L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS round, so that outdoor space became a natural extension of his world. Did you ever witness his creative process up close? Y e s , m a n y t i m e s . H e ' d start with the script, study- ing what the character had to do – whether it was a lead or not, what kinds of move- ments were needed. Then h e ' d m a k e s k e t c h e s , v e r y similar but with slight varia- t i o n s . I f t h e d i r e c t o r a p p r o v e d , h e ' d r e f i n e t h e facial details and build the internal mechanisms to give i t m o v e m e n t a n d s o u l . Watching a creature come to l i f e b e f o r e o u r e y e s w a s incredible. We talked about creatures, not props: they were part of our dinner table conversations. He'd tell my mom, "I ran into this chal- lenge today, I don't know how to make it move this way, how to make it laugh." What amazed me most was how he spoke about them as if they were alive. There was a kind of magic in the house. W a s t h e r e o n e c r e a - ture he was particularly attached to? E v e r y o n e i m m e d i a t e l y thinks of E.T., but I believe King Kong was his true pro- f e s s i o n a l l o v e . T h a t f i l m changed his life; it brought him from Italy to the US. And he didn't just create an effect, he created the protag- onist. Then there was Pinoc- c h i o , w h i c h h e a d o r e d . Unfortunately, for Comenci- ni's RAI television adapta- tion, his original puppet was taken from him. The produc- ers asked to borrow it "just to see how it looked on cam- era," then copied it and used it without crediting him. He sued and won, but he never got over it. His last posthu- mous work was a collection of 96 illustrated plates dedi- cated to Pinocchio, proof of how deeply he cared about that character. What was his relation- ship with fame and Hol- lywood? He was very private. He didn't like the spotlight or parties. My mom, who was more outgoing, often had to push him: "Carlo, change your clothes, we have to go." He'd grumble. For him, Hol- lywood was just his work- shop, nothing more. That's where he felt at home. And his relationships with directors? Many work relationships became friendships. We had many famous guests at our home: Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda, Oliver Stone, John T r a v o l t a , S o p h i a L o r e n , Carlo Ponti. I remember one p a r t y m y m o m t h r e w f o r Oliver Stone; it was also his birthday. At one point, the lights went down, and from t h e h a l l w a y c a m e t h e mechanical hand from The Hand movie, holding a lit candle between its fingers, as everyone sang "Happy Birthday." It was surreal. W a s h i s p a s s i o n f o r m e c h a n i c s s o m e t h i n g he had since childhood? Yes, even as a boy he was f a s c i n a t e d b y h o w t h i n g s m o v e d . H i s f a t h e r h a d a small repair shop, and he was mesmerized by the bike c h a i n t u r n i n g w i t h t h e p e d a l . A f t e r i t r a i n e d , h e would go to the banks of the Po River to dig for clay to model with, but he had to do it in secret… My grand- m o t h e r w a n t e d h i m t o become a surveyor and had taken away his paints to dis- c o u r a g e h i s a r t i s t i c s i d e . B a c k t h e n , e s p e c i a l l y i n post-war rural Emilia, there weren't many toys, so he'd wait for the rain, then go dig with his hands in the wet earth to find clay. He'd bring it home in a sack and start making small sculptures. It was a local man who recog- nized his talent and taught him how to work with it. What did he think of digital effects, and what m i g h t h e s a y a b o u t A I today? H e s a w d i g i t a l t o o l s a s useful, but not creative. He used to say, "If I had made E.T. digitally, it would have taken five different techni- cians. Who would've won the Oscar?" For him, artistic integrity meant following every step of the process, from the idea to the final gesture. I think he would say t h e s a m e a b o u t a r t i f i c i a l intelligence: it can enhance w h a t h u m a n s d o , b u t i t should never replace them. It can't replace creativity. How did the Walk of Fame star come about? We proposed the nomina- tion ourselves, with support from the Ministry of Culture a n d C i n e c i t t à . W e a s k e d o u r s e l v e s : w h a t c o u l d w e g i v e a n a r t i s t w h o h a d already received so much? The star felt like the most symbolic recognition. We originally applied in 2024, b u t t h a t y e a r i t w e n t t o Pr ince – ther e's onl y one posthumous star awarded p e r y e a r . W e h a d a l m o s t g i v e n u p . T h e n t h e o t h e r d a y , d u r i n g t h e l i v e announcement, we heard his name: "Carlo Rambaldi, the I t a l i a n w i z a r d o f s p e c i a l effects." It was incredibly e m o t i o n a l . A n d t h e r e ' s something poetic about the timing, too… Yes. He passed away on August 10th, the night of San Lorenzo, the n i g h t o f s h o o t i n g s t a r s . Receiving the star in his cen- tennial year, on a date so c l o s e t o w h e n h e l e f t u s , made us feel like the circle had closed. As if his creativi- ty had found one more way to shine. This time, from the sky. "Dad would start with the script," Daniela says about her father's creative process, "studying what the character had to do.Then he'd make sketches. If the director approved, he'd refine the facial details and build the internal mechanisms to give his creation movement and soul" CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 1983: an E.T. storyboard (Photo courtesy of Fondazione Culturale Carlo Rambaldi) 1977: at work on a mechanic head for the movie The White Buffalo (Photo courtesy of Fondazione Culturale Carlo Rambaldi)

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