L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 6 Madonna, born Veronica Ciccone, whose family hails from Abruzzo, shared a post-Oscar hug and Instagram picture with Lady Gaga and mentioned their Ita- lian roots LIFE PEOPLE PLACES TRADITIONS Continued from page 4 family came originally from Abruzzo. The two singers, col- leagues and rivals on stage, were pictured together at the Oscar's after party organized by Madon- na - alias Veronica Ciccone - herself, who posted the photo on Instagram with the following caption: "Don't mess with Italian girls!" And, clearly, you shouldn't mess with the Venice Film Festi- val, neither, as it seems to bring good luck when it comes to the Oscars. Here's why. Every year, the Oscars have their own predictions and, often, some of them turn out to be true: if Rami Malek's performance as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody had been largely crowned as a winner weeks in advance, Olivia Colman's por- trayal of Anne Stuart in The Favorite (by Yorgos Lanthimos) was counted as a sure winner, too. This movie was also pre- sented and acclaimed during the past edition of the Festival del Cinema di Venezia, directed by Alberto Barbera. The Favorite was one of the movies that received the highest number of nominations, 9 in total: Best Movie, Best Director, Best Sup- porting Actress (with two nomi- nations, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz), Best Original Screenplay (Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara) Best Photography (Robbie Ryan), Best Scenogra- phy (Fiona Crombie), Best Pic- ture (Yorgos Mavropsaridis) and Best Costumes (Sandy Powell). Another Venetian protagonist that triumphed at the Oscars is Roma, by Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron. The movie was nominated in 10 categories and won in 3: Best Director, Best Foreign Movie and Best Photog- raphy. The Oscar for Best Spe- cial Effects went to yet another "Venetian movie," First Man, which opened the last Festival di Venezia. Last but not least, the great surprise of this year's Oscars: Green Book. Five nominations, including one for Best Movie, traditionally the last statuette to be awarded during this magical night. In spite of not being the number one favorite, it came out as a true winner. And here, Italy or better, a piece of the history of Italian migration to the US, comes once more into the picture. The movie, directed by Peter Farrelly and starring Mahershala Ali (Oscar for Best Supporting Actor) and Viggo Mortensen, was inspired by the real life friendship between African-American pianist Don Shirley and the bouncer-actor of Calabrian descent Tony Lip, pseudonym of Frank Anthony Vallelonga, whose son Nick is one of the film's screenwriters. Green Book is good for cine- ma and is good for life, really. Set in the US in the 1960s, it tells the story of two worlds only apparently different, which even- tually discover a common ground in their mutual respect. Impossible not to think of today's world and its endless dis- criminations, when watching this movie. The triumph of a story that has the children of immigrants as its main characters was the per- fect way to end the world's most important cinematic event. And, most importantly, to remind us all the importance of human val- ues, leaving behind rusty precon- ceptions and fears. "Action!" It's time to live. All together. Bradley Cooper and Italian American Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanot- ta, better known as Lady Gaga Amedeo Scognamiglio, above, along with Roberto Faraone Mennella, designed Spike Lee glamorous pendant for the night of the Oscars

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