What Is Bill Murray Doing in Cuba?

In perhaps the most predictable award ever given, Benicio del Toro accepted an accolade from the Cuban government for his work in Che. Sure is nice they can hand out awards to celebrities but not present their own citizens with basic rights, isn't it? What is kind of weird is that...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

July 31, 2009

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In perhaps the most predictable award ever given, Benicio del Toro accepted an accolade from the Cuban government for his work in Che. Sure is nice they can hand out awards to celebrities but not present their own citizens with basic rights, isn't it?

What is kind of weird is that Bill Murray, Robert Duval, and James Caan were on hand for the ceremony. The three happened to be in Havana for "professional research." Which has us wondering: Research for what?

According to IMDb, Murray's only non-finished upcoming film is Ghostbusters III (even though that seems to still be in the air). Caan and Duval are costarring in Tribes of October, a Sin City-style tale of postapocalyptic New York that, as far as we can tell, has nothing to do with Cuba. The only upcoming film we're aware of that deals with Cuba is Havana Nocturne, but a script couldn't possibly be complete for that yet. So it should be interesting to see what exactly these three are working on that necessitates a jaunt to Cuba.

None of the three actors are strangers to cinema that deals with the island. Caan and Duval both had parts in The Godfather II, while Murray had a weird role as "The Comedian" in Andy Garcia's The Lost City, a Cuban-American favorite.

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