And who better to portray a slimy man-whore than Antonio Banderas? That's the latest word on the long-rumored Porfirio Rubirosa movie project, which I first saw mentioned in a Dec. 2002 Vanity Fair piece on Rubirosa as a style icon. John Malkovich supposedly optioned the movie version of this Rubi bio, but the company that signed Bandy is the Venezuelan Sierralta. The stories on the deal say filming will begin next year in DR, Paris, Spain and Prague.
I have mixed feelings about this project. It would be a chance to see a glamorous Dominican on screen, but why the one who single-handedly created the "Latin Playboy" label? Why not Maria Montez, por ejemplo? I imagine this becoming a Dominican Scarface, minus the coke (but with accents
just as ridiculous).
A quick primer for those not in the know. A scion of the Dominican elite, Rubirosa had jobs, as a diplomat (and rumored spy) but he was better known for car racing, polo playing and cutting a wide sex swath through Hollywood (Barbara Hutton, Ava Gardner and Zsa Zsa Gabor) Fifth Ave. (Doris Duke) and the world over (Eva Perón, the Irani princess Soraya Esfandiari). So suave was the guy that he was able to get away with divorcing Trujillo's daughter Flor de Oro without having his (legendarily prodigious) genitals handed to him on a silver tray. He's inspired two bios in English (this one and this one) and a few in Spanish (like this one and this one).
As for the nickname in the headline, I have to admit, I ripped it off the brand-new Dominican Book Club blog. For the non-Dominicans in the house, the term "sanky panky" comes from the homologous hanky panky, and refers to guys who trade their looks and sexual favors for money, comfort, or a way out of poverty on the island. The movie Sanky Panky made this into farce, and the excellent Heading South (based on a Dany Laferrière novel and set in Haiti) takes on the issue more seriously.
And btw, there's a goofy Italian pop band named Porfirio Rubirosa. Here's the silly video they made for a catchy bubblegum song.
[Rubi & Zsa Zsa at Claridge's 1954 via newyorksocialdiary.com; Maria Montez image via skylighters.org]
"I have mixed feelings about this project. It would be a chance to see a glamorous Dominican on screen,"
*chuckles...*
Posted by: Harold Martinez | October 14, 2007 at 10:05 AM