Khaby Lame, the Senegalese-born Italian influencer who is the most-followed content creator on TikTok, is set to make his feature film debut playing a food delivery rider who is recruited by the CIA in an action-comedy that will take him around the world.
The English-language spy comedy working-titled “00Khaby” – and set in Italy, the U.S., Monte Carlo, Dubai and France’s Côte d’Azur, among other locations – will see Lame playing a JustEat rider who, after intersecting with a dissident scientist, is recruited by the CIA as bait to mislead enemy secret services. “While he runs away from arms traffickers and steals DNA samples, the clumsy secret agent must also deal with his jealous Italian Chinese girlfriend and her annoying little brother,” reads the film’s synopsis. “But in the end, thanks to a mix of cunning, luck and his unshakeable optimism, he will be able to foil no less than World War III.
The English-language spy comedy working-titled “00Khaby” – and set in Italy, the U.S., Monte Carlo, Dubai and France’s Côte d’Azur, among other locations – will see Lame playing a JustEat rider who, after intersecting with a dissident scientist, is recruited by the CIA as bait to mislead enemy secret services. “While he runs away from arms traffickers and steals DNA samples, the clumsy secret agent must also deal with his jealous Italian Chinese girlfriend and her annoying little brother,” reads the film’s synopsis. “But in the end, thanks to a mix of cunning, luck and his unshakeable optimism, he will be able to foil no less than World War III.
- 2/1/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Paramount+ Picks Up ‘Twisted Metal’ In Canada
Sony action-comedy Twisted Metal, which is based on the classic PlayStation series, has been picked up in Canada by Paramount+. More markets are to come, according to the streamer, which will launch the Anthony Mackie-starrer on August 10. Executive produced by Will Arnett, Twisted Metal follows a motor-mouthed outsider offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the help of a badass axe-wielding car thief, he’ll face savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown named Sweet Tooth who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck. The series comes from Sony Pictures Television and is based on an original story by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland), with Michael Jonathan Smith (Cobra Kai) penning. “Twisted Metal is unlike anything in the market today,...
Sony action-comedy Twisted Metal, which is based on the classic PlayStation series, has been picked up in Canada by Paramount+. More markets are to come, according to the streamer, which will launch the Anthony Mackie-starrer on August 10. Executive produced by Will Arnett, Twisted Metal follows a motor-mouthed outsider offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the help of a badass axe-wielding car thief, he’ll face savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown named Sweet Tooth who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck. The series comes from Sony Pictures Television and is based on an original story by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland), with Michael Jonathan Smith (Cobra Kai) penning. “Twisted Metal is unlike anything in the market today,...
- 7/20/2023
- by Max Goldbart, Zac Ntim and 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
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
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
Buenos Aires-based FilmSharks subsidiary The Remake Company has closed a remake deal with Italy’s Marco Belardi and his new label Bamboo Prod. for Ariel Winograd’s latest film “Today We Fix the World” (“Hoy se Arregla el Mundo”).
Produced by powerhouse shingle Patagonik, the family dramedy was picked up by Netflix for several key territories after its theatrical release by Disney’s Star early this year.
Mexico’s BH5 has also acquired the remake rights and is about to produce its version while talks are underway with Korean and French companies, said FilmSharks founder and CEO, Guido Rud. Winograd is already a known quantity in Italy. His last film “Ten Days Without Mom” topped the box office in Italy when it was released.
Dramedy stars Leonardo Sbaraglia from “Wild Tales” and “Pain and Glory” who finds out that he’s not the biological father of the nine-year-old boy at home.
Produced by powerhouse shingle Patagonik, the family dramedy was picked up by Netflix for several key territories after its theatrical release by Disney’s Star early this year.
Mexico’s BH5 has also acquired the remake rights and is about to produce its version while talks are underway with Korean and French companies, said FilmSharks founder and CEO, Guido Rud. Winograd is already a known quantity in Italy. His last film “Ten Days Without Mom” topped the box office in Italy when it was released.
Dramedy stars Leonardo Sbaraglia from “Wild Tales” and “Pain and Glory” who finds out that he’s not the biological father of the nine-year-old boy at home.
- 9/20/2022
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Giuseppe Tornatore is bringing the “Cinema” to the small screen.
The Oscar-winning writer/director is set to adapt his 1989 classic film “Cinema Paradiso” into a six-episode streaming series, as Variety first reported. Tornatore will write and direct the TV show, produced by Marco Belardi (“Perfect Strangers”) through his Bamboo Production banner. Belardi revealed the series is set to land at a prominent U.S. streamer.
“Cinema Paradiso” tells the story of a stunning Sicilian cinema house where a young boy named Toto falls in love with film. “Cinema Paradiso” won a Special Jury Prize at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival and later won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film in 1990. A restored version of the film was re-released in the U.K. in 2020. Tornatore’s last feature film was the 2021 documentary “The Glance of Music,” about legendary composer Ennio Morricone, who created the score for the original film.
The...
The Oscar-winning writer/director is set to adapt his 1989 classic film “Cinema Paradiso” into a six-episode streaming series, as Variety first reported. Tornatore will write and direct the TV show, produced by Marco Belardi (“Perfect Strangers”) through his Bamboo Production banner. Belardi revealed the series is set to land at a prominent U.S. streamer.
“Cinema Paradiso” tells the story of a stunning Sicilian cinema house where a young boy named Toto falls in love with film. “Cinema Paradiso” won a Special Jury Prize at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival and later won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film in 1990. A restored version of the film was re-released in the U.K. in 2020. Tornatore’s last feature film was the 2021 documentary “The Glance of Music,” about legendary composer Ennio Morricone, who created the score for the original film.
The...
- 8/1/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
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
Disney+ has greenlit The Lions of Sicily, an Italian series based on Stefania Auci’s The Florios of Siciliy from Paolo Genovese.
The eight-parter tells the story of the Florio family. It follows brothers Paolo and Ignazio, two small spice merchants who have escaped from a Calabria stuck in the past and in search of social redemption. In Sicily they invent a future, turning a small, run-down shop into a flourish business activity that young Vincenzo, with his revolutionary ideas, will transform into an economic empire.
The series stars Michele Riondino, Miriam Leone, Donatella Finocchiaro, Vinicio Marchioni, Eduardo Scarpetta, Paolo Briguglia, Ester Pantano and Adele Cammarata.
The show is the latest to come from Disney+ Italy, which was also behind The Ignorant Angels.
“The Lions of Sicily confirms Disney+’s commitment to create Italian contents that enrich and make the already wide and varied offer of the platform unique,” said Daniel Frigo,...
The eight-parter tells the story of the Florio family. It follows brothers Paolo and Ignazio, two small spice merchants who have escaped from a Calabria stuck in the past and in search of social redemption. In Sicily they invent a future, turning a small, run-down shop into a flourish business activity that young Vincenzo, with his revolutionary ideas, will transform into an economic empire.
The series stars Michele Riondino, Miriam Leone, Donatella Finocchiaro, Vinicio Marchioni, Eduardo Scarpetta, Paolo Briguglia, Ester Pantano and Adele Cammarata.
The show is the latest to come from Disney+ Italy, which was also behind The Ignorant Angels.
“The Lions of Sicily confirms Disney+’s commitment to create Italian contents that enrich and make the already wide and varied offer of the platform unique,” said Daniel Frigo,...
- 7/6/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Disney+ has commenced production on Italian original series “The Lions of Sicily,” a family saga based on Stefania Auci’s bestseller “The Florios of Sicily.”
Principal photography has started in Rome and will take place between there and Sicily. It is directed by Paolo Genovese (“Superheroes”).
Set between 1800 and 1861, the eight-part series follows the Florio family where brothers Paolo and Ignazio are two small spice merchants who have escaped from a Calabria stuck in the past and in search of social redemption. In Sicily they invent a future, turning a small, run-down shop into a flourish business activity that young Vincenzo, with his revolutionary ideas, will transform into an economic empire. However, overwhelming Vincenzo’s life and that of the entire family is the disruptive arrival of Giulia, a strong and intelligent woman who is in contrast with the rigid rules of the society of the time.
The series is...
Principal photography has started in Rome and will take place between there and Sicily. It is directed by Paolo Genovese (“Superheroes”).
Set between 1800 and 1861, the eight-part series follows the Florio family where brothers Paolo and Ignazio are two small spice merchants who have escaped from a Calabria stuck in the past and in search of social redemption. In Sicily they invent a future, turning a small, run-down shop into a flourish business activity that young Vincenzo, with his revolutionary ideas, will transform into an economic empire. However, overwhelming Vincenzo’s life and that of the entire family is the disruptive arrival of Giulia, a strong and intelligent woman who is in contrast with the rigid rules of the society of the time.
The series is...
- 7/6/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The Gucci family saga isn’t quite over.
Just months after the release of Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci” — a film that could see Lady Gaga nominated for her second Oscar — a TV drama and documentary focusing on the Gucci family is in the works from Comcast-backed Sky Studios.
The company is in early stages of development on a high-end TV series, and is in pre-production on a documentary series, both of which will tell “the story of a great family and a great brand,” says producer Nils Hartmann, senior VP for Sky Studios Germany and Italy.
Both projects were brought roughly a year ago to Sky by Marco Belardi for Leone Film Group, which led to an agreement with several members of the Gucci family, including Alessandro Gucci, Guccio Gucci Jr. and Giorgio Gucci. Giorgio Gucci is a young Italian producer who will serve as executive producer on the still-untitled docuseries.
Just months after the release of Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci” — a film that could see Lady Gaga nominated for her second Oscar — a TV drama and documentary focusing on the Gucci family is in the works from Comcast-backed Sky Studios.
The company is in early stages of development on a high-end TV series, and is in pre-production on a documentary series, both of which will tell “the story of a great family and a great brand,” says producer Nils Hartmann, senior VP for Sky Studios Germany and Italy.
Both projects were brought roughly a year ago to Sky by Marco Belardi for Leone Film Group, which led to an agreement with several members of the Gucci family, including Alessandro Gucci, Guccio Gucci Jr. and Giorgio Gucci. Giorgio Gucci is a young Italian producer who will serve as executive producer on the still-untitled docuseries.
- 2/7/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Voltage Pictures is launching international sales at the EFM on Italian romantic comedy “Per Tutta La Vita” (“For All Life”), from the writer-director team behind global hit “Perfect Strangers.”
“Strangers,” a dramedy involving cellphones and personal secrets, grossed over $31 million domestically and spawned remakes in a dozen territories including France, Germany, Spain, Greece and South Korea. In total, those remakes have grossed an estimated total $270 million worldwide. An Arabic adaptation is currently shooting.
“For All Life” turns on four couples who discover that their marriages are no longer valid because they were all performed by a fraudulent priest. “Are they going to say the big ‘yes’ once again, or will they use this excuse to run away from their marriage?,” reads the synopsis.
Paolo Costella, who co-wrote “Perfect Strangers,” directed this ensemble pic with “Strangers” director Paolo Genovese and Antonella Lattanzi. “For All Life” is co-produced by Marco Belardi via his Lotus Production,...
“Strangers,” a dramedy involving cellphones and personal secrets, grossed over $31 million domestically and spawned remakes in a dozen territories including France, Germany, Spain, Greece and South Korea. In total, those remakes have grossed an estimated total $270 million worldwide. An Arabic adaptation is currently shooting.
“For All Life” turns on four couples who discover that their marriages are no longer valid because they were all performed by a fraudulent priest. “Are they going to say the big ‘yes’ once again, or will they use this excuse to run away from their marriage?,” reads the synopsis.
Paolo Costella, who co-wrote “Perfect Strangers,” directed this ensemble pic with “Strangers” director Paolo Genovese and Antonella Lattanzi. “For All Life” is co-produced by Marco Belardi via his Lotus Production,...
- 3/2/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Voltage Pictures is handling global sales at the European Film Market on the Bella Thorne teen romance Time Is Up which also stars Italian popstar Benjamin Mascolo. Deadline first told you about the project back in October.
The movie, currently in post production, centers on two high-school seniors, Vivien (Thorne), who is an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy (Mascolo), a troubled young man. When an accident forces the unlikely pair to come to a stop and reclaim their lives, one minute at the time, they finally start living in a present that perhaps will prove to be more exciting than any predefined formula.
Pic is produced by Italy’s Marco Belardi (Perfect Strangers) via his Lotus Production, a Leone Film Group company, with pubcaster Rai Cinema. The English-language film was shot over six-weeks on location in Rome and also in the US. Emmy-winning actor Nikolay Moss...
The movie, currently in post production, centers on two high-school seniors, Vivien (Thorne), who is an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy (Mascolo), a troubled young man. When an accident forces the unlikely pair to come to a stop and reclaim their lives, one minute at the time, they finally start living in a present that perhaps will prove to be more exciting than any predefined formula.
Pic is produced by Italy’s Marco Belardi (Perfect Strangers) via his Lotus Production, a Leone Film Group company, with pubcaster Rai Cinema. The English-language film was shot over six-weeks on location in Rome and also in the US. Emmy-winning actor Nikolay Moss...
- 2/23/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
English-language film shot over six weeks in Rome and US.
Voltage Pictures, whose After franchise has been a major international independent success story in the past few years, will launch worldwide sales at the virtual EFM next week on the YA romance Time Is Up starring Bella Thorne and Italian popstar Benjamin Mascolo.
The film is in post and centres on two high-school seniors – one with a passion for physics and the other a troubled young man – who learn to live in the present when their lives come to a stop after an accident.
Elisa Amoruso directs from a screenplay...
Voltage Pictures, whose After franchise has been a major international independent success story in the past few years, will launch worldwide sales at the virtual EFM next week on the YA romance Time Is Up starring Bella Thorne and Italian popstar Benjamin Mascolo.
The film is in post and centres on two high-school seniors – one with a passion for physics and the other a troubled young man – who learn to live in the present when their lives come to a stop after an accident.
Elisa Amoruso directs from a screenplay...
- 2/23/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Produced by Medusa Film and Lotus, the new film by the author of Perfect Strangers will be toplined by Valerio Mastandrea, Margherita Buy, Sara Serraiocco and Toni Servillo. A story about the strength required to start over when everything appears to be falling apart around you: this is what is promised by Paolo Genovese’s new film intitled Il primo giorno della mia vita, on which filming commenced this Monday in Rome. This latest feature film put forth by the director of the international hit Perfect Strangers, which inspired a record 18 remakes around the world, is produced by Marco Belardi on behalf of Lotus Production (Leone Film Group), and by Medusa Film who are also distributing the work. Written by Genovese himself, together with Paolo Costella, Rolando Ravello and Isabella Aguilar, and based upon the director’s novel of the same name published by Einaudi, the story tells the tale of.
Italy, the European country initially hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, is weathering the second wave well with film and TV production chugging along at a relatively healthy pace thanks to efficient safety protocols and government incentives.
Culture minister Dario Franceschini has just trumpeted a fresh injection of cash to support production, upping resources to fund the Italian tax rebate from €400 million ($474 million) to $652 million for 2021 while raising the incentive’s cap from 30% to 40% of a local production’s budget. The tax rebate is Italy’s main tool to combat the rise in economic costs and risks caused by coronavirus.
The Italian culture czar has also announced plans to double available backlot space at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios and to bring in millions of euros in new resources as part of a revamp of the famed facilities, where several substantial U.S. studio productions are expected to set up camp next year.
Culture minister Dario Franceschini has just trumpeted a fresh injection of cash to support production, upping resources to fund the Italian tax rebate from €400 million ($474 million) to $652 million for 2021 while raising the incentive’s cap from 30% to 40% of a local production’s budget. The tax rebate is Italy’s main tool to combat the rise in economic costs and risks caused by coronavirus.
The Italian culture czar has also announced plans to double available backlot space at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios and to bring in millions of euros in new resources as part of a revamp of the famed facilities, where several substantial U.S. studio productions are expected to set up camp next year.
- 12/9/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Shooting is underway in Rome on romancer “Time Is Up,” pairing Bella Thorne with Italian popstar Benjamin Mascolo and being directed by Italy’s Elisa Amoruso (“Chiara Ferragni – Unposted”).
The English-language teen pic turns on two high-school seniors, Vivien (Thorne), who is an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy (Mascolo), a troubled young man. This makes “for two starkly different personalities,” according to promotional materials.
Cameras started rolling last week on “Time Is Up,” which is being produced by Italy’s Marco Belardi via his Lotus Production, a Leone Film Group company, with pubcaster Rai’s Rai Cinema on board. A six-week shoot is planned in Rome and also in an unspecified U.S. location.
Besides Thorne and Mascolo, who is making his acting debut, the “Time Is Up” cast also comprises Emmy-winning U.S. actor Nikolay Moss (“The Cobblestone Corridor”), Roberto Davide and Sebastiano Pigazzi (“We Are Who We Are”).
Thorne,...
The English-language teen pic turns on two high-school seniors, Vivien (Thorne), who is an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy (Mascolo), a troubled young man. This makes “for two starkly different personalities,” according to promotional materials.
Cameras started rolling last week on “Time Is Up,” which is being produced by Italy’s Marco Belardi via his Lotus Production, a Leone Film Group company, with pubcaster Rai’s Rai Cinema on board. A six-week shoot is planned in Rome and also in an unspecified U.S. location.
Besides Thorne and Mascolo, who is making his acting debut, the “Time Is Up” cast also comprises Emmy-winning U.S. actor Nikolay Moss (“The Cobblestone Corridor”), Roberto Davide and Sebastiano Pigazzi (“We Are Who We Are”).
Thorne,...
- 11/17/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Bella Thorne and Benjamin Mascolo will star in Time Is Up. Elisa Amoruso will direct the pic and also co-wrote the script with Lorenzo Ura and Patrizia Fiorellini.
The movie follows two high school seniors ‘Vivien’ (Thorne) and Roy (Mascolo) who at first glance appear to have starkly different personalities. Vivien is a highly accomplished student, with a passion for physics and keen to get into a prestigious American university. She seems to live her own life as a mathematical formula that drives her to look at her own happiness as something to be postponed into the future. Roy, on the other hand, is a troubled and problematic young man who, due to a trauma suffered as a child, sees his desires continually hindered by a past that seems to constantly haunt him. However, mathematics too has its variables and, as always happens, life manages to weave events together...
The movie follows two high school seniors ‘Vivien’ (Thorne) and Roy (Mascolo) who at first glance appear to have starkly different personalities. Vivien is a highly accomplished student, with a passion for physics and keen to get into a prestigious American university. She seems to live her own life as a mathematical formula that drives her to look at her own happiness as something to be postponed into the future. Roy, on the other hand, is a troubled and problematic young man who, due to a trauma suffered as a child, sees his desires continually hindered by a past that seems to constantly haunt him. However, mathematics too has its variables and, as always happens, life manages to weave events together...
- 10/22/2020
- by Justin Kroll
- 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
Exclusive: Gianni Nunnari’s Hollywood Gang (300) is teaming with the producing arm of Leone Film Group, Lotus Productions, to co-produce Paolo Genovese’s upcoming English-language project The First Day Of My Life.
Pic is based on Genovese’s own novel. Kirk Jones (Everybody’s Fine) adapted the screenplay.
The story focuses on the lives of four struggling strangers. As each character grows increasingly despondent and seeks to end it all, they are offered a unique chance at redemption in the form of a disgruntled angel, who shows them what the world would be like without them.
The U.S.-Italy co-pro project is aiming to shoot in 2020. It will be filmed in English and dubbed into Italian for Italy.
Producers are Hollywood Gang and Lotus Productions Srl, the producing arm of the Leone Film Group run by Marco Belardi with Andrea and Raffaella Leone, the children of legendary Italian director Sergio Leone.
Pic is based on Genovese’s own novel. Kirk Jones (Everybody’s Fine) adapted the screenplay.
The story focuses on the lives of four struggling strangers. As each character grows increasingly despondent and seeks to end it all, they are offered a unique chance at redemption in the form of a disgruntled angel, who shows them what the world would be like without them.
The U.S.-Italy co-pro project is aiming to shoot in 2020. It will be filmed in English and dubbed into Italian for Italy.
Producers are Hollywood Gang and Lotus Productions Srl, the producing arm of the Leone Film Group run by Marco Belardi with Andrea and Raffaella Leone, the children of legendary Italian director Sergio Leone.
- 11/8/2019
- by Tom Grater and Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
The Lotus and 3 Marys Entertainment production directed by Nicola Abbatangelo will be set in 1920s New York. Shooting on the musical The Land of Dreams, which is already earning a name for itself “the Italian La La Land” and which is directed by Nicola Abbatangelo, the thirty-something Molise filmmaker and author of the award-winning musical short Beauty, is currently underway in Bulgaria. Shot and sung in English, the film boasts an international cast: Belorussian actress Caterina Shulha (currently touring cinemas in Into the Labyrinth), England’s George Blagden, Scottish actor Kevin Guthrie (Sunset Song), Ryan Reid, Nathan Amzi and Italy’s Paolo Calabresi, Marina Rocco, Carla Signoris, Stefano Fresi and Edoardo Pesce (the winner of the Best Supporting Actor David di Donatello award for Dogman). The Land of Dreams is produced by Marco Belardi on behalf of Lotus Production (Leone Film Group), as...
- 10/31/2019
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
British actor George Blagden, who played Louis Xiv in period drama “Versailles,” has been cast opposite Belarussian actress and model Caterina Shulha (“Hotel Gagarin”) in “The Land of Dreams,” an English-language movie musical set in 1920s New York being produced by Italy’s Leone Film Group for the international market.
Shooting has just started at Bulgaria’s Nu Boyana Film Studios on the ambitious and unusual pic being directed by Italian newcomer Nicola Abbatangelo. Producer Marco Belardi, who heads Leone group’s Lotus Production shingle, decided to take a gamble on the project after being impressed by a 20-minute short directed by Abbatangelo, which the feature will expand on.
Until a few years ago, musicals did not get much traction in Italy, but that changed with Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land,” which opened the 2016 Venice Film Festival and proved a hit for Leone, its Italian distributor.
An eight-week shoot...
Shooting has just started at Bulgaria’s Nu Boyana Film Studios on the ambitious and unusual pic being directed by Italian newcomer Nicola Abbatangelo. Producer Marco Belardi, who heads Leone group’s Lotus Production shingle, decided to take a gamble on the project after being impressed by a 20-minute short directed by Abbatangelo, which the feature will expand on.
Until a few years ago, musicals did not get much traction in Italy, but that changed with Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land,” which opened the 2016 Venice Film Festival and proved a hit for Leone, its Italian distributor.
An eight-week shoot...
- 10/29/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
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
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
Exclusive: Emmy winner Tom Fontana is set to write and Oscar and Emmy winner Oliver Stone is set to direct the pilot of Dolce Vita, a period drama series set in 1950s Rome, for Entertainment One and Italian-based Mediaset Group and Martha De Laurentiis’ De Laurentiis Company.
Created and written by Fornata, Dolce Vita is inspired by Stephen Gundle’s 2011 novel Death and Dolce Vita: The Dark Side of Rome in the 1950s, for which eOne acquired the television rights. The true crime novel investigates the murder scandal that rocked Italy and portrays the Rome of romance, luxury, and glamour–as well as a city of carnal crimes, sex, drugs, corruption, and cover-ups.
The series is not related to Federico Fellini’s acclaimed 1960s feature La Dolce Vita, which explored the same decade in Rome from a very different perspective.
Stone is set to helm the pilot in his narrative TV series directing debut.
Created and written by Fornata, Dolce Vita is inspired by Stephen Gundle’s 2011 novel Death and Dolce Vita: The Dark Side of Rome in the 1950s, for which eOne acquired the television rights. The true crime novel investigates the murder scandal that rocked Italy and portrays the Rome of romance, luxury, and glamour–as well as a city of carnal crimes, sex, drugs, corruption, and cover-ups.
The series is not related to Federico Fellini’s acclaimed 1960s feature La Dolce Vita, which explored the same decade in Rome from a very different perspective.
Stone is set to helm the pilot in his narrative TV series directing debut.
- 10/31/2018
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Co-chief Raffaella Leone talks future plans for the high-end distribution and production outfit.
Italy’s historic film company the Leone Film Group – founded by late “spaghetti western” maestro Sergio Leone and now run by his heirs Andrea and Raffaella - has gone from strength to strength since floating on the Milan stock market at the end of 2013. Under the new management of Leone’s children, it has expanded into a major high-end distribution and production player in Italy, updating its line-up to appeal to younger generations in the process.
The company currently has output deals with Lionsgate, DreamWorks and Summit Entertainment and has several high-profile titles on its slate this year including La La Land, The Girl On The Train and Hacksaw Ridge. It also has growing clout as a domestic producer through the success of Marco Belardi’s Lotus Production, acquired by the company in July 2104, with films like Paolo Genovese’s hit comedy Perfect Strangers...
Italy’s historic film company the Leone Film Group – founded by late “spaghetti western” maestro Sergio Leone and now run by his heirs Andrea and Raffaella - has gone from strength to strength since floating on the Milan stock market at the end of 2013. Under the new management of Leone’s children, it has expanded into a major high-end distribution and production player in Italy, updating its line-up to appeal to younger generations in the process.
The company currently has output deals with Lionsgate, DreamWorks and Summit Entertainment and has several high-profile titles on its slate this year including La La Land, The Girl On The Train and Hacksaw Ridge. It also has growing clout as a domestic producer through the success of Marco Belardi’s Lotus Production, acquired by the company in July 2104, with films like Paolo Genovese’s hit comedy Perfect Strangers...
- 11/7/2016
- ScreenDaily
Fledgling sales outfit has acquired worldwide sales rights to Paolo Genovese’s comedy, a box office hit in Italy.
Italian sales outfit True Colours has taken worldwide rights to Tribeca competitor Perfect Strangers, directed by Paolo Genovese and produced by Marco Belardi.
The film is the only Italian competitor at Tribeca, where it will make its Us premiere later this month. The comedy has already grossed more than $18.2m (€16m) in its native Italy since its release on February 11.
Starring Alba Rohrwacher (I Am Love) and Kasia Smutniak (From Paris With Love), the story follows seven friends who, during a dinner party, decide to share all of their text messages, emails and calls with each other, unveiling a myriad of secrets.
Launched last year by Lucky Red and Indigo Film, this latest acquistion continues True Colours’ trend of picking up Italian films for international release. Other titles on the company’s slate include Roberto Ando’s Le Confessioni...
Italian sales outfit True Colours has taken worldwide rights to Tribeca competitor Perfect Strangers, directed by Paolo Genovese and produced by Marco Belardi.
The film is the only Italian competitor at Tribeca, where it will make its Us premiere later this month. The comedy has already grossed more than $18.2m (€16m) in its native Italy since its release on February 11.
Starring Alba Rohrwacher (I Am Love) and Kasia Smutniak (From Paris With Love), the story follows seven friends who, during a dinner party, decide to share all of their text messages, emails and calls with each other, unveiling a myriad of secrets.
Launched last year by Lucky Red and Indigo Film, this latest acquistion continues True Colours’ trend of picking up Italian films for international release. Other titles on the company’s slate include Roberto Ando’s Le Confessioni...
- 4/6/2016
- ScreenDaily
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