Miguel Ángel Silvestre is reportedly in talks to don the nicknamed ‘Robin Hood’ of the 70’s Lucio Urtubia. Titled, ‘Lucio’s Treasure’, Friki Films’ upcoming production will focus on the accounts of Lucio Urtubia’s bank forgeries during the 1960s and 70s. Maintaining the appearance of a modest bricklayer living in Paris, Lucio Urtubia ran the largest network of traveler’s’ cheque counterfeiters who served as an active and perhaps the biggest threat to the City Bank of America. Lucio Urtubia was an anarchist who believed that the exploitation of the poor had to be ended. Through almost a period of 30 years, Lucio Urtubia engaged in producing counterfeit travelers’ checks which scammed its users and the money him and his accomplices made out of it were used to help the needy. He was finally captured in 1981 but remained victorious as the City Bank agreed for a settlement.
The mini series will be produced by Ana Manresa and Alberto Rull, both emerging creators. The series is supposedly under active development but is predicted to be shot in Paris and New York seeing as how most of the events in Lucio Urtubia’s story takes place in the two cities. Hugo Menduiña, Roger Menduiña and Anthony Alleyne will also be joining the cast as the writers and producers of the upcoming mini series. Miguel Ángel Silvestre is a popular Spanish actor who is known for his works, ‘Sky Rojo’, ‘Velvet’, ’30 Coins’ and ‘Sense8’.
Previous Representations of the Popular Tale
The first adaptation of Lucio Urtubia’s popular tale was released in 2007 as a documentary under the name, ‘Lucio’ and received a 7.9/10 on IMDB. Narrating the inspiring story, the documentary was well received all over the world.
The second adaptation of the events was written and directed by Daniela Abke, titled, Belleville, ‘Belle et Rebelle’. Some of the other works of Daniela Abke include, ‘The Pioneer’, ‘Go to Shanghai’ and more. Both the documentaries featured Lucio Urtubia himself and his acquaintances.
The film, ‘Man of Action’, released in 2022 was the first film adaptation of the figure’s accounts and starred Juan José Ballesta in the role of Lucio Urtubia’s role. The film was primarily based on Lucio Urtubia’s life. Other actors who were part of the film include, Liah O’Prey, Tomás Pozzi and more. The film was released in Spanish and received positive reviews from critics.
The upcoming project will be the first approach to the story as a mini series and it will be exciting to see how the crew will narrate the known and perhaps never seen before accounts of Lucio Urtubia’s tale.
