L'Italo-Americano

THURS DAY,   JANUARY  10,   2013  L'Italo-Americano PAGE  15 Cult director Tarantino presents Italian movie remake in Rome. Tarantino vows love for Italian movies ROME - Quentin Tarantino declared his love for Italy's Bmovie 'macaroni westerns' - the crude lower-budget cousins of Sergio Leone's classic spaghetti westerns - in Rome Friday as he unveiled his latest film Django Unchained, inspired by a Sergio Corbucci cult hit of the 1960s. "Macaroni westerns, as we call them in America, are the ones I love the best because of their surrealism and the extremes they present," said the Pulp Fiction director, whose slave revenge story starring Jamie Foxx opens across Italy on January 17. Tarantino, a self-styled 'supergeek' who is famously obsessed with B-movie lore, also reiterated his devotion to the betterknown and more respectable genre of spaghetti westerns like Leone's 'Dollars' trilogy - and Django itself, a mainstream 1966 product starring Franco Nero that inspired a string of zanier unofficial sequels. Tarantino burst onto the scene in 1992 with the bloody thriller Quentin Tarantino Reservoir Dogs, famous for an ear-severing scene that pays homage to a similar stomachturning part of Corbucci's Django. Asked who was "the better" of his two idols, the universally acclaimed Leone or the niche "guilty pleasure" Corbucci, he replied: 'It's like a judgment of Solomon. "They're different, Leone was one for epics, gigantic in the aesthetic sense too, Rome set to host green Grand Prix of new Formula E(lectric) Championship ROME - The streets and landmarks of Rome will be the venue for a race in the new Formula E Championship in 2014. Launched by the motorsport's governing body Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the Formula E Championship features Formula cars powered exclusively by electric energy. The race will be part of the first-ever 'green' grand prix. Participating manufacturers will design and build their own racing cars. McLaren won the contract to provide the motor, transmission and electronics that all of the cars will use. The 2014 Formula E Championship will feature races in circuits in the world's leading cities, around their main landmarks. Rome becomes the second city in the world to welcome the championship following Rio de Janeiro's announcement in August 2012. It is hoped that motorsport's adoption of environmentally friendly technologies will help promote and improve electric cars because of the involvement of racing-car manufacturers in their research and development. while Corbucci is simpler and more prolific". Corbucci's hard-hitting, brutal and now supposedly ironic westerns included Minnesota Clay (1965), Ringo and his Golden Pistol (1966), Navajo Joe (1966), The Hellbenders (1967), The Mercenary (A Professional Gun, 1968), The Great Silence (1968), Gli Specialisti (Drop Them or I'll Shoot, 1969), Companeros (1970), La Banda J.S.: Cronaca Criminale del Far West (Sonny and Jed, 1972) and What Am I Doing in the Middle of the Revolution? (1972). Sniffed at by critics, he became a cult figure after his death in 1990, a reputation boosted by uber-buff Tarantino, who has given a cameo in Django Unchained to Franco Nero, the 1966 Django. Django Unchained will also feature an original song by iconic Italian film composer Ennio Morricone. Ancora Qui (Still Here) was composed by Morricone with lyrics written and performed by Italian singer-songwriter Elisa. As well as Foxx, in his most anticipated role since Collateral and Ray, both in 2004, Django Unchained features Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz and Kerry Washington. The film follows a freed slave and a bounty hunter in their trek across the Deep South. Tarantino's adulation of Italian B movies was celebrated on one of international cinema's premier stages when he organized events at the Venice Film Festival devoted to Italian Bs in 2004 and 2007, the latter specifically on spaghetti westerns. Most notably, Enzo Castellari's 1977 Inglorious Bastards (Quel Maledetto Treno Blindato) was the inspiration for Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, a blood-soaked and quirky reinvention of WWII history. Basterds had Morricone songs but not an original track as Tarantino had requested. Instead, it featured Morricone music that first appeared in westerns by Leone. Jan.  12.  Sat.-AP  Italian  Exam  Workshop at UCLA (1301 Rolfe Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095). 2:00-4:00 pm. High school students who are proficient in Italian are encouraged to consider taking the AP Italian Language and Culture Exam in May 2013 and to attend this FREE informational workshop. The workshop is organized by Fondazione Italia under the auspices of the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles, in collaboration with the UCLA Department of Italian, UCLA Center for World Languages and the Italian Cultural Institute. Call (310) 739-9350 to register. Jan.  12.  Sat.-Fondazione  Italia Spring 2013 Italian language session in Burbank, Hermosa Beach, Orange County and West LA begins on Saturday, January 12. Classes available for toddlers, elementary, middle and high school students and adults! To request more information and an enrollment form call (310) 739-9350. Jan.  12,  Sat.-Club  Italia's  New  Year's  Dinner  Dance at St. John Eudes Church in Chatsworth (corner of Lassen & Mason). Club Italia is celebrating the New Year! We will be singing and dancing to the sounds of the Duo Domino Band. Be sure to call Sigrid Ravizza at (661) 297-0507 or (818) 426-1489. Jan.  12,  Sat.-School  of  Italian  Language  and  Culture of South San Francisco Spring Semester of Italian Classes Begin. Classes are held Saturday mornings from 10am to 12:30pm thru April 27, 2013. For more information and registration forms, visit www.italianclasses.com or contact Leo Pagani or Christine at (650) 574-3089. Jan. 13, Sun.– Mother Cabrini Chapel & Library (3801 Scott Road, Burbank, CA) Open House, 9 am to 1 pm hosted by Villa Cabrini Alumni. For information contact Carmelo Sabatella at 626 372-7812. Jan.  14,  Mon.-The  Garibaldina  Society Council Meeting7:00pm. All members are welcome to attend the monthly Council Meeting. Coffee and Dessert will be served. For information, call (323) 223-5005. Jan. 19, Sat.-AP ITALIAN PREP CLASSES. Registration has begun for Pre-AP and AP Italian Preparation classes at the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles and at UCLA. Classes at the IIC and at UCLA begin on Saturday, January 19, 2013. To request an enrollment form call (310) 739-9350. Jan. 19, Sat.-The Garibaldina Society Annual Snowflake Ball. Cocktail Hour 6:00pm, Traditional Italian Dinner 7:00pm. Dancing to The Dennis Le Pron Band. Evening Dress: Men: Coat & Tie, Ladies: "Party" Attire. Adults only please! Reservations are required and must be received by Jan. 14, 2013. Members: $32, Guests: $37. For more information call Reservations Chairman Marie Mor (818) 249-9363. Jan. 19, Sat.: Grandsons of Italy in America Meeting at Vitello's Restaurant, 4349 Tujunga Ave., Studio City, 11:30 a.m. For info call (805) 529-9726. Jan.  20,  Sun.-Italian  Cultural  Arts  Council ~ Presents ~Cinema Italiano! Film: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963). At the Bowers Museum 2002 N. Main Street, Santa Ana, CA 92706 (in the state-of-the art, ultra deluxe Norma Kershaw Auditorium). COST: Adults $10, Students: $5 (no need to RSVP). Parking INFO: The north and south lots cost $6. Disabled parking is free. There is free parking in a public lot on Main and Buffalo Street (a short walk across from North Lot with easy access back to museum by traffic signal) Street parking is free. SCHEDULE: Arrival: 1:30- 2:00 pm, Reception/Refreshments. Seating in Auditorium: 1:45 pm, Program Begins: 2:00 pm. For information call (714) 5673600.

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