L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano Roberto Croci aka The Beast: one of us who made it in L.A. Roberto Croci is one of us. He's one of many Italians who choos e A merica and the American dream to live their passion, follow their heart, and fulfill their own dream. Without the proverbial cardboard suitcase fastened with cord – as some- body s till pictures us -, w e accepted to take a leap of faith, even if it means to abandon our native community and lifestyle. After living 25 years in the U.S., Roberto Croci still misses enjoy- ing espresso at the local coffee bar and keeps strong ties to Italy through his job as a translator, journalist, blogger, and producer. Among his recent projects are the TV series Italiani Si Nasce (Natural Born Italians), the real- ity show One Of Those Nights, the web magazine Ganzo (Cool), a memoire, and p os s ibly an Italian radio show. Roberto Croci is Italian but he's als o A merican. H e has become part of the society that welcomed and adopted him in January 1981, when he booked a one-way air ticket from cold and snowy Milan to sunny and warm Venice Beach, California. Here, he has come across different underground tribes who inspired his documentary s eries L e Avventure de La Bestia (The Beast's Adventures), dedicated to surfing, court fighting, illegal car races, and similar adrenaline- rush activities. "It's not easy to approach such groups and to gain their trust. The point is that I'm one of them, and they can tell it from my attitude and the questions I ask. I just want to know why they do what they do. They're driven by passion, just like me." Roberto Croci is also The Beast. He became The Beast in 1997, while hosting a radio show that featured live phone calls, to defend both himself and the new generation of Italian immigrants against arrogance and fake polit- ical correctness. His passion and some fortunate encounters – usu- ally occurring on a plane – have led him from a project to the other, gradually making a name for himself thanks to his profes- sionalism and straightforward- ness. "My motto is never give up, if you don't do it for yourself nobody else will do it for you." After discovering an interest in foreign languages – and girls - , Roberto Croci graduated in Interpreting and Translation and started working in the fields of cinema and medicine, followed by design and fashion at the newly founded Domus Academy in Milan. He loves his job, also because "It's really based on merit rather than connections: THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2015 www.italoamericano.com 4 you're either capable of doing it or you're not." Then he entered the world of politics, not as a politician but as the interpreter of then Minister of the Italian Republic Bettino Craxi. While accompanying him to a meeting in Los Angeles, Roberto Croci was approached and recruited by producer Dino De Laurentiis to work at his stu- dios in N ew Y ork and Wilmington, North Carolina. So Roberto Croci - aka The Beast, who wasn't officially born yet – became the translator, ghost- writer, and interpreter on the set of over 100 films produced by SILVIA SIMONETTI De Laurentiis Entertainment Group. A few years later, he started experiencing other career paths, always focusing on American social and cultural trends that could be of interest to the Italian community. From paparazzo and cool hunter, to radio host for Dario Colombo's I Giganti del Basket and Luciano Palermi's Buona Domenica, dedicated to the Italians in L.A. S in ce 2007, he has been working as a contributing editor for several magazines the likes of Vogue Italia, Elle, Velvet, D- Repubblica, and Urban. Some of them even entrusted him with exclusive interviews, including his favorites: a legendary conver- sation with the late American w riter and intellectual G ore Vidal (Velvet), an interview with Michael Jackson (Vogue), and a fascinating encounter with green architecture pioneer Lloyd Khan (Elle). Among his enviable col- lection of pictures and articles Roberto Croci. Photo by Needleman featuring Hollywood stars, music stars, sport stars, leading public figures, and other VIPs, there's one that catches our attention. It shows The Beast with his daugh- ter Elsa and is entitled Cuore di Mammo - mammo is a sort of word play for those fathers who take on the mother's role. Yes, Roberto Croci is a dad, but he's also played mom for 8 months in 1998, taking care of Elsa while working from home, changing diapers, and strolling her on the beachfront. We ask him to share his wis- dom with the young Italians who make it to the United States: "I'd encourage them to participate in the life of the community, to support each other, and to com- mit to promoting different aspects of Italy's contemporary culture. Nowadays more than ever we need to take some risks, to invest in new ideas, and to empower the young generations. As somebody once told me, If one of us make it we all make it." Every year the initiative Cinema Made in Italy brings to the U.S. some of the most interesting productions and recent releases of Italian cinema. In 2015, the spotlight is on Human Capital, screening January 16 th through 22 nd at the Sundance Sunset Cinema in Los Angeles. The film was Italy's official selec- t i o n t o t h e 8 7 t h A c a d e m y Awards and, even if it wasn't nominated in the end, it has been acclaimed by the international critics and public as the next b e s t n i g h t a f t e r T h e G r e a t Beauty. D i r e c t e d b y P a o l o V i r z ì ( H a r d b o i l e d E g g , A u g u s t Vacation) and starring Italian a c t o r s F a b r i z i o B e n t i v o g l i o (Marrakesh Express), Valeria G o l i n o ( R a i n M a n ) , V a l e r i a B r u n i Ted es ch i ( T h e S eco n d Time), Fabrizio Gifuni (The Way We Laughed), and newcomers Matilde Gioli and Guglielmo Pinelli, the movie is based on A m e r i c a n w r i t e r S t e p h e n Amidon's 2005 novel. Unlike the original version, it is set in northern Italy, where two fami- lies find themselves connected to each other and to a mysterious accident that involves a waiter cycling home the night before Christmas Eve. One of them is wealthy while the other is in a financial hardship, struggling to maintain a middle-class status, and the relationship between the adolescent heirs complicates t h i n g s f u r t h e r . T h e y t r y t o escape their ambitious parents' life projects and to follow their own desires, but they can't. In a capitalist society everything has a monetary value, including the human life, and this is particu- larly true when powerful people feel threatened. "I was trying to find a way to express a spirit, an atmosphere, this very moment of the financial crisis and how it influenced the lives of people in terms of dreams, aspirations, and expectations," has stated director Paolo Virzì. The multiple chapter structure of this cynical dark comedy allows the audience to witness each character's lies, greed, and lone- liness. They're all trapped in t h e i r o w n l i v e s , v i c t i m s a n d guilty at the same time, and even those among them who finally pull through are still miserable. R e l e a s e d i n 2 0 1 4 , H u m a n Capital was awarded several David di Donatello and Nastri d'Argento, as well as the Best Actress Award to Valeria Bruni Tedeschi at the Tribeca Film Festival U.S. premiere. The Human Capital to open in Los Angeles on January 16th SILVIA SIMONETTI

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