{"id":2572319,"date":"2026-02-22T05:42:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T10:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/did-you-know-robert-duvall-took-a-stand-against-steven-spielberg-visiting-with-castro\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T05:43:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T10:43:20","slug":"did-you-know-robert-duvall-took-a-stand-against-steven-spielberg-visiting-with-castro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/did-you-know-robert-duvall-took-a-stand-against-steven-spielberg-visiting-with-castro\/","title":{"rendered":"Did You Know Robert Duvall Took a Stand Against Steven Spielberg Visiting with Castro?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdid-you-know-robert-duvall-took-a-stand-against-steven-spielberg-visiting-with-castro%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2572319&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Robert Duvall, renowned for his <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >tough-guy portrayals<\/a> in films such as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, is remembered in connection with a 2004 CBS interview in which he quipped about Steven Spielberg\u2019s 2002 trip to Cuba with Fidel Castro. Duvall reportedly said, \u201cThe best seven hours I ever spent was actually with Fidel Castro,\u201d a claim he attributed to Spielberg; Spielberg\u2019s representative later called the remark false. The article notes that Spielberg\u2019s Cuba visit was framed as cultural rather than political, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-case-offers-trump-path-to-dismantle-obamacare-mandates-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Supreme Court case offers Trump path to dismantle Obamacare mandates - Washington Examiner\">including screenings<\/a> of his films, visits to the Jewish community and the Havana Holocaust memorial, and meetings with U.S. diplomats, according to CBS and BBC reports. It also mentions that Duvall suggested, in jest, building a Holocaust memorial annex to honor dead Cubans, a line disputed by Spielberg\u2019s camp. The piece closes by noting Duvall\u2019s death at 95 and his long career across film and television.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Actor Robert Duvall was not only a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/happy-anniversary-lincoln-project-founder-rick-wilson-celebrates-7-years-since-390k-tax-lien\/\" title=\"Happy Anniversary! Lincoln Project Founder Rick Wilson Celebrates 7 Years Since 0K Tax Lien\">tough guy<\/a> in the many roles that made him a Hollywood hero.<\/p>\n<p>Back in 2004, he was willing to take on &nbsp;Steven Spielberg for meeting with Fidel Castro in Cuba in 2002.<\/p>\n<p>Duvall died Feb. 15 at the age of 95 after an acting career that included movies such as &ldquo;Apocalypse Now&rdquo; and &ldquo;The Godfather&rdquo; and TV productions such as &ldquo;Lonesome Dove.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In January 2004, as part of a CBS interview, Duvall threw zingers at Spielberg over a visit Spielberg made to Cuba in 2002.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Spielberg went down there recently and said, &lsquo;The best seven hours I ever spent was actually with Fidel Castro,&rsquo;&rdquo; Duvall said in the interview, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2004\/01\/07\/blow-up-over-castro-visit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Now, what I want to ask him &mdash; and I know he&rsquo;s going to get p****ed off &mdash; &ldquo;Would you consider building a little annex on the Holocaust museum, or at least across the street, to honor the dead Cubans that Castro killed?&#8217;&rdquo; Duvall said, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/robert-duvall-does-the-tango-06-01-2004\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CBS News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s very presumptuous of him to go there &hellip; I&rsquo;ll tell him that,&rdquo; the actor said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll never work at Dreamworks again, but I don&rsquo;t care about working there anyway,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>A representative of Spielberg said the U.S. government supported the trip.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;His trip to Cuba in 2002 was cultural, not political. It was an opportunity to  his films and his values with the Cuban people,&rdquo; the representative said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In addition to screening eight of his films for hundreds of thousands of Cubans, he visited with the Jewish community, paid his respects at the Holocaust memorial in Havana, and met with U.S. diplomats stationed there,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>CBS noted that Spielberg spent about eight hours with Fidel Castro, including having dinner with the Cuban leader, who took power in 1959 and ruled as a dictator until his death in 2016.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">And was close and trusted friend to Andy Garcia, who&rsquo;s family had to escape from Cuba. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yeHeFdNFXQ\">https:\/\/t.co\/yeHeFdNFXQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Irena Szafra&#324;ska (@ISzafranska) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ISzafranska\/status\/2023740192280981618?\">February 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Marvin Levy, a representative of Spielberg, said the comment Duvall attributed to Spielberg was &ldquo;totally false,&rdquo; according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2004\/SHOWBIZ\/Movies\/01\/08\/people.duvall.reut\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He never said it, or anything like it,&rdquo; Levy said.<\/p>\n<p>During his 2002 trip, Spielberg said the United States should open up trade with Cuba.<\/p>\n<p>He said that it was time to &ldquo;wipe the slate clean,&rdquo; according to the <a href=\"http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/entertainment\/2409325.stm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Robert Duvall, renowned for tough-guy roles in film and on TV (including The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and Lonesome Dove), died on February 15 at age 95. In 2004, he publicly challenged Steven Spielberg over Spielberg\u2019s 2002 trip to Cuba to meet Fidel Castro. During a January 2004 CBS interview, Duvall reportedly mocked the visit and, according to the New York Post, suggested there should be an annex to the Holocaust Museum to honor Cubans killed by Castro. He supposedly said he would never work at DreamWorks again, though he didn\u2019t care about that.<\/p>\n<p>Spielberg\u2019s representative said the Cuba trip was cultural, not political, highlighting eight screenings of Spielberg\u2019s films for Cubans, outreach to the Jewish community, a visit to the Havana Holocaust memorial, and meetings with U.S. diplomats; CBS noted that Spielberg spent about eight hours with Castro, including dinner. Marvin Levy, a Spielberg spokesman, said the quote attributed to Spielberg was completely false. In 2002, Spielberg had advocated opening trade with Cuba. Duvall was also described as a close friend of Andy Garc\u00eda, whose family fled Cuba<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2572320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Robert-Duvall.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[38271,41997,74292,74290,74291],"class_list":["post-2572319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-fidel-castro","tag-film-history","tag-hollywood-politics","tag-robert-duvall-2","tag-steven-spielberg"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Robert-Duvall.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2572319"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2572323,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572319\/revisions\/2572323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2572320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2572319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2572319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2572319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}