Hollywood has Bolivia abuzz.

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

News that Warner Brothers has scooped up the feature rights to an acclaimed documentary about Bolivia’s contentious 2002 presidential elections has caused a stir. La Razon newspaper, La Paz.

The trade publication Variety reported this week that George Clooney’s production company, Smoke House, would remake “Our Brand Is Crisis,” the riveting 2005 documentary by Rachel Boynton.

The original film examines the hotly contested 2002 Bolivian elections and the candidacy of the much-criticized Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, a longtime U.S. resident nicknamed “Goni.” On Sanchez de Lozada’s behalf, a team of Democratic political consultants — including James Carville, the ex-campaign aide to Bill Clinton — superimposed U.S.-style electoral tactics in the impoverished South America nation.

Bolivian critics called Sanchez de Lozada a U.S. henchman who spoke Spanish with a North American accent. He was elected president in a congressional runoff after receiving less than 25% of the popular vote. Sanchez de Lozada resigned in 2003 and fled the country amid a popular uprising.

The current Bolivian government, led by leftist President Evo Morales, who finished second in the 2002 balloting, is seeking Sanchez de Lozada’s extradition from the United States in connection with dozens of deaths during protests that chased the former leader from Bolivia.

Posted by Patrick J. McDonnell and Andrés D’Alessandro in Buenos Aires.