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Sources

Pope Francis: The Movie + Five Popealikes Perfect For The Role

LA STAMPA (Italy); NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER (U.S.)

Worldcrunch

VATICAN CITY- Charismatic, humble, and kind -- it was inevitable that the story of Pope Francis would end up on the silver screen.

Bringing the story of Jorge Mario Bergoglio to life is German director Christian Peschken, who received 25 million euros backing from a group of European investors. Peschken has also assembled a team to help him that includes La Stampa’s Andrea Tornielli, who has previously authored several books on popes.

Speaking to the National Catholic Register, Peschken said, “we will make a movie about a person who followed God’s call and then became a shepherd of men -- a man with a mission and man with a destination.”

The director said that he wanted the movie to appeal to everyone, not just the Catholic crowd because “it’s what the Pope tries to do himself.”

Set for release on Pope Francis’ birthday next year (December 17, 2014), the movie will be filmed at Rome’s Cinecittà studios, and on location in Argentina.

Although a script has yet to be written, let alone anyone cast, we thought we might help the team out by offering our suggestions on who to cast as the leading man.

1. Woody Allen

One of the first to be pointed out as a papalgänger, could add a bit of Jewish humor to the role.

Screengrabs via YouTube expand=1]

2. Stanley Tucci

Italian roots, new world vigor, here's the man for Bergoglio's middle age.

[rebelmouse-image 27086735 alt="""" original_size="460x276" expand=1]

Photos by screengrab expand=1] and Tom Sorensen

3. Carl Reiner

Jowls? Check.

[rebelmouse-image 27086736 alt="""" original_size="170x239" expand=1]

Photos by Aibdescalzo and Angela George

4. Liam Neeson

Do not underestimate the action potential.

Photos by screengrab expand=1] and nivrae


5. Toni Servillo

An Italian actor and director, potentially a dark horse if the movie is not filmed in English.

Photos by Aibdescalzo and Facebook

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Germany

Khodorkovsky: Don't Count On A Swift End To The War In Ukraine

The West is deceiving itself if it hopes for a quick end to the Ukraine war. Above all, it must consistently implement an energy transition — otherwise, it will remain at Putin's mercy, writes prominent Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, in German daily Die Welt.

Image of a worker repairing a gas pipeline damaged by a Ukrainian military strike on the centre of the town of Volnovakha, Russia

January 20, 2023: A worker repairs a gas pipeline damaged by a Ukrainian military strike on the centre of the town of Volnovakha, Russia.

Valentin Sprinchak/TASS/ZUMA
Mikhail Khodorkovsky

-OpEd-

LONDON — In the spring of 2014, I went to Kyiv with a large group of Russians representing the European part of the Russian cultural and social elite to express our solidarity with the Maidan protests in Ukraine, and our disapproval of the Russian annexation of Crimea.

Many of us then flew to Kharkiv and Donetsk to meet with Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine who were concerned about what was happening.

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In Donetsk, among others, I had a conversation with the leaders of those who stormed the regional administration, including Denis Vladimirovich Pushilin, the current head of the "Donetsk People's Republic." Since then, it has been absurd for me to listen to those who still do not understand that the destabilization of eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea were a "special operation" of the Kremlin from the very beginning.

It is amazing that there are still people who do not understand that Putin is not simply riding the wave of an imperial renaissance in Russia. He is consistently pushing this wave himself, helped by clever propaganda and the direct financing of imperialist-minded national patriots. At the same time, he is suppressing the voices of the sane part of society.

Putin has already used war to solve domestic problems four times (1999 in Chechnya, 2008 in Georgia, 2014 and 2022 in Ukraine) — if you don't count the war in Syria and the de facto annexation of Transnistria, a region in Moldova, which did not "catch on" with public opinion. Putin's main goal is to stay in power, although in recent years there has been a shift toward "legacy." This means a partial restoration of the empire and its influence.

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