The Cannes Film Festival has named the eight members of its main Competition jury who will join previously announced president Greta Gerwig in deciding the Palme d’Or and other key prizes at 77th edition running from May 14 to 25.
They are Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, U.S. actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green, Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki, Spanish director and screenwriter J.A. Bayona, Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda and French actor and producer Omar Sy.
The wife and long-time collaborator of Nuri Bilge Ceylan, screenwriter and photographer Ceylan co-wrote 2014 Palme d’Or winner Winter Sleep and also took co-writing credits on Cannes selected films Three Monkeys (Best Director Prize 2008), Once upon a time in Anatolia (Grand Prix 2011), The Wild Pear Tree (2018) and About Dry Grasses (2023).
Ceylan also appeared as an actress and took art director credits on her husband’s early films...
They are Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, U.S. actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green, Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki, Spanish director and screenwriter J.A. Bayona, Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda and French actor and producer Omar Sy.
The wife and long-time collaborator of Nuri Bilge Ceylan, screenwriter and photographer Ceylan co-wrote 2014 Palme d’Or winner Winter Sleep and also took co-writing credits on Cannes selected films Three Monkeys (Best Director Prize 2008), Once upon a time in Anatolia (Grand Prix 2011), The Wild Pear Tree (2018) and About Dry Grasses (2023).
Ceylan also appeared as an actress and took art director credits on her husband’s early films...
- 4/29/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
“The White Lotus” star Sabrina Impacciatore and Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera play alternate versions of themselves on the final episode of the Italian adaptation of “Call My Agent,” which was released this weekend on pay-tv Sky Italia.
Shot in September 2023, during the real Venice event, the show sees Impacciatore play the fest’s master of ceremonies who, wearing a red gown, disembarks with her agent from a motorboat on the Lido at the Excelsior Hotel dock, greeted by throngs of fans and paparazzi. She then starts acting a bit strange, speaking to Barbera in English instead of Italian and almost falling into the lagoon, as seen in the above exclusive subtitled clip.
Impacciatore, who played Valentina, the hotel manager in the Sicily-set second season of “White Lotus,” was mostly unknown outside of Italy before appearing in the hit HBO show which also gave her domestic career a nice boost.
Shot in September 2023, during the real Venice event, the show sees Impacciatore play the fest’s master of ceremonies who, wearing a red gown, disembarks with her agent from a motorboat on the Lido at the Excelsior Hotel dock, greeted by throngs of fans and paparazzi. She then starts acting a bit strange, speaking to Barbera in English instead of Italian and almost falling into the lagoon, as seen in the above exclusive subtitled clip.
Impacciatore, who played Valentina, the hotel manager in the Sicily-set second season of “White Lotus,” was mostly unknown outside of Italy before appearing in the hit HBO show which also gave her domestic career a nice boost.
- 4/10/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The great Martin Scorsese returned to the Eternal City, accompanied by the star of the moment, Lily Gladstone, as the guests of honor of a gala dinner at the Hotel Hassler by the Spanish steps Wednesday night. The event, honoring Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and hosted by co-chief of Leone Film Group, Raffaella Leone, daughter of great Italian film director Sergio Leone, and Paolo Del Brocco, head of Rai Cinema, the Italian distributor of Killers. Hot off the film’s 10 Oscar nominations, including a record-setting 10th best director nod for Scorsese and the historic best actress nod for Gladstone as the first Native American nominated in the category, the event was a must-attend for the Italian film scene.
The Hollywood Reporter Roma was the only media outlet admitted to the event, and we were a fly on the wall for the parade of A-list industry guests, which...
The Hollywood Reporter Roma was the only media outlet admitted to the event, and we were a fly on the wall for the parade of A-list industry guests, which...
- 2/1/2024
- by Manuela Santacatterina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Italian actor Sandra Milo, known for memorable roles in Federico Fellini’s “8½” and “Juliet of the Spirits” as well as her work with Roberto Rossellini, died on Monday at her Rome home. She was 90.
News of Milo’s death was announced on social media by her daughters, Debora and Azzurra, and son Ciro, who said Milo died in her sleep on Monday morning.
Italian deputy culture minister Lucia Borgonzoni mourned the passing of Milo as the loss of a “protagonist of Italian cinema … a great, talented artist with an overwhelming charisma” and “the muse of great directors such as Federico Fellini who won the hearts of millions of Italians.”
Milo, whose work spanned several genres, made her big screen debut in 1955 alongside popular comic actor Alberto Sordi in Antonio Pietrangeli’s “Lo Scapolo” (“The Bachelor”). Other comedies followed such as “Totò in the Moon” (“Totò Nella Luna”), one of...
News of Milo’s death was announced on social media by her daughters, Debora and Azzurra, and son Ciro, who said Milo died in her sleep on Monday morning.
Italian deputy culture minister Lucia Borgonzoni mourned the passing of Milo as the loss of a “protagonist of Italian cinema … a great, talented artist with an overwhelming charisma” and “the muse of great directors such as Federico Fellini who won the hearts of millions of Italians.”
Milo, whose work spanned several genres, made her big screen debut in 1955 alongside popular comic actor Alberto Sordi in Antonio Pietrangeli’s “Lo Scapolo” (“The Bachelor”). Other comedies followed such as “Totò in the Moon” (“Totò Nella Luna”), one of...
- 1/29/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
It's a miracle Peter Berg's "Hancock" exists at all.
The revisionist Will Smith superhero flick began life in 1996 as a spec screenplay by Vy Vincent Ngo called "Tonight, He Comes." The tale of a surly, alcoholic antihero was way ahead of its time; it was a refutation of comic book movies that weren't being made in the absurd volume we're seeing today. It was also startlingly original, which prompted no less an A-lister than Tony Scott to acquire it as a potential directing project. It was one of the hottest scripts in Hollywood, and, for six solid years, it went absolutely nowhere.
"Tonight, He Comes" nearly went before cameras in the early 2000s under the direction of Michael Mann, then nearly came to fruition with the likes of Jonathan Mostow and Gabriele Muccino at the helm. Vince Gilligan and John August were brought in to rework the script in...
The revisionist Will Smith superhero flick began life in 1996 as a spec screenplay by Vy Vincent Ngo called "Tonight, He Comes." The tale of a surly, alcoholic antihero was way ahead of its time; it was a refutation of comic book movies that weren't being made in the absurd volume we're seeing today. It was also startlingly original, which prompted no less an A-lister than Tony Scott to acquire it as a potential directing project. It was one of the hottest scripts in Hollywood, and, for six solid years, it went absolutely nowhere.
"Tonight, He Comes" nearly went before cameras in the early 2000s under the direction of Michael Mann, then nearly came to fruition with the likes of Jonathan Mostow and Gabriele Muccino at the helm. Vince Gilligan and John August were brought in to rework the script in...
- 11/4/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
U.S. actor Elena Kampouris (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3”) is set to star in the Sicily-set “Here Now,” a romantic thriller marking Italian director Gabriele Muccino’s return to English-language filmmaking. Muccino’s Hollywood credits include the Will Smith-starrer “The Pursuit of Happyness.”
Kampouris’ recent efforts comprise Netflix series “Jupiter’s Legacy” and the 2020 remake of “Children of the Corn.” In “Here Now” she plays Sophie, a young Californian who is traveling in Italy with her sister. During her last day of vacation in Palermo, Sicily, Sophie meets a boy named Giulio and his group of friends with whom she winds up spending “the most unpredictable, crazy, shocking, exciting, romantic and terrifying night of her life,” according to the film’s provided synopsis.
The movie’s other cast members include Saul Nanni, who starred in Netflix Italian original “Love & Gelato”; Lorenzo Richelmy, who toplined Netflix’s “Marco Polo...
Kampouris’ recent efforts comprise Netflix series “Jupiter’s Legacy” and the 2020 remake of “Children of the Corn.” In “Here Now” she plays Sophie, a young Californian who is traveling in Italy with her sister. During her last day of vacation in Palermo, Sicily, Sophie meets a boy named Giulio and his group of friends with whom she winds up spending “the most unpredictable, crazy, shocking, exciting, romantic and terrifying night of her life,” according to the film’s provided synopsis.
The movie’s other cast members include Saul Nanni, who starred in Netflix Italian original “Love & Gelato”; Lorenzo Richelmy, who toplined Netflix’s “Marco Polo...
- 9/29/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Emmy-nominated “The White Lotus” star Sabrina Impacciatore will play the Venice Film Festival’s master of ceremonies in the upcoming second season of the Italian version of “Call My Agent,” which will also feature a cameo by Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera.
Impacciatore, wearing a red gown, disembarked from a water taxi at the Excelsior Hotel pier on the Venice Lido on Saturday welcomed by Barbera, as cameras rolled for a key scene in the show. Actors playing photographers for the scene and also real paparazzi snapped away upon her arrival.
“’Call My Agent – Italia’ is a true love letter to cinema, its rituals and its protagonists,” Nils Hartmann, EVP of Sky Studios for Italy and Germany, said in a statement. “It is therefore a truly great emotion, and at the same time a great motive of pride for us, to be able to shoot the second season of such...
Impacciatore, wearing a red gown, disembarked from a water taxi at the Excelsior Hotel pier on the Venice Lido on Saturday welcomed by Barbera, as cameras rolled for a key scene in the show. Actors playing photographers for the scene and also real paparazzi snapped away upon her arrival.
“’Call My Agent – Italia’ is a true love letter to cinema, its rituals and its protagonists,” Nils Hartmann, EVP of Sky Studios for Italy and Germany, said in a statement. “It is therefore a truly great emotion, and at the same time a great motive of pride for us, to be able to shoot the second season of such...
- 9/11/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Penélope Cruz is set to star as Olga, a writer forced to give up her artistic ambitions when her husband suddenly leaves her and their two young daughters, in Isabel Coixet’s English-language adaptation of Italian author Elena Ferrante’s “The Days of Abandonment.”
The deal to make the film, which is now in development, was signed before the SAG-AFTRA strike. While Cruz did not attend the Venice Film Festival, she elicited raves from critics on the Lido for her performance in Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” as the angry, lonely, grief-ravaged Laura Ferrari, emotionally estranged from her husband Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver).
“The Days of Abandonment,” which will transpose the novel’s original Italian setting to America, reunites the two top Spanish talents following their collaboration on another U.S.-set film, the 2008 drama “Elegy” an adaptation of Philip Roth’s novella “The Dying Animal,” about an affair between a...
The deal to make the film, which is now in development, was signed before the SAG-AFTRA strike. While Cruz did not attend the Venice Film Festival, she elicited raves from critics on the Lido for her performance in Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” as the angry, lonely, grief-ravaged Laura Ferrari, emotionally estranged from her husband Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver).
“The Days of Abandonment,” which will transpose the novel’s original Italian setting to America, reunites the two top Spanish talents following their collaboration on another U.S.-set film, the 2008 drama “Elegy” an adaptation of Philip Roth’s novella “The Dying Animal,” about an affair between a...
- 9/6/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Italian production designer Tonino Zera, whose credits include Roman Polanski’s upcoming drama The Palace, will be feted with the Campari Passion Award at the 80th edition of Venice Film Festival, running from August 30 to September 9.
The prize, which was launched at the 75th Venice Film Festival, pays tribute to cinema crafts professionals who have made a “remarkable contribution” to the films on which they have worked.
Previous recipients span U.S. film editor Bob Murawski, Italian cinematographer Luca Bigazzi, U.S. jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard, UK production designer Marcus Rowland, and U.S. artist and costume designer Arianne Phillips.
Zera will be presented with the award on September 2 ahead of the Out of Competition world premiere of The Palace in the Sala Grande.
“To receive the prestigious Campari Passion for Film Award during the Venice Film Festival is not only a personal honor, it is also a...
The prize, which was launched at the 75th Venice Film Festival, pays tribute to cinema crafts professionals who have made a “remarkable contribution” to the films on which they have worked.
Previous recipients span U.S. film editor Bob Murawski, Italian cinematographer Luca Bigazzi, U.S. jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard, UK production designer Marcus Rowland, and U.S. artist and costume designer Arianne Phillips.
Zera will be presented with the award on September 2 ahead of the Out of Competition world premiere of The Palace in the Sala Grande.
“To receive the prestigious Campari Passion for Film Award during the Venice Film Festival is not only a personal honor, it is also a...
- 8/10/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Banijay is expanding its footprint in Italy’s scripted production arena by partnering with Greenboo Production, the shingle recently founded by “Perfect Strangers” producer Marco Belardi.
Formerly known as Bamboo Production, Greenboo was launched last year by Belardi, who formerly headed the Leone Film Group’s film and TV company Lotus Production. Besides producing “Perfect Strangers,” the megahit concept dramedy that’s been remade in a dozen countries around the world, Belardi has also spawned a steady stream of other hits such as Gabriele Muccino’s “There Is No Place Like Home,” which in 2018 pulled in more than $10 million locally and has been spun off recently into a successful TV series for Sky. They also have high-end series “Lions of Sicily” coming up for Disney and a multi-picture deal with Netflix.
“Greenboo is a promising new venture, which, thanks to the experience of its founder, Marco, has already launched numerous...
Formerly known as Bamboo Production, Greenboo was launched last year by Belardi, who formerly headed the Leone Film Group’s film and TV company Lotus Production. Besides producing “Perfect Strangers,” the megahit concept dramedy that’s been remade in a dozen countries around the world, Belardi has also spawned a steady stream of other hits such as Gabriele Muccino’s “There Is No Place Like Home,” which in 2018 pulled in more than $10 million locally and has been spun off recently into a successful TV series for Sky. They also have high-end series “Lions of Sicily” coming up for Disney and a multi-picture deal with Netflix.
“Greenboo is a promising new venture, which, thanks to the experience of its founder, Marco, has already launched numerous...
- 7/20/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
In Italy, Pierfrancesco Favino needs no introduction. At this year’s David di Donatello awards ceremony — Italy’s equivalent of the Oscars — a Favino film was nominated in every major category. A shortlist of the directors he’s worked with — Gabriele Salvatores, Giuseppe Tornatore, Marco Bellocchio, Gianni Amelio, Gabriele Muccino, Ferzan Ozpetek, Mario Martone — reads like a who’s who of Italian cinema.
Internationally, Favino has carved out a second career as a supporting player in Hollywood productions. In Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna, Ron Howard’s Rush and Angels and Demons, or Mark Forster’s World War Z. But his most recent U.S. visit — to this year’s Tribeca Film Festival in New York — was for an Italian film: Andrea Di Stefano’s Last Night of Amore, which screened in competition.
In the gritty police drama, Favino plays the titular Franco Amore, a good cop called...
Internationally, Favino has carved out a second career as a supporting player in Hollywood productions. In Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna, Ron Howard’s Rush and Angels and Demons, or Mark Forster’s World War Z. But his most recent U.S. visit — to this year’s Tribeca Film Festival in New York — was for an Italian film: Andrea Di Stefano’s Last Night of Amore, which screened in competition.
In the gritty police drama, Favino plays the titular Franco Amore, a good cop called...
- 7/2/2023
- by Pino Gagliardi
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Good evening, Rome. Good evening, Romans. I am finally here, in the city where my heart beats faster.”
Enthusiastic applause erupted from the swelling crowd of fans on the steps of the Roman Theatre at the legendary Italian studio Cinecittà on Saturday as the Gladiator himself, New Zealand star Russell Crowe, stepped out to perform.
Crowe, who was recently named the official ambassador for Rome’s bid to host the 2030 world expo, gave a free concert, accompanied by his band the Indoor Garden Party, performing alongside The Gentlemen Barbers and Irish singer Lorraine O’Reilly.
Dressed all in black — like the rest of the band — Crowe immediately launched a few blues-flavored tunes, filling the stage as a singer with the same ease and charm he has as an actor on stage.
Watching him from the bleachers is Gabriele Muccino, Crowe’s close friend, who directed him in Fathers and Daughters, as...
Enthusiastic applause erupted from the swelling crowd of fans on the steps of the Roman Theatre at the legendary Italian studio Cinecittà on Saturday as the Gladiator himself, New Zealand star Russell Crowe, stepped out to perform.
Crowe, who was recently named the official ambassador for Rome’s bid to host the 2030 world expo, gave a free concert, accompanied by his band the Indoor Garden Party, performing alongside The Gentlemen Barbers and Irish singer Lorraine O’Reilly.
Dressed all in black — like the rest of the band — Crowe immediately launched a few blues-flavored tunes, filling the stage as a singer with the same ease and charm he has as an actor on stage.
Watching him from the bleachers is Gabriele Muccino, Crowe’s close friend, who directed him in Fathers and Daughters, as...
- 6/27/2023
- by Manuela Santacatterina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It’s 7:30 a.m. on a sunny May morning in Rome on a side street outside the studios of Italian state broadcaster Rai. A live audience standing behind metal fencing is watching a lithe group of nuns, one with a mustache, who slowly creep out from a row of white closet doors.
They start dancing, hugging and pirouetting to a ballad belted out by a young Tuscan pop singer. Then the dancers, dressed in Catholic sisters garb, begin playing basketball.
Welcome to “Viva Rai 2!,” Italy’s answer to America’s morning shows. It’s a local ratings phenomenon conceived and conducted by volcanic Sicilian megastar Rosario Fiorello, who is breathing new life into Italian television at a time when doomsayers are sounding the death knell of public TV around the world.
Every morning on weekdays, when “Viva Rai 2!” airs on the pubcaster’s Rai 2 station, ratings soar...
They start dancing, hugging and pirouetting to a ballad belted out by a young Tuscan pop singer. Then the dancers, dressed in Catholic sisters garb, begin playing basketball.
Welcome to “Viva Rai 2!,” Italy’s answer to America’s morning shows. It’s a local ratings phenomenon conceived and conducted by volcanic Sicilian megastar Rosario Fiorello, who is breathing new life into Italian television at a time when doomsayers are sounding the death knell of public TV around the world.
Every morning on weekdays, when “Viva Rai 2!” airs on the pubcaster’s Rai 2 station, ratings soar...
- 5/11/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Russell Crowe will receive the Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the 57th Karlovy Vary Film Festival (June 30-July 8). The Oscar winning actor will also deploy his musical talent with his band Indoor Garden Party, which will perform at the festival’s opening night concert. The festival also revealed Friday that Johnny Depp would appear in its trailer, which will have its premiere at the opening ceremony.
Crowe, who was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia at an early age, began his acting career at the age of 6, working in TV and theater. In 1989, he started working in Australian films, with “The Crossing”, “Proof”, and “Romper Stomper”. He won two Australian Academy Awards: supporting actor for “Proof” and best actor for “Romper Stomper.”
His first appearance in a U.S. film was alongside Gene Hackman, Sharon Stone and Leonardo DiCaprio in Sam Raimi’s...
Crowe, who was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia at an early age, began his acting career at the age of 6, working in TV and theater. In 1989, he started working in Australian films, with “The Crossing”, “Proof”, and “Romper Stomper”. He won two Australian Academy Awards: supporting actor for “Proof” and best actor for “Romper Stomper.”
His first appearance in a U.S. film was alongside Gene Hackman, Sharon Stone and Leonardo DiCaprio in Sam Raimi’s...
- 5/5/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Non-English language drama streamer Walter Presents has acquired a package of five drama titles from Beta for release on its services in Australia and New Zealand.
The titles include Italian YA drama The Sea Beyond, Spanish investigative drama Rapa and German WWII miniseries The Turncoat.
The Sea Beyond, revolving around young inmates in a Naples prison, has enjoyed strong ratings in Italy on Rai, RaiPlay and Netflix since its launch in late 2020. The third season is currently enjoying linear success on Rai2.
Rapa, which was the most watched show on Spanish streamer Movistar Plus+ in 2022, follows a high school teacher and local police officer in the Spanish port city of Ferrol, who form an unlikely team in solving a murder case.
Two-part, event mini-series The Turncoat is about a young German soldier in 1944, who is posted to a small unit in the Polish woods, where he connects with local...
The titles include Italian YA drama The Sea Beyond, Spanish investigative drama Rapa and German WWII miniseries The Turncoat.
The Sea Beyond, revolving around young inmates in a Naples prison, has enjoyed strong ratings in Italy on Rai, RaiPlay and Netflix since its launch in late 2020. The third season is currently enjoying linear success on Rai2.
Rapa, which was the most watched show on Spanish streamer Movistar Plus+ in 2022, follows a high school teacher and local police officer in the Spanish port city of Ferrol, who form an unlikely team in solving a murder case.
Two-part, event mini-series The Turncoat is about a young German soldier in 1944, who is posted to a small unit in the Polish woods, where he connects with local...
- 3/23/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The story of Italy’s most-wanted Mafia boss, Matteo Messina Denaro, whose recent arrest by police in Palermo after 30 years on the run made global headlines, is set to become a big-budget film.
Rome-based producer Marco Belardi (“Perfect Strangers”) has acquired rights to ace anti-Mafia journalist Lirio Abbate’s book about the Cosa Nostra boss. The book is titled “U Siccu,” which is Sicilian dialect that translates as “The Skinny One.”
Messina Denaro was arrested in mid-January by dozens of police officers outside an upscale medical facility in Palermo where he had been undergoing cancer treatment for a year under false identity.
Belardi’s company Bamboo Productions has announced plans for the tale of this elusive top mafioso, convicted of masterminding some of Italy’s most heinous slayings – including the killings of prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, and the grisly murder of a Mafia turncoat’s young son, who...
Rome-based producer Marco Belardi (“Perfect Strangers”) has acquired rights to ace anti-Mafia journalist Lirio Abbate’s book about the Cosa Nostra boss. The book is titled “U Siccu,” which is Sicilian dialect that translates as “The Skinny One.”
Messina Denaro was arrested in mid-January by dozens of police officers outside an upscale medical facility in Palermo where he had been undergoing cancer treatment for a year under false identity.
Belardi’s company Bamboo Productions has announced plans for the tale of this elusive top mafioso, convicted of masterminding some of Italy’s most heinous slayings – including the killings of prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, and the grisly murder of a Mafia turncoat’s young son, who...
- 2/23/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Sabrina Impacciatore, an Italian breakout star of the Sicily-set second season of The White Lotus, has signed with Gersh and Mgmt Entertainment.
The Hollywood representation opens a new chapter in Impacciatore’s career. She was mostly unknown outside of Italy before appearing in the second installment of the HBO series, which follows a new group of resort guests played by Aubrey Plaza, Michael Imperioli, Theo James, F. Murray Abraham and others, and their intertwining love stories.
Season two of Mike White’s satire of the rich and miserable is set in Taormina, along the Sicilian coast, and Impacciatore takes center stage as the manager of the show’s titular luxury hotel. Back in Italy, Impacciatore rose to fame with roles in Paolo Virzì’s N (Io e Napoleone) and Gabriele Muccino’s 2018 hit There’s No Place Like Home.
She had a cameo as Seraphia in Mel Gibson’s 2004 blockbuster film The Passion of the Christ,...
The Hollywood representation opens a new chapter in Impacciatore’s career. She was mostly unknown outside of Italy before appearing in the second installment of the HBO series, which follows a new group of resort guests played by Aubrey Plaza, Michael Imperioli, Theo James, F. Murray Abraham and others, and their intertwining love stories.
Season two of Mike White’s satire of the rich and miserable is set in Taormina, along the Sicilian coast, and Impacciatore takes center stage as the manager of the show’s titular luxury hotel. Back in Italy, Impacciatore rose to fame with roles in Paolo Virzì’s N (Io e Napoleone) and Gabriele Muccino’s 2018 hit There’s No Place Like Home.
She had a cameo as Seraphia in Mel Gibson’s 2004 blockbuster film The Passion of the Christ,...
- 1/30/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
Sabrina Impacciatore’s life, after being cast as Valentina, the hotel manager in the second season of HBO’s The White Lotus, didn’t simply change, it was turned upside-down.
“It was all beyond my expectations, but it definitely lived up to my dreams,” the Italian actress says of her work on the hit TV show. “Being part of this project was a big, enormous chance for me. Because I was finally able to truly see things that, here in Italy, [otherwise] just wouldn’t be possible.”
Back in Italy, Impacciatore rose to fame with roles in Paolo Virzì’s N (Io e Napoleone) (2006) and Gabriele Muccino’s 2018 hit There’s No Place Like Home. But aside from a cameo as Seraphia in Mel Gibson’s 2004 blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, she’s been all but invisible to U.S. audiences.
The White Lotus...
Sabrina Impacciatore’s life, after being cast as Valentina, the hotel manager in the second season of HBO’s The White Lotus, didn’t simply change, it was turned upside-down.
“It was all beyond my expectations, but it definitely lived up to my dreams,” the Italian actress says of her work on the hit TV show. “Being part of this project was a big, enormous chance for me. Because I was finally able to truly see things that, here in Italy, [otherwise] just wouldn’t be possible.”
Back in Italy, Impacciatore rose to fame with roles in Paolo Virzì’s N (Io e Napoleone) (2006) and Gabriele Muccino’s 2018 hit There’s No Place Like Home. But aside from a cameo as Seraphia in Mel Gibson’s 2004 blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, she’s been all but invisible to U.S. audiences.
The White Lotus...
- 12/28/2022
- by Gianmaria Tammaro
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Veteran Rome-based distribution and production exec Thomas J. Ciampa, who in June exited WarnerMedia where he was Italy, Spain and Portugal country manager, is joining prominent Italian producer Marco Belardi’s expanding Bamboo Production shingle as its chief of international operations.
Ciampa, who worked at Warner Bros. in Italy for 25 years in various guises, in January 2022 had replaced Barbara Salabè as the top WarnerMedia exec when she exited after three decades. But Ciampa was then replaced in June by Alessandro Araimo as part of the restructuring due to the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
Ciampa’s responsibilities had included overall theatrical distribution for Warner Bros. as well as for Sony Pictures, which had a deal with Warner Bros. in Italy. However, Sony from 2023 will be releasing its titles in Italy via local indie Eagle Pictures, an indication of how the theatrical market is changing with studios shifting their priorities as streaming makes greater gains.
Ciampa, who worked at Warner Bros. in Italy for 25 years in various guises, in January 2022 had replaced Barbara Salabè as the top WarnerMedia exec when she exited after three decades. But Ciampa was then replaced in June by Alessandro Araimo as part of the restructuring due to the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
Ciampa’s responsibilities had included overall theatrical distribution for Warner Bros. as well as for Sony Pictures, which had a deal with Warner Bros. in Italy. However, Sony from 2023 will be releasing its titles in Italy via local indie Eagle Pictures, an indication of how the theatrical market is changing with studios shifting their priorities as streaming makes greater gains.
- 11/25/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Sony has rounded out its cast for The Equalizer 3, with Eugenio Mastrandrea (From Scratch), Remo Girone (Ford v Ferrari), Sonia Ammar (Scream), Daniele Perrone (Baaria), Andrea Scarduzio (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One) and Andrea Dodero (Blocco 181) signing on for roles.
The actors join an ensemble led by Denzel Washington which also includes Dakota Fanning, and Gaia Scodellaro, as previously announced.
While the film’s plot is being kept under wraps, it’s the third in an action series centered on Washington’s vigilante Robert McCall, from director Antoine Fuqua. The first released in 2014 earned over 194M worldwide, spurring a 2018 sequel that grossed over 190M worldwide.
Slated for release in theaters on September 1, 2023, The Equalizer 3 was written by Richard Wenk. Producers include Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Washington, Fuqua, Clayton Townsend, Alex Siskin, Steve Tisch, Tony Eldridge and Michael Sloan.
Mastrandrea can currently be seen opposite Zoe Saldana...
The actors join an ensemble led by Denzel Washington which also includes Dakota Fanning, and Gaia Scodellaro, as previously announced.
While the film’s plot is being kept under wraps, it’s the third in an action series centered on Washington’s vigilante Robert McCall, from director Antoine Fuqua. The first released in 2014 earned over 194M worldwide, spurring a 2018 sequel that grossed over 190M worldwide.
Slated for release in theaters on September 1, 2023, The Equalizer 3 was written by Richard Wenk. Producers include Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Washington, Fuqua, Clayton Townsend, Alex Siskin, Steve Tisch, Tony Eldridge and Michael Sloan.
Mastrandrea can currently be seen opposite Zoe Saldana...
- 11/23/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Giuseppe Tornatore’s Oscar-winning film “Cinema Paradiso,” about a marvellous Sicilian cinema where a boy nicknamed Toto embarks on a lifelong love affair with the movies, is being spun off into a high-profile TV series that Tornatore will write and direct.
The six-episode “Paradiso” show is being developed by prominent Rome-based producer Marco Belardi (“Perfect Strangers”) through his new shingle Bamboo Production, which he launched in February. Belardi said he’s in advanced talks with an unspecified U.S. streamer to come on board. Belardi is currently in the U.S. with Tornatore, negotiating a deal.
“Cinema Paradiso” won a Special Jury Prize at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival before going on to win the Oscar for best foreign language film in 1990 and earning more than 12 million at the U.S. box via Miramax that year. The pic, which has since gained cult status globally, was re-released in the U.K.
The six-episode “Paradiso” show is being developed by prominent Rome-based producer Marco Belardi (“Perfect Strangers”) through his new shingle Bamboo Production, which he launched in February. Belardi said he’s in advanced talks with an unspecified U.S. streamer to come on board. Belardi is currently in the U.S. with Tornatore, negotiating a deal.
“Cinema Paradiso” won a Special Jury Prize at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival before going on to win the Oscar for best foreign language film in 1990 and earning more than 12 million at the U.S. box via Miramax that year. The pic, which has since gained cult status globally, was re-released in the U.K.
- 8/1/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
“The Blind Side” is a true story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized youngster who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick after being adopted by a loving family of Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy.
Leigh Anne Tuohy takes him in, and with the help of her husband Sean, transformative changes begin to take place in Michael’s life. He learns the value of hard work and education, and he slowly starts to believe in himself.
The Tuohys eventually adopt Michael, and he goes on to attend Ole Miss on a full football scholarship. In the NFL, he becomes one of the league’s top offensive linemen, playing a pivotal role in helping the Baltimore Ravens win the Super Bowl.
“The Blind Side” is a heartwarming tale of hope and redemption that demonstrates the power of family, faith, and love.
For the fans of movies like “The Blind Side,...
Leigh Anne Tuohy takes him in, and with the help of her husband Sean, transformative changes begin to take place in Michael’s life. He learns the value of hard work and education, and he slowly starts to believe in himself.
The Tuohys eventually adopt Michael, and he goes on to attend Ole Miss on a full football scholarship. In the NFL, he becomes one of the league’s top offensive linemen, playing a pivotal role in helping the Baltimore Ravens win the Super Bowl.
“The Blind Side” is a heartwarming tale of hope and redemption that demonstrates the power of family, faith, and love.
For the fans of movies like “The Blind Side,...
- 7/12/2022
- by Israr
- buddytv.com
Tiffany Haddish is defending Will Smith in the wake of his viral Academy Awards moment.
The comedian told People at the Governors Ball following the Oscars ceremony that watching Smith slap presenter Chris Rock following a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith was the “most beautiful thing” to witness.
“When I saw a Black man stand up for his wife, that meant so much to me,” said Haddish, who co-starred with Jada Pinkett Smith in “Girls Trip.” “As a woman, who has been unprotected, for someone to say, ‘Keep my wife’s name out your mouth, leave my wife alone,’ that’s what your husband is supposed to do, right? Protect you, and that meant the world to me.”
Haddish, who also presented at the 2022 Oscars on March 27, continued, “And maybe the world might not like how it went down, but for me, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve...
The comedian told People at the Governors Ball following the Oscars ceremony that watching Smith slap presenter Chris Rock following a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith was the “most beautiful thing” to witness.
“When I saw a Black man stand up for his wife, that meant so much to me,” said Haddish, who co-starred with Jada Pinkett Smith in “Girls Trip.” “As a woman, who has been unprotected, for someone to say, ‘Keep my wife’s name out your mouth, leave my wife alone,’ that’s what your husband is supposed to do, right? Protect you, and that meant the world to me.”
Haddish, who also presented at the 2022 Oscars on March 27, continued, “And maybe the world might not like how it went down, but for me, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve...
- 3/28/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Giancarlo Giannini, who was the late great Lina Wertmüller’s muse, helmer Gabriele Muccino (“The Pursuit of Happyness”), and Teresa Saponangelo, star of Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” are among top honorees of the seventh edition of Filming Italy — Los Angeles, the bridge between Italy and Hollywood set to run as a hybrid event Feb. 28-March 3.
The celebration of Italy’s top film and TV titles is headed by longtime Italian industry promoter Tiziana Rocca, a former chief of the Taormina Film Festival. She proudly points out that its physical screenings, starting on March 1 in L.A.’s Harmony Gold Theater, are among the first inperson events in Los Angeles as ceremonies open up in the city.
Thanks to Rocca’s dogged determination Giannini, who starred in nine Wertmüller films, starting with sex comedy and social satire “The Seduction of Mimi,” is to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The celebration of Italy’s top film and TV titles is headed by longtime Italian industry promoter Tiziana Rocca, a former chief of the Taormina Film Festival. She proudly points out that its physical screenings, starting on March 1 in L.A.’s Harmony Gold Theater, are among the first inperson events in Los Angeles as ceremonies open up in the city.
Thanks to Rocca’s dogged determination Giannini, who starred in nine Wertmüller films, starting with sex comedy and social satire “The Seduction of Mimi,” is to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- 2/28/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Costume designer Sharen Davis is having a big year, having worked with both Denzel Washington, who directed “A Journal for Jordan,” now in theaters, and with Will Smith, who stars in “King Richard,” on HBO Max.
“A Journal for Jordan,” based on the heartbreaking true story of a soldier deployed to Iraq who keeps a diary for his infant son, is the latest of her frequent collaborations with Washington. Davis says she worked hard to dress down “fashion icon” star Michael B. Jordan. Since the character was in the military, she decided he would have a suitcase with few items. “We want to see how he manages all these visits with five shirts and three pairs of pants,” Davis says.
The biggest costume arc in the film is for Chanté Adams, who plays Dana Canedy, their child’s mother and the New York Times editor who wrote the bestselling book...
“A Journal for Jordan,” based on the heartbreaking true story of a soldier deployed to Iraq who keeps a diary for his infant son, is the latest of her frequent collaborations with Washington. Davis says she worked hard to dress down “fashion icon” star Michael B. Jordan. Since the character was in the military, she decided he would have a suitcase with few items. “We want to see how he manages all these visits with five shirts and three pairs of pants,” Davis says.
The biggest costume arc in the film is for Chanté Adams, who plays Dana Canedy, their child’s mother and the New York Times editor who wrote the bestselling book...
- 1/6/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Will Smith stars as the real-life father of two of the most gifted athletes of all time in “King Richard.” Warner Bros. has released the first trailer of the moving drama that could be a box office hit and possible awards contender.
Inspired by a true story, “King Richard” tells the story of Richard Williams (Smith), an undeterred father who was instrumental in raising Venus and Serena Williams (Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton), two of the best tennis players in the world. Driven by a clear vision of the future, Richard executes a plan that moves the girls from the streets of Compton, Calif., to the global stage as sports icons.
From acclaimed director Reinaldo Marcus Green (“Monsters and Men”) and debut screenwriter Zach Baylin, the trailer showcases powerful emotional beats coming from Smith, including an emotional speech in which he states: “You will be representing every little Black girl on Earth.
Inspired by a true story, “King Richard” tells the story of Richard Williams (Smith), an undeterred father who was instrumental in raising Venus and Serena Williams (Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton), two of the best tennis players in the world. Driven by a clear vision of the future, Richard executes a plan that moves the girls from the streets of Compton, Calif., to the global stage as sports icons.
From acclaimed director Reinaldo Marcus Green (“Monsters and Men”) and debut screenwriter Zach Baylin, the trailer showcases powerful emotional beats coming from Smith, including an emotional speech in which he states: “You will be representing every little Black girl on Earth.
- 7/28/2021
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Will Smith often delivers some of his best acting work when tackling true stories, be it in Michael Mann’s “Ali” or Gabriele Muccino’s “The Pursuit of Happyness.” Both of these films earned Smith Oscar nominations for Best Actor. The next true-story drama for the actor is Warner Bros.’ biographical sports drama “King Richard,” in which Smith plays the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. The film takes an intimate look at how Richard trained his young daughters to be world class athletes. “King Richard” marks the studio filmmaking debut of Reinaldo Marcus Green, an indie favorite after directorial efforts such as “Monsters and Men” and “Joe Bell.”
The official “King Richard” synopsis from Warner Bros. reads: “Based on the true story that will inspire the world, ‘King Richard’ follows the journey of Richard Williams, an undeterred father instrumental in raising two of the most extraordinarily gifted athletes of all time,...
The official “King Richard” synopsis from Warner Bros. reads: “Based on the true story that will inspire the world, ‘King Richard’ follows the journey of Richard Williams, an undeterred father instrumental in raising two of the most extraordinarily gifted athletes of all time,...
- 7/28/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
ViacomCBS International Studios and Italy’s Leone Film Group have forged a strategic partnership by signing a long-term agreement to co-produce a wide range of Italian content for the global market.
This potentially milestone pact between Vis and Leone — the prominent indie production and distribution shingle owned and operated by late master director Sergio Leone’s children Raffaella and Andrea — will create “vast opportunities for the development and creation of Italian language content, original, scripted, and unscripted formats,” the companies said in a joint statement.
“As part of its commitment to investing in quality content as a strategic lever to generate value for all platforms globally, Vis is bolstering its production capacities in Europe by tapping into the creativity and talent in Italy,” the statement added.
Italy now has an attractive 40% tax rebate for international productions and is in the process of radically revamping Rome’s iconic Cinecittà Studios in...
This potentially milestone pact between Vis and Leone — the prominent indie production and distribution shingle owned and operated by late master director Sergio Leone’s children Raffaella and Andrea — will create “vast opportunities for the development and creation of Italian language content, original, scripted, and unscripted formats,” the companies said in a joint statement.
“As part of its commitment to investing in quality content as a strategic lever to generate value for all platforms globally, Vis is bolstering its production capacities in Europe by tapping into the creativity and talent in Italy,” the statement added.
Italy now has an attractive 40% tax rebate for international productions and is in the process of radically revamping Rome’s iconic Cinecittà Studios in...
- 7/19/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italy’s 66th David di Donatello Awards are set to celebrate on May 11 a year of resilience for Cinema Italiano that also looks likely to germinate some creative renewal, just as Italian movie theaters start to reopen and production is booming.
Giorgio Diritti’s biopic “Hidden Away,” about crazed primitivist painter Antonio Ligabue, Gianni Amelio’s wistful “Hammamet,” which reconstructs the Tunisian self-exile of scandal-plagued Italian leader Bettino Craxi, and dark drama “Bad Tales” by the D’Innocenzo Brothers lead the crowded field for Italy’s equivalent of the Oscars, with no clear frontrunner.
Significantly, “Hidden Away,” which scooped 15 nominations, and “Bad Tales,” which scored 13, both star actor Elio Germano. And Germano also plays the lead in another standout title in the Davids race, Netflix Italian Original “The Incredible Story of Rose Island,” which landed 11 noms, including one for the pic’s producer, multihyphenate Matteo Rovere, whose Groenlandia Group is having a banner year.
Giorgio Diritti’s biopic “Hidden Away,” about crazed primitivist painter Antonio Ligabue, Gianni Amelio’s wistful “Hammamet,” which reconstructs the Tunisian self-exile of scandal-plagued Italian leader Bettino Craxi, and dark drama “Bad Tales” by the D’Innocenzo Brothers lead the crowded field for Italy’s equivalent of the Oscars, with no clear frontrunner.
Significantly, “Hidden Away,” which scooped 15 nominations, and “Bad Tales,” which scored 13, both star actor Elio Germano. And Germano also plays the lead in another standout title in the Davids race, Netflix Italian Original “The Incredible Story of Rose Island,” which landed 11 noms, including one for the pic’s producer, multihyphenate Matteo Rovere, whose Groenlandia Group is having a banner year.
- 5/6/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
European film, TV and media group Wild Bunch is moving to strengthen its involvement in production and co-productions in France, placing longtime in-house execs Adeline Fontan Tessaur and Jerome Rougier in charge of the effort. They will respectively continue as Managing Director of Elle Driver and Director of French Theatrical Distribution, and will spearhead acquisitions with a particular focus on co-productions. The first films will be announced in the coming weeks.
The push in France follows similar developments at Wild Bunch subsidiaries in Germany, Italy and Spain. Recently appointed COO of Wild Bunch, Marc Gabizon, created and developed the Wild Bunch activity in Germany and is continuing the policy to grow production and co-production in Europe.
Wild Bunch has kept busy with internal shifts and new in-roads over the past year. That includes recently setting key promotions at independent sales subsidiary Wild Bunch International, as well as securing a 35M...
The push in France follows similar developments at Wild Bunch subsidiaries in Germany, Italy and Spain. Recently appointed COO of Wild Bunch, Marc Gabizon, created and developed the Wild Bunch activity in Germany and is continuing the policy to grow production and co-production in Europe.
Wild Bunch has kept busy with internal shifts and new in-roads over the past year. That includes recently setting key promotions at independent sales subsidiary Wild Bunch International, as well as securing a 35M...
- 11/30/2020
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Leone Film Group’s Lotus Production shingle is setting up Lotus Factory, a new unit for high-profile genre projects out of Italy made for the international market.
These currently include a live action TV series in development on the origins of Santa Clause, for which Lotus chief Marco Belardi has recruited top U.S. talent: Oscar-nominated writer Jim Capobianco (“Ratatouille”) and Robert Lence.
“We are planning to make films of different genres from those that are usually produced in Italy,” Belardi told Variety, noting that Italy’s scripted content output is largely made up of “dramas, comedies and an occasional noir.”
For example, Italian film and TV content targeting family audiences is quite scarce, a gap Belardi is looking to fill with Lotus Factory.
Belardi has recruited young Italian director Nicola Abbatangelo, who recently completed “The Land of Dreams,” an English-language movie musical set in 1920s New York, to serve...
These currently include a live action TV series in development on the origins of Santa Clause, for which Lotus chief Marco Belardi has recruited top U.S. talent: Oscar-nominated writer Jim Capobianco (“Ratatouille”) and Robert Lence.
“We are planning to make films of different genres from those that are usually produced in Italy,” Belardi told Variety, noting that Italy’s scripted content output is largely made up of “dramas, comedies and an occasional noir.”
For example, Italian film and TV content targeting family audiences is quite scarce, a gap Belardi is looking to fill with Lotus Factory.
Belardi has recruited young Italian director Nicola Abbatangelo, who recently completed “The Land of Dreams,” an English-language movie musical set in 1920s New York, to serve...
- 7/31/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Santiago Segura’s Father There Is Only One sequel is a major new opener in Spain.
South Korea, opening Wednesday July 29
In South Korea, where theatrical releases open on Wednesdays and Thursdays, the new films in cinemas this weekend with top ticket reservation rates, according to the Korean Film Council (Kofic), are led by Lotte Cultureworks’ Jung Woo-sung-starrer Steel Rain 2: Summit - director Yang Woo-suk’s sequel to his North-South Korea political action thriller.
The film opened Wednesday, July 29 and as of Thursday has clocked up $1.2m atop the box office chart.
Further new titles include Chinese shark...
South Korea, opening Wednesday July 29
In South Korea, where theatrical releases open on Wednesdays and Thursdays, the new films in cinemas this weekend with top ticket reservation rates, according to the Korean Film Council (Kofic), are led by Lotte Cultureworks’ Jung Woo-sung-starrer Steel Rain 2: Summit - director Yang Woo-suk’s sequel to his North-South Korea political action thriller.
The film opened Wednesday, July 29 and as of Thursday has clocked up $1.2m atop the box office chart.
Further new titles include Chinese shark...
- 7/31/2020
- by 134¦Jean Noh¦516¦¬1101324¦Elisabet Cabeza¦37¦¬1101325¦Gabriele Niola¦35¦¬158¦Martin Blaney¦40¦¬1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Leonine is opening Russell Crowe thriller ‘Unhinged’ in Germany.
As cinemas begin to reopen again in many territories, Screen is tracking which films are being released in key territories each week.
Cinema reopening dates around the world: latest updates France, opening Wednesday July 15
The French box office entered its fourth full week of activity on July 15, following the reopening of cinemas on June 22 after their 14-week Covid-19 hiatus.
New films on release this week include Francois Ozon’s young adult drama Summer Of 85. Diaphana Distribution pushed the launch forward from France’s typical Wednesday release day to Tuesday, to...
As cinemas begin to reopen again in many territories, Screen is tracking which films are being released in key territories each week.
Cinema reopening dates around the world: latest updates France, opening Wednesday July 15
The French box office entered its fourth full week of activity on July 15, following the reopening of cinemas on June 22 after their 14-week Covid-19 hiatus.
New films on release this week include Francois Ozon’s young adult drama Summer Of 85. Diaphana Distribution pushed the launch forward from France’s typical Wednesday release day to Tuesday, to...
- 7/17/2020
- by 158¦Martin Blaney¦40¦¬1101324¦Elisabet Cabeza¦37¦¬1101325¦Gabriele Niola¦35¦¬1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦¬1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
In Italy, which is suffering the biggest coronavirus outbreak in Europe with more than 350 deaths, box office crashed to an all time low of €439.000 over the March 5 weekend frame. Or rather, the portion of the weekend prior to Sunday May 8.
On Sunday the government ordered a total shutdown until at least April 3 of all movie theaters. Prior to Sunday, roughly half the country’s screens – those in the less affected central and southern regions – had been allowed to stay open, provided spectators sit three seats apart in what turned out to be a short-lived Italian experiment.
Battered by all these impediments, Italy’s March 5 frame repped a roughly 90% plunge in grosses compared with the same period in 2019 and a 79% drop compared to the previous weekend, which had already been a total bloodbath.
The top title was Berlin prizewinner “Hidden Away,” the biopic of eclectic painter Antonio Ligabue that recently scored...
On Sunday the government ordered a total shutdown until at least April 3 of all movie theaters. Prior to Sunday, roughly half the country’s screens – those in the less affected central and southern regions – had been allowed to stay open, provided spectators sit three seats apart in what turned out to be a short-lived Italian experiment.
Battered by all these impediments, Italy’s March 5 frame repped a roughly 90% plunge in grosses compared with the same period in 2019 and a 79% drop compared to the previous weekend, which had already been a total bloodbath.
The top title was Berlin prizewinner “Hidden Away,” the biopic of eclectic painter Antonio Ligabue that recently scored...
- 3/9/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The film received its market premiere at Berlin’s Efm.
Elle Driver has closed sales on Gabriele Muccino’s hit drama The Best Years, which received its market premiere at Berlin’s Efm.
The film follows three childhood friends and the woman they all fall for at one point in their lives, over the course of 40 years of recent Italian history.
In Europe, it has sold to France (Arp Selection), Germany (Prokino Filmverleih), Spain (Vertigo Films), Benelux (Cineart), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Greece (Tanweer), Portugal (Outsider Films), Sweden and Iceland (Njuta Film) and Denmark (Another World).
In the rest of the world,...
Elle Driver has closed sales on Gabriele Muccino’s hit drama The Best Years, which received its market premiere at Berlin’s Efm.
The film follows three childhood friends and the woman they all fall for at one point in their lives, over the course of 40 years of recent Italian history.
In Europe, it has sold to France (Arp Selection), Germany (Prokino Filmverleih), Spain (Vertigo Films), Benelux (Cineart), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Greece (Tanweer), Portugal (Outsider Films), Sweden and Iceland (Njuta Film) and Denmark (Another World).
In the rest of the world,...
- 2/25/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Starring Kim Rossi Stuart in a lead role, the new film by the director-screenwriter of Easy! and Friends by Chance is produced by Palomar in league with Vision Distribution. After five weeks of filming in Rome and one spent in Livorno, the new movie by Francesco Bruni Andrà tutto bene is now in the editing room. Following on from Easy! , Noi 4 and Friends by Chance, this director-screenwriter, winner of multiple David di Donatello awards and faithful collaborator of Paolo Virzì has chosen Kim Rossi Stuart as the protagonist of his fourth work. The latter will play a man who finds himself having to delve into his own past, and that of his father, following an unexpected event. Written by Bruni himself, the story revolves around Bruno Salvati, a film director of...
Tiff Midnight Madness breakout has already scored deals in key European territories.
Elle Driver has acquired international sales rights to Us director Keith Thomas’s buzzed-about supernatural horror The Vigil, revolving around the Jewish custom of shemira, or watching over the corpse of a recently deceased person ahead of their burial.
Under the seven-figure deal, the Paris-based company is selling the world aside from the Us, which is being handled by CAA Media Finance.
Elle Driver has already scored deals in the key European territories of Spain (Vertigo), France (Wild Bunch Distribution), Italy (Bim) and Germany (Wild Bunch Germany).
The...
Elle Driver has acquired international sales rights to Us director Keith Thomas’s buzzed-about supernatural horror The Vigil, revolving around the Jewish custom of shemira, or watching over the corpse of a recently deceased person ahead of their burial.
Under the seven-figure deal, the Paris-based company is selling the world aside from the Us, which is being handled by CAA Media Finance.
Elle Driver has already scored deals in the key European territories of Spain (Vertigo), France (Wild Bunch Distribution), Italy (Bim) and Germany (Wild Bunch Germany).
The...
- 10/25/2019
- by 1100380¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
In a key step in its ongoing expansion Leone Film Group in 2014 partnered with young producer Marco Belardi and bought his small but commercially flourishing Lotus Production shingle, which has since become a bigger affair.
Raffaella Leone says while Lfg was being floated on the Milan bourse she knew they “had to guarantee content” to investors beyond titles available in Hollywood and on the international market at large. She also knew it was tough to build a production company from scratch, since “production was not our specific know-how.”
So Raffaella and Andrea zeroed in on Lotus, which in 10 years of activity had forged exclusive relationships with up-and-coming Italian directors such as Paolo Genovese, now known for 2016 megahit “Perfect Strangers.” After a few meetings, Belardi and the Leones struck up “a good personal feeling,” she says. And from there sprung a “fortunate match.”
Belardi recalls he was a bit taken aback...
Raffaella Leone says while Lfg was being floated on the Milan bourse she knew they “had to guarantee content” to investors beyond titles available in Hollywood and on the international market at large. She also knew it was tough to build a production company from scratch, since “production was not our specific know-how.”
So Raffaella and Andrea zeroed in on Lotus, which in 10 years of activity had forged exclusive relationships with up-and-coming Italian directors such as Paolo Genovese, now known for 2016 megahit “Perfect Strangers.” After a few meetings, Belardi and the Leones struck up “a good personal feeling,” she says. And from there sprung a “fortunate match.”
Belardi recalls he was a bit taken aback...
- 5/10/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italy’s Leone Film Group, the company founded by Spaghetti Western master Sergio Leone, has been on a roaring roll since 2012.
That’s when his children, Raffaella and Andrea, who now run the company, spotted a theatrical distribution gap left open by Medusa and Rai Cinema and stepped in to swiftly sign an output deal with DreamWorks. This, in turn, propelled its expansion.
The two Leone siblings hadn’t been idle before then. They were already among the top distributors of TV movies in Italy, having delved into that market in 1989, the year their father founded the company. That was also the year that Leone Sr. died.
In those days, driven by Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset, Italian TV was flourishing, recalls Andrea. “For us, movies are a passion; but at the same time they are business,” he says. During that period, “there was serious opportunity to do business in that segment.
That’s when his children, Raffaella and Andrea, who now run the company, spotted a theatrical distribution gap left open by Medusa and Rai Cinema and stepped in to swiftly sign an output deal with DreamWorks. This, in turn, propelled its expansion.
The two Leone siblings hadn’t been idle before then. They were already among the top distributors of TV movies in Italy, having delved into that market in 1989, the year their father founded the company. That was also the year that Leone Sr. died.
In those days, driven by Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset, Italian TV was flourishing, recalls Andrea. “For us, movies are a passion; but at the same time they are business,” he says. During that period, “there was serious opportunity to do business in that segment.
- 5/10/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Pierfrancesco Favino, who heads to Cannes in the starring role of Marco Bellocchio’s Palme d’Or contender The Traitor, co-stars.
Elle Driver has boarded world sales on Italian director Gabriele Muccino’s drama The Best Years, exploring the cycle of life through the forty-year relationship of four close friends, against the backdrop of contemporary Italian history.
The Paris-based sales company will kick-off pre-sales on the film in Cannes ahead of shooting, which commences in June.
Pierfrancesco Favino, who heads to Cannes in the starring role of Marco Bellocchio’s Palme d’Or contender The Traitor, co-stars opposite Claudio Santamaria,...
Elle Driver has boarded world sales on Italian director Gabriele Muccino’s drama The Best Years, exploring the cycle of life through the forty-year relationship of four close friends, against the backdrop of contemporary Italian history.
The Paris-based sales company will kick-off pre-sales on the film in Cannes ahead of shooting, which commences in June.
Pierfrancesco Favino, who heads to Cannes in the starring role of Marco Bellocchio’s Palme d’Or contender The Traitor, co-stars opposite Claudio Santamaria,...
- 5/7/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Netflix’s drama On My Skin also won three key awards.
Matteo Garrone’s Dogman won nine prizes from 15 nominations at Italy’s David di Donatello awards in Rome last night (March 27).
The drama, which first premiered at Cannes, won best picture, best supporting actor, best cinematography and best original screenplay.
Despite winning the prize at Cannes, its star Marcello Fonte missed out in the best actor category to Alessandro Borghi for his performance in Netflix’s drama On My Skin, which was eligible for the awards after it was briefly distributed in theatres. Alessio Cremonini’s drama based on...
Matteo Garrone’s Dogman won nine prizes from 15 nominations at Italy’s David di Donatello awards in Rome last night (March 27).
The drama, which first premiered at Cannes, won best picture, best supporting actor, best cinematography and best original screenplay.
Despite winning the prize at Cannes, its star Marcello Fonte missed out in the best actor category to Alessandro Borghi for his performance in Netflix’s drama On My Skin, which was eligible for the awards after it was briefly distributed in theatres. Alessio Cremonini’s drama based on...
- 3/28/2019
- by Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
Matteo Garrone’s gritty revenge drama “Dogman” was the big winner at Italy’s 63rd David di Donatello Awards, the country’s equivalent of the Oscars, taking home nine trophies Wednesday night from a field-beating 15 nominations.
Somewhat surprisingly, however, the sweep did not include a best-actor prize for Marcello Fonte, who had previously won that accolade at Cannes, where “Dogman” premiered, and more recently at the European Film Awards.
“Directing is important…but without great actors you don’t go anywhere,” said Garrone, who thanked Fonte and brought him up onstage.
“I started writing this movie 12 years ago,” Garrone added. “Then, while I was waiting to shoot ‘Pinocchio,’ I actually made it, and the result has gone beyond my expectations.”
Luca Guadagnino’s coming-of-age love story “Call Me by Your Name,” which went into the race with 13 nominations, left relatively empty-handed, winning awards for best adapted screenplay and original song.
Somewhat surprisingly, however, the sweep did not include a best-actor prize for Marcello Fonte, who had previously won that accolade at Cannes, where “Dogman” premiered, and more recently at the European Film Awards.
“Directing is important…but without great actors you don’t go anywhere,” said Garrone, who thanked Fonte and brought him up onstage.
“I started writing this movie 12 years ago,” Garrone added. “Then, while I was waiting to shoot ‘Pinocchio,’ I actually made it, and the result has gone beyond my expectations.”
Luca Guadagnino’s coming-of-age love story “Call Me by Your Name,” which went into the race with 13 nominations, left relatively empty-handed, winning awards for best adapted screenplay and original song.
- 3/28/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
With 15 nominations Matteo Garrone’s “Dogman” leads the pack of contenders for Italy’s David di Donatello Awards in a watershed year for the country’s top film nods that sees highbrow auteur titles reaping most of the David love just as local box-office grosses hit an all-time low.
Garrone’s gritty revenge drama is followed closely with 13 noms by Mario Martone’s “Capri Revolution,” about early 20th-century proto-hippies, and by Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me By Your Name” (released late in Italy), and Paolo Sorrentino’s Berlusconi biopic “Loro,” both with 12 noms. Sorrentino however, unlike his colleagues, is not in the running for best picture or director.
Then comes Alice Rohrwacher’s pastoral fable on the ills of modernity “Happy as Lazzaro” and also police brutality drama “On My Skin” by newcomer Alessio Cremonini, both with nine noms and running in the main categories. Valeria Golino’s sibling bonding drama “Euphoria,...
Garrone’s gritty revenge drama is followed closely with 13 noms by Mario Martone’s “Capri Revolution,” about early 20th-century proto-hippies, and by Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me By Your Name” (released late in Italy), and Paolo Sorrentino’s Berlusconi biopic “Loro,” both with 12 noms. Sorrentino however, unlike his colleagues, is not in the running for best picture or director.
Then comes Alice Rohrwacher’s pastoral fable on the ills of modernity “Happy as Lazzaro” and also police brutality drama “On My Skin” by newcomer Alessio Cremonini, both with nine noms and running in the main categories. Valeria Golino’s sibling bonding drama “Euphoria,...
- 3/25/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Amazon Prime Video has inked a major deal with Italy’s Leone Film Group, giving the streaming giant full exclusive Italian pay-tv rights to all of Leone’s local releases for the next 30 months.
The growing distribution-production company originally founded by spaghetti Western master Sergio Leone has output deals for Italy with Lionsgate and DreamWorks and close ties to several U.S. Indies. They are at the Efm in Berlin as a buyer.
Leone last year scored at the Italian box office with Julia Roberts-starrer “Wonder” and Steven Spielberg’s “The Post,” among other Hollywood titles. It also did well with Italian director Gabriele Muccino’s dramedy “There Is No Place Like Home,” which Leone also produced and was among Italy’s top homegrown grossers in 2018.
Amazon Prime Video has been stepping up its activity lately in Italy, where Netflix has a larger footprint, having produced several Italian original shows.
The growing distribution-production company originally founded by spaghetti Western master Sergio Leone has output deals for Italy with Lionsgate and DreamWorks and close ties to several U.S. Indies. They are at the Efm in Berlin as a buyer.
Leone last year scored at the Italian box office with Julia Roberts-starrer “Wonder” and Steven Spielberg’s “The Post,” among other Hollywood titles. It also did well with Italian director Gabriele Muccino’s dramedy “There Is No Place Like Home,” which Leone also produced and was among Italy’s top homegrown grossers in 2018.
Amazon Prime Video has been stepping up its activity lately in Italy, where Netflix has a larger footprint, having produced several Italian original shows.
- 2/12/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Box office returns in Italy dropped about 5% to €555 million ($631 million) in 2018, posting their worst result in a decade as Hollywood blockbusters drew in fewer Italian moviegoers than usual.
On the bright side, Italian films gained traction last year, scoring a 22% market share, up from 16% in 2017, marking the second-best showing in the past four years, according to box office analyst Robert Bernocchi. He said that this surpassed the results for homegrown pics in Spain and Germany, which clocked in at about 17% and 18%, respectively.
U.S. films in 2018 nabbed a total of €330 million ($375 million), accounting for 60% of Italy’s market share. That’s a solid result, but roughly six percentage points lower than in 2017, fueling the country’s overall box office drop. The year’s top grosser was Fox’s international hit “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which has pulled in more than €21 million ($23 million), and counting.
Italian ticket sales in 2018 were just shy of 86 million,...
On the bright side, Italian films gained traction last year, scoring a 22% market share, up from 16% in 2017, marking the second-best showing in the past four years, according to box office analyst Robert Bernocchi. He said that this surpassed the results for homegrown pics in Spain and Germany, which clocked in at about 17% and 18%, respectively.
U.S. films in 2018 nabbed a total of €330 million ($375 million), accounting for 60% of Italy’s market share. That’s a solid result, but roughly six percentage points lower than in 2017, fueling the country’s overall box office drop. The year’s top grosser was Fox’s international hit “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which has pulled in more than €21 million ($23 million), and counting.
Italian ticket sales in 2018 were just shy of 86 million,...
- 1/3/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Takings still on the slide despite a decent effort from local fare.
After a sharp decline at the Italian box office from 2016 to 2017, the trend continued in 2018. For the first 11 months of the year, total box office was down 6.3% on the same period in 2017 and down 18.7% on 2016.
New films from big Italian auteurs such as Paolo Sorrentino’s Them (Loro) and Matteo Garrone’s Dogman did not help much, even though the box-office share of national product rose to 22% from 2017’s 16% — at the expense of the Us quota, which fell from 66% to 59%.
While comic book blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War tops...
After a sharp decline at the Italian box office from 2016 to 2017, the trend continued in 2018. For the first 11 months of the year, total box office was down 6.3% on the same period in 2017 and down 18.7% on 2016.
New films from big Italian auteurs such as Paolo Sorrentino’s Them (Loro) and Matteo Garrone’s Dogman did not help much, even though the box-office share of national product rose to 22% from 2017’s 16% — at the expense of the Us quota, which fell from 66% to 59%.
While comic book blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War tops...
- 12/21/2018
- by Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
The last few months of the year are known as Oscar season because it is the time in which studios release the films they intend to have contend for the Academy Awards. But just because you release your film during this time doesn’t automatically make it good enough to compete. Here are some infamous examples.
Just because you have a good story, an esteemed actor, or a knowledgeable director doesn’t mean you’ll end up with a good film. A good film is ultimately a collaborative effort, and the end result relies on many different factors that may or may not be controllable. I like to believe that the Oscars try to celebrate those moments in film where the pieces came together just right. Of course, some films think they can take shortcuts in order to reach the level of esteem that would be rewarded by the Academy.
Just because you have a good story, an esteemed actor, or a knowledgeable director doesn’t mean you’ll end up with a good film. A good film is ultimately a collaborative effort, and the end result relies on many different factors that may or may not be controllable. I like to believe that the Oscars try to celebrate those moments in film where the pieces came together just right. Of course, some films think they can take shortcuts in order to reach the level of esteem that would be rewarded by the Academy.
- 9/20/2018
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (G.S. Perno)
- Cinelinx
Though Italy’s box office for the first eight months of 2018 is down, Italian movies account for a quarter of grosses, up from 17% a year ago, a clear sign of local production vibrancy amid alarming theatrical erosion.
Outside the country, Italian cinema is steadily gaining more international traction after the four Oscar nominations (and one win) scored earlier this year by Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me by Your Name,” followed by two Cannes competition prizewinners, Alice Rohrwacher’s “Happy as Lazzaro” and Matteo Garrone’s “Dogman,” and strong presences at the Venice and Toronto festivals.
The drop in Italian moviegoers amounts to a 7% drop so far this year. That follows a dramatic 12% box office plunge in 2017 and is forcing producers and distributors to come up with some innovative strategies.
Case in point is Oscar-winner Paolo Sorrentino’s Silvio Berlusconi-themed “Loro,” which was edited into a longer version divided into two installments,...
Outside the country, Italian cinema is steadily gaining more international traction after the four Oscar nominations (and one win) scored earlier this year by Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me by Your Name,” followed by two Cannes competition prizewinners, Alice Rohrwacher’s “Happy as Lazzaro” and Matteo Garrone’s “Dogman,” and strong presences at the Venice and Toronto festivals.
The drop in Italian moviegoers amounts to a 7% drop so far this year. That follows a dramatic 12% box office plunge in 2017 and is forcing producers and distributors to come up with some innovative strategies.
Case in point is Oscar-winner Paolo Sorrentino’s Silvio Berlusconi-themed “Loro,” which was edited into a longer version divided into two installments,...
- 9/14/2018
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Taylor Frey has landed his first studio feature. The actor, whose credits include The Carrie Diaries and Gossip Girl, has been cast in New Line’s It Chapter Two in the role of Don Hagarty who, in the Stephen King novel, is in a relationship with Adrian Mellon (who will be played by Xavier Dolan in the film).
Andy Muschietti returns to direct the sequel, which features the adult version of Losers’ Club members who survived the malevolent Pennywise, which Bill Skarsgard will once again portray. James McAvoy plays Bill, Bill Hader is Richie, Jessica Chastain is Beverly, James Ransone is Eddie, Andy Bean is Stanley, Jay Ryan is Ben and Isaiah Mustafa is Mike.
Barbara Muschietti, Roy Lee and Dan Lin are producing the pic from a screenplay adapted by Gary Dauberman. Filming is slated to being this month and Warner Bros. will release the film in theaters...
Andy Muschietti returns to direct the sequel, which features the adult version of Losers’ Club members who survived the malevolent Pennywise, which Bill Skarsgard will once again portray. James McAvoy plays Bill, Bill Hader is Richie, Jessica Chastain is Beverly, James Ransone is Eddie, Andy Bean is Stanley, Jay Ryan is Ben and Isaiah Mustafa is Mike.
Barbara Muschietti, Roy Lee and Dan Lin are producing the pic from a screenplay adapted by Gary Dauberman. Filming is slated to being this month and Warner Bros. will release the film in theaters...
- 7/11/2018
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Mark Harrison Jul 2, 2019
Hancock, the Will Smith superhero movie, didn't have an easy production.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
This feature contains spoilers for Hancock.
Back in the 1990s, Will Smith ascended from being the Fresh Prince to being the king of the Fourth of July weekend. Summer blockbusters like Independence Day and Men in Black cemented his position as a box office draw well into the following decade. Naturally, Smith has pursued other avenues as his career has gone on, but arguably 2008's Hancock was the last full-on star vehicle he opened on that coveted weekend.
Developed from a widely hyped spec script titled Tonight, He Comes, the film cast Smith as a stumblebum superhero known as John Hancock, who is widely disliked by the citizens of Los Angeles. Booze-addled and depressed, Hancock finally resolves to turn his life around with the help of PR consultant...
Hancock, the Will Smith superhero movie, didn't have an easy production.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
This feature contains spoilers for Hancock.
Back in the 1990s, Will Smith ascended from being the Fresh Prince to being the king of the Fourth of July weekend. Summer blockbusters like Independence Day and Men in Black cemented his position as a box office draw well into the following decade. Naturally, Smith has pursued other avenues as his career has gone on, but arguably 2008's Hancock was the last full-on star vehicle he opened on that coveted weekend.
Developed from a widely hyped spec script titled Tonight, He Comes, the film cast Smith as a stumblebum superhero known as John Hancock, who is widely disliked by the citizens of Los Angeles. Booze-addled and depressed, Hancock finally resolves to turn his life around with the help of PR consultant...
- 7/6/2018
- Den of Geek
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