L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 6 C inem a Italian Style 2015 - annual showcase of the bes t Italian cinema – opened in big style, on N ovember 11, w ith a pres s conference on our official Italian Oscar entry, Non Essere Cattivo (Don't Be Bad, directed by late Claudio Caligari). Part of the cast: emerging Roman actors , A les s andro Borghi and Luca M arinelli, together with one of long-time Caligari's best friends, the multi- awarded Roman actor, Valerio Mastandrea, presided at the press conference and will be attending the movie's US premiere, on November 12. I've had the w onderful opportunity to hear from Mastandrea, in the unusual vest of film's producer, and, more importantly, the real soul and driving force behind Caligari's last artistic effort. Please tell us about your b egin n in gs as actor. Wh at urged you to drop out of the Facu lty of Ph ilos op h y to pursue an acting career? I approached theater by writing a stage play and, as I was developing it, I used to act it out as well. In the end, I decided to go on stage myself. Back then, I was twenty-one years old and it took me more than ten years to convince myself that my real career was bound for acting. I used to act without believing that would turn out to be the job of my life. At last, I surrendered to my fate. Tell us about your directing debut in the short film, 3,87 (Trevirgolaottantasette, 2005). D id it coin cid e w ith you r screenwriting debut, as well? No, it didn't. I had written at least 3 scripts before the short film, 3,87. They've never been produced, of course. That short w as a valuable learning experience. For the first time, I directed actors and changed my point of view. Its theme and its narrative tone enabled me to put into practice everything I had learned, from the directors I worked with until then. Tell u s ab ou t you r experience in the Hollywood- produced musical, Nine. In your opinion, what's the main difference between the Italian movie in d u s try an d Hollywood? The only difference is the concept of industry itself. On the set of Nine, the workload, the number of people involved and their professionalism made a difference in comparis on to films, which in Italy are harder to put together. But once "action" is called, our job is the same everywhere. This is wonderful—I also talked about this w ith D aniel D ay Lewis while we were shooting. VALERIO VIALE The sense of our job doesn't change depending on w hat movie we are making. Acting is to empty yours elves and to become someone else. That is pure magic. Let's go back together over your first encounter with the late filmmaker/intellectual Claudio Caligari. With Claudio I acted in, L'odore della notte (The Scent of the Night, 1998), which was his s econd film. A great movie about a group of robbers , coming from the suburbs of a big city, and who wanted to "assault the sky." Tell us about your artistic and human relation/friendship with Claudio. Claudio was a great friend and a great filmmaker, from w hom I pers onally learned firmness and determination in defending my own ideas. He was a man w ho alw ays thought cinematically. Everybody thinks that w hat w e did for him to enable him to complete his last movie w as a big pres ent. However, nobody realized how Claudio was the one to give us a present, by demonstrating that with the passion for our job we can struggle against evil, until the very end. Tell us about the hardship you and Claudio had to face to realize N on Es s er e Cattivo (Don't Be Bad). We worked for three years on this film, trying to find traditional channels for funding and production. It w as very difficult. Non Essere Cattivo was not an easy movie to sell, but we believed so strongly in it, that, in the end, we made it. The letter to Scorsese didn't claim any reply; it w as jus t s pontaneous . I knew I w as writing to a director who, above all, loves cinema and who, for Claudio, was like an old relative, even if they didn't know each other personally. The letter was meant as a provocation to the Italian system, immediately acknowledged. In fact, right after the publication, lots of producers finally helped us. Initially, Claudio did not want to send the letter, out of modesty and res pect tow ards M r. Scorsese. However, in the end, the lack of any emotional blackmail and its total sincerity convinced him. C on gratu lation s for th e Oscar Nomination. Don't Be Bad, alread y received a p os itive review from th e critics. Do you expect a good reception internationally? I do hope so. It has been a long time since we have seen an Italian film with such a strong s pirit, and w ho know s w hen we'll see another one alike. Last November 2 marked the fortieth anniversary of P. P. Pasolini's tragic murder, in 1975. Caligari attempted to work as assistant director for Pasolini. To what extent did they share a similar ideology? D o you recall s ome conversations between you and Claudio about Pasolini? The most similar aspect they shared, was the desire to know, from deep inside themselves, what they really wanted to tell. Before writing and staging a certain reality, they immersed themselves completely into it— not like many intellectuals of our time. Non Essere Cattivo's producer, Valerio Mastandrea. Photo Courtesy of Sally Fischer PR LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY Still from Non essere cattivo. Photo Courtesy of Sally Fischer PR How Valerio Mastandrea championed his late friend, Claudio Caligari's, last artistic effort

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