The New York Times | New York Post | Hollywood Reporter | More ... Tuesday April 10 11:29 AM ET

Castro, Costner See Missile Film Together in Cuba

By Andrew Cawthorne

HAVANA (Reuters) - Kevin Costner and Fidel Castro (news - web sites) met into the early hours Tuesday to watch ``Thirteen Days'' and discuss over dinner the U.S. star's cinema version and the Cuban president's real-life role in the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

Costner had barely arrived at his Havana hotel on Monday evening, before he and other visiting ``Thirteen Days'' producers and cast were invited to Revolution Palace for a special screening in front of Cuba's political hierarchy.

The seven-hour meeting lasted until about 2 a.m. EDT.

``I shouldn't be speaking for the president, but he responded to the film very favorably, and we had a very interesting discussion afterwards,'' Costner's spokesman, Stephen Rivers, told Reuters.

``Kevin was very appreciative of the amount of time the president gave us,'' he said, adding that Costner would likely give his impressions of the meeting with Cuba's ``Maximum Leader'' personally at a news conference in Havana on Wednesday.

In addition to Costner, the U.S side at the meeting included fellow ``Thirteen Days'' producers Armyan Bernstein and Peter Almond. Cuban guests included senior leaders like Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon, as well as the heads of the local state-run cinema industry.

``It was an interesting, lively and convivial conversation,'' Rivers added.

In ``Thirteen Days,'' Costner plays an adviser to former U.S. President John F. Kennedy at the time of the standoff between Washington and Moscow over Soviet warheads in Cuba. The incident is considered by many to be the closest the world has come to nuclear war.

Castro Annoyed At Way Crisis Ended

The crisis ended when Moscow agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba, to the annoyance of Castro who resented the deal being cut over his head.

Rivers said that prior to the film's being screened for Castro, the U.S. delegation explained to him that it represented ``one perspective on the crisis from one side'' and encouraged the Cubans to think about making their own version.

Costner needed a U.S. government license for a ``cultural exchange'' to fly to the island which -- four decades after the Cold War flare-up over the missiles -- is still subject to sanctions from Washington including a ban on American tourism.

``Thirteen Days'' had not been seen before in Cuba, and was being screened to a local cinema foundation on Tuesday morning.

By seeing the film, Castro joined an impressive list of world leaders and personalities who have watched it, including President Bush (news - web sites), and his predecessor, President Bill Clinton.

Costner was staying at Havana's famous sea-front Hotel Nacional, which was a favorite of American gangsters, film stars and playboys prior to Castro's 1959 revolution.

On arrival Monday evening, he received a tumultuous welcome there from scores of staff, tourists, fans and onlookers who cheered and applauded. ``This is something really unusual. Imagine having such a famous actor here, it's so exciting,'' one hotel employee Marilyn Sebazco, 35, said.

Rivers said Costner was ``very touched'' by his popular reception so far in Cuba. ``You are never sure when you come to another country,'' he added.

-- Anonymous, April 10, 2001