A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : SUITING UP : It’s Finally Frida’s Time

After much speculation and talk about competing projects, it appears that Luis Valdez will begin filming “Frida and Diego,” a film based on the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, in Mexico City in September.

The film will tell the story of Kahlo and her husband, renowned muralist Diego Rivera, and is based on Martha Zamora’s 1990 biography “Frida Kahlo: The Brush of Anguish.” Valdez (“Zoot Suit,” “La Bamba”) wrote the screenplay with his wife, Lupe Trujillo Valdez. The $10-million film for New Line Cinema, which Valdez is aiming for next year’s Cannes Film Festival, will star Laura San Giacomo and Raul Julia as Kahlo and Rivera.

Although it was rumored at one point that Edward James Olmos was going to play Rivera, Valdez says Julia was always their first choice. “Any Hispanic role that comes up in Hollywood is bound to have people talking about (Olmos),” says Valdez, who directed the actor in “Zoot Suit.” But Olmos could end up with another role in the film--Soviet leader Leon Trotsky, with whom Kahlo had an affair. “He’s under consideration,” says Valdez. “If we could get him, that would be great.”

According to Valdez, who’s been working on the project for the last year, the time has finally arrived for a film about Kahlo. “I think she has become one of the preeminent symbols of women the world over,” says Valdez, who’s currently scouting locations in Mexico City. “This movie is about a lot of issues that are up to date. It is about love and fidelity, marriage and divorce and it’s about a woman who was able to evolve out of the shadow of her husband to emerge as one of the greatest artists of the 20th Century. It’s a story that needs to be told.”

Kahlo began painting at the age of 19, shortly after she was almost killed in a streetcar accident in Mexico City. She produced about 200 paintings, many of them self-portraits. Most of her creative life was spent in the shadow of her husband, and as is the case with many artists, wide recognition of her work didn’t come until after her death in 1954.

For the last several years, there has been talk of several rival projects involving the lives of both Kahlo and Rivera. Madonna, who reportedly owns several works by Kahlo, had been interested in one, and Robert De Niro was planning his own film, based on the life of Rivera.

Valdez says that his film will span almost 30 years in Kahlo and Rivera’s life and will concentrate on their stormy and fiery relationship.

Although Valdez says there were several reasons for the casting of San Giacomo and Julia, he said one of the most important considerations was box-office appeal. “The casting process on this film is basically no different than any other Hollywood film,” he says. “You go for stars. You go for people who the public will know. It’s very important that the American public be attracted to the film because of who’s in it.”

Valdez also says that he had to try and match the striking physical appearance of the two artists--the smallish Kahlo with her characteristic single eyebrow and Rivera’s rather large physical stature. “I had a number of overriding concerns with respect to the two characters because they are so distinctive. The casting had to approximate the appearance of these two individuals.” Valdez also points out that audiences will see what Kahlo looked like because many of her paintings are self-portraits and will be shown in the film. “We have the opportunity to reflect her image in her work, so whoever played her would have to look something like Frida.”

According to New Line’s production president, Sara Risher, the film will be a co-production with the Mexican government. (Valdez met with the president of Mexico and the Mayor of Mexico City.)

“We’re making the film with their cooperation and with their financial involvement,” explains Risher, who points out that most of Kahlo’s paintings are held under the state’s or city’s cultural administration. “They want to spread the word around that Mexico was important culturally in the ‘20s and ‘30s,” Risher said. “For them, it’s extremely important . . . and they’re excited that Luis will be involved.”