L'Italo-Americano

that sad commonality and r e f e r r e d t o G i o r g i o a s a "brother." "Yes, they became good f r i e n d s . T h e y b o t h l o v e d good food and good wine. They also discussed co-writ- ing a book that combined food recipes and memoirs. They both liked experiment- ing with cooking. Then, due t o v a r i o u s p r o b l e m s , t h e project did not go through. But then in 2017, Jeffrey dedicated the crime novel The Burial Hour (Il Valzer dell'Impiccato) to the mem- ory of his friend Giorgio." In 2019, the America Award by the Italy-USA F o u n d a t i o n w a s c o n - f e r r e d i n m e m o r y o f G i o r g i o F a l e t t i . Y o u received the award at the Italian Parliament. What would have been his reaction? "He would have been so happy, deeply honored, and even moved. Giorgio always l o v e d t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . That award was the icing on the cake… He was fond of A m e r i c a n l i t e r a t u r e , A m e r i c a n c i n e m a , a n d A m e r i c a n c o m i c s . T h e United States had entered o u r h e a r t s . H e d e e p l y appreciated the meritocracy t h a t c h a r a c t e r i z e s t h e American society, a funda- mental value that in Italy does not exist." How did Faletti feel in Italy? "Sometimes he felt very confined, especially when h e s t a r t e d h i s w r i t i n g career. After the huge suc- cess of the thriller I Kill, there were snobby people with their noses in the air who doubted that Giorgio could write. And when the second book The Killer in My Eyes came out, some of them even though Jeffery D e a v e r m i g h t h a v e b e e n Giorgio's ghostwriter. All that sounded so absurd! Is not that crazy? Jeffery was a dear friend and that's it. G i o r g i o h a d t o e n d u r e incredible things." Then Faletti's third n o v e l , O u t s i d e o f a n Evident Destiny, is set in Arizona among the Navajo people to whom F a l e t t i d e d i c a t e d t h e book. "The three months spent in the Navajo Nation for the research are unforgettable. W e t r a v e l e d t h r o u g h t h e I n d i a n r e s e r v a t i o n i n Arizona, New Mexico, and U t a h , a n d w h a t w e s a w ignited our senses. Such a wonderful experience." W h a t a b o u t California? You stayed i n L o s A n g e l e s i n t h e last months of his life trying treatments… "Yes, that is correct. He loved California's vibrant nature. Another year, we stayed in San Francisco; we drove through Monterey, the Napa Valley… Such an array of scenic, stunning and exciting places. In Los Angeles, Giorgio would lose himself in the major film studios full of magic… We a l s o v i s i t e d M a r t h a D e Laurentiis, the wife of the l e g e n d a r y l a t e p r o d u c e r Dino De Laurentiis." Faletti once told me that the thriller I Kill was about to become a movie. Any updates on that? "Movie producer Aurelio De Laurentiis had bought the rights of the book and still has them. Aurelio had several film scripts written, but no one had ever con- vinced him. It is difficult to make a movie from such a complex story. Too many things would have been lost. S o s o m e m o n t h s a f t e r G i o r g i o ' s d e a t h , A u r e l i o called to invite me on board his yacht in Capri to discuss the project. In August 2015 i n C a p r i , h e t o l d m e : ' I thought about it a lot but a feature film will not work. I am thinking about a televi- sion series instead.' I said I was playing around with ideas for a TV series as well. We agreed on this. So we developed the structure of a T V s e r i e s s c r i p t i n 1 2 episodes covering the whole plot. Each episode is about 50 minutes long." W h o w r o t e t h e T V script? "Aurelio chose Anthony C i p r i a n o , a u t h o r o f t h e a c c l a i m e d s e r i e s B a t e s Motel. Every time Anthony wrote an episode, he would send it to me. I wanted to s u p e r v i s e t h e c h a r a c t e r d e v e l o p m e n t a s G i o r g i o fleshed out characters so well, included the minor o n e s . I n A u g u s t 2 0 1 6 a t Aurelio's house in Beverly Hills, I met Anthony and together defined the ulti- m a t e t h i n g s . N o w D e Laurentiis is in search of a suitable co-producer. It is an ambitious project due to the many special effects and t h e M o n t e C a r l o s e t t i n g which is quite challenging. But it will happen. Aurelio and his son Luigi believe in it." What do you miss the most about Faletti? "I miss everything about him, the daily life together. We were living in symbiosis. I m i s s h i m a r o u n d t h e h o u s e , w h i l e i n v e n t i n g a recipe, or rehearsing a song o n t h e k e y b o a r d s … H e always had that fresh think- ing, that creativity. And I do miss his great resources: joy, laughter, happiness." Joy is closely connect- e d w i t h m e l a n c h o l y . And Faletti had that veil of melancholy that often c o m e d i a n s h a v e , t h a t kind of blues… "Giorgio had a construc- t i v e m e l a n c h o l y . H e w a s melancholic in the last step of a creative process, the revision stage. On the one hand, he did not want to let g o o f t h e p r o j e c t h e w a s about to complete, and on the other hand, he felt the urge to embrace the next challenge. He looked for- ward to creating something n e w . O n t h a t s t a g e , h e feared: 'I will no longer be able to write a book as com- pelling as this or a song as beautiful as this.' Then, he suffered from mild depres- sion." Why did he feel the necessity to explore dif- ferent creative fields? " B e c a u s e h e a l w a y s needed to feel the adrena- line of a rookie. That was a trait of his personality. He explored his inner world by e x p e r i m e n t i n g w i t h n e w ways of expressing himself. Every time, he picked what he considered the most suit- able medium for him." With the thriller Io sono Dio (I Am God), r e l e a s e d i n 2 0 0 9 , h e s h o w e d a n o b s e s s i o n with the Vietnam War… " Y e s , i n d e e d . H e w a s obsessed with it. He read all kinds of books about the subject. We went to Saigon a n d i n t o t h e j u n g l e . Through I am God he want- ed to convey the madness of a shell-shocked veteran and the consequences for the community." A few books were also published posthumous- ly, included La Piuma (The Feather). "That work was originally conceived as a musical. He h a d i n m i n d a m u s i c a l . Music was a constant ele- m e n t i n h i s l i f e a n d h i s books." He was obsessed with musicals. "He loved the genre. In N Y C w e s a w s o m a n y Broadway musicals." Was his beautiful yet b i t t e r s o n g " S i g n o r T e n e n t e " i n s p i r e d b y t h e C a p a c i a n d V i a D'Amelio mafia massa- cres? "Yes, he was numb with s h o c k w h e n t h o s e m o n - strous things happened. My husband had many friends in the police department. He heard their stories and felt their fear." Are there still unpub- l i s h e d m a t e r i a l s o f F a l e t t i ? B o o k m a n u - scripts, songs? Once he told me that he had a d r a w e r f u l l o f n o t e - books filled with lyrics. "Before passing away, he collected many of his songs into a double CD entitled Da Quando a Ora, but yes, there are still some lyrics around." In 2015 you produced Faletti's play The Last D a y o f S u n ( L ' u l t i m o Giorno di Sole), which in 2019 debuted in NYC a t t h e C h e r r y L a n e Theater, the city's oldest continuously running off-Broadway theater. T h e s h o w w a s w e l l - received. " G i o r g i o w o u l d h a v e liked to direct the show but he could not make it. The play consists of 8 mono- logues and 8 songs. Actress Chiara Buratti and musician Andrea Mirò did a great job. We had a wonderful experi- ence in New York." C o u l d y o u p l e a s e share a phrase he often said that we all should treasure? "He often said that the best gift a human being can g i v e t o a n o t h e r h u m a n b e i n g i s t o m a k e t h e m smile, give them a moment of serenity amid life's prob- lems. He always did that a n d s e e i n g o t h e r p e o p l e happy made him happy." LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE Giorgio Faletti at Bryce Canyon, in Utah (Photo courtesy of Paola Malfatto) Continued from page 32 THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 34 L'Italo-Americano

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