Stone shooting Castro doc

Project has Cuban leader's approval

By EMILIANO DE PABLOS, JOHN HOPEWELL

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BARCELONA -- Filling in another niche in his pantheon of 60s legends, Oliver Stone is currently in Cuba where he is shooting a documentary on Fidel Castro, with the dictator's reported full co-operation.

Set for theatrical release this fall, "Looking for Fidel" will include extensive interviews with Castro, including his views on Cuba, the world and his own life. Pic is produced by Spain's MediaPro, Morena Films and Pentagrama Films. Pentagrama producer Jose Ibanez came up with the idea for the project.

Stone was brought in by Black List Films' producer Fernando Sulichin, who recently set up a Madrid-based prodco, Esperanza Filmworks.

Interviews with Castro began this week, with the Hollywood maverick and political maverick hitting it off at a six-hour dinner on Saturday. It remains to be seen whether the doc will include Castro's opinions on the supposed Havana mafia origins of president John F. Kennedy's assassination.

International rights on the pic are still up for grabs but one leading candidate must be France's Wild Bunch, which has handled many of Sulichin's recent films.