the movie to fund his Tetiaroa project with Judge.
Cast and characters in the movie
Billy Zane stars as Marlon Brando in Waltzing with Brando, years after talks about him possibly portraying the legendary actor in a project because of their uncanny physical resemblance. With the news of the movie’s premiere date, the film has released a first-look image of his transformation into Marlon Brando. The picture sees Zane channeling Brando’s infamous Don Vito Corleone, from his classic tux and red rose down to his intense gaze.
Joining him in the cast list are, Wayne’s World‘s Tia Carrere as Madame Leroy and Oscar winner and The Goodbye Girl star Richard Dreyfuss, who is set to play Seymour Kraft.
The rest of the Waltzing with Brando cast includes:
- Alaina Huffman as Dana
- John Heder as Bernard Judge
- Camille Razat as Michelle
- Rob Corddry as Jack Bellin
- James Jagger as Zeke Knight
- Sodia Masson as Maria Schneider
- Tana Frederick as Cindy
- David Gueriera as Francis Coppola
- Patrick McLain as Richard Bailey
- Mark Canjar as Brown
- Alex Beh as Bill
- Woody Fu as Alec Ata
- Juliet Vega as a 70’s makeup artist
- Ivan Kraljevic as a Tahiti bartender
- Luca Manganaro as Bonasera
- Dina Freberg as the NASA Secretary
- Lorne Hughes as Andy Petersen
- George Msarras as Ron
- Lynne Alana Delaney as Blanche
- Dean Bloxom as Phil
- Jon Jones as Dr. Johnson
- Ha’anui Bellais as Captain Sui
- James Mackie as Nick Rutgers
- Ava Zane as Sabrina
- Charles Venturi as Bernardo Bertolucci
- Eva Bourgeaois as Vaitare
- Heiae Touniou as Tarita
- Arava Grave-Du-Prel as Cheyenne Brando
- Xuankai Ding as Lee
- Temana Sengues as Agnes
- Teiva Monoi as Temarii Teai
- Yves-Edouard Malakai as Teari Taputarai
Waltzing with Brando filmed on Tetiaroa
Much of the upcoming biopic was shot in Tetiaroa, giving viewers a peek into the lesser-known aspects of Brando’s life outside of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. It’s an atoll in French Polynesia that the royal family once owned before it was passed through many private owners. Marlon Brando finally got his hands on a 99-year lease of Tetiaroa in 1966 after several failed attempts, with a plan to make it a natural preserve and an ecologically responsible tropical resort.
The biopic is finally set to premiere at the Torino Film Festival in November.
Stay tuned for more news and updates on Waltzing with Brando and other favorite movies as the year progresses.
Source: Sportskeeda
See also:
