Italian animation auteur Alessandro Rak – best known for European Film Award-winner “The Art of Happiness” and Neapolitan mob fable “Cinderella The Cat” – is at work on a new project titled “The Little Prince of Shangri-La” set in an imaginary Tibet and involving the search for the Dalai Lama.
Rak’s new work, which follows “Yaya and Lenny — The Walking Liberty,” that launched in 2021 from Locarno, was unveiled earlier this month at the Cartoon Movie co-production and pitch forum in Bordeaux, France.
As seen in this exclusive teaser provided to Variety, Rak’s new feature is set in an imaginary time that appears to blend present and past.
“The 13th Dalai Lama has just died,” reads the provided synopsis, and “The armies of the terrible Warlord are at the gates.” The fate of Tibet seems sealed. “But a vision emerges from the waters of the Great Lake of Prophecies. Does it...
Rak’s new work, which follows “Yaya and Lenny — The Walking Liberty,” that launched in 2021 from Locarno, was unveiled earlier this month at the Cartoon Movie co-production and pitch forum in Bordeaux, France.
As seen in this exclusive teaser provided to Variety, Rak’s new feature is set in an imaginary time that appears to blend present and past.
“The 13th Dalai Lama has just died,” reads the provided synopsis, and “The armies of the terrible Warlord are at the gates.” The fate of Tibet seems sealed. “But a vision emerges from the waters of the Great Lake of Prophecies. Does it...
- 3/21/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
“Very beautiful and very challenging.” Those are the first two words that director Stefano Sollima uses to describe his upcoming, four-part Netflix crime series Il Mostro, which has just finished filming. Created by Leonardo Fasoli and Sollima (who also co-produced with Lorenzo Mieli), and produced by The Apartment — a Fremantle company — and AlterEgo Productions, this is a series that has faced titanic challenges. Sollima is no stranger to the crime genre, having directed the so-called Romanzo Criminale (criminal Rome trilogy) — Acab (All Cops Are Bastards), Suburra and Adagio — as well as Soldado the 2018 sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario, and Senza Rimorso (Without Remorse), the 2021 thriller co-written by Taylor Sheridan and based on the book by Tom Clancy. This is all in addition to being the showrunner on the seminal Italian crime series Gomorra and ZeroZeroZero, his ambitious series based on Roberto Saviano’s book about the international drug trade.
- 2/28/2024
- by Boris Sollazzo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sky Studios is developing prequels to “Gomorrah” and “Crime Novel,” the two widely exported Sky Italia original crime series that are considered Italian TV milestones.
News that Sky and ITV-owned production company Cattleya are looking to reboot these two shows with origin stories was announced as Sky Italia celebrates its 20th anniversary with a big bash in Rome.
Sky Italia first ventured into Italian TV production in 2008 with “Romanzo Criminale,” as “Crime Novel” is known in Italian, which is centered around a real Roman heroin-dealing gang. Besides being a hit in Italy, the story also traveled widely. “Gomorrah” (pictured above), which is based on Roberto Saviano’s bestselling Neapolitan mob exposé, launched in 2014. From the outset, this gritty show brought audiences inside the belly of the real Neapolitan criminal underworld, thanks in part to being shot almost entirely in the actual places it portrays. Besides attaining megahit status in Italy,...
News that Sky and ITV-owned production company Cattleya are looking to reboot these two shows with origin stories was announced as Sky Italia celebrates its 20th anniversary with a big bash in Rome.
Sky Italia first ventured into Italian TV production in 2008 with “Romanzo Criminale,” as “Crime Novel” is known in Italian, which is centered around a real Roman heroin-dealing gang. Besides being a hit in Italy, the story also traveled widely. “Gomorrah” (pictured above), which is based on Roberto Saviano’s bestselling Neapolitan mob exposé, launched in 2014. From the outset, this gritty show brought audiences inside the belly of the real Neapolitan criminal underworld, thanks in part to being shot almost entirely in the actual places it portrays. Besides attaining megahit status in Italy,...
- 10/3/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Sky Studios is developing prequel series to Gomorrah and Romanzo Criminale.
The pair of shows are widely regarded to be two of the most successful Italian TV series of all time.
Inspired by Roberto Saviano’s bestseller, the untitled Gomorrah prequel from ITV Studios-backed Cattleya will spotlight the criminal rise of boss Pietro Savastano, from when he was a kid on the streets to becoming the most important and ruthless boss in Naples. Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli will once again work on the screenplay.
Gomorrah ran for five seasons on Sky between 2014 and 2021, totalling 58 episodes, while a 2008 film of the same name was loosely based on the book. The TV show starred the likes of Marco D’Amore, Salvatore Esposito and Fortunato Cerlino.
Meanwhile, Romanzo Criminale – La serie will focus on the years before the rise of the Banda della Magliana criminal organization, as recounted in the two seasons of the original series,...
The pair of shows are widely regarded to be two of the most successful Italian TV series of all time.
Inspired by Roberto Saviano’s bestseller, the untitled Gomorrah prequel from ITV Studios-backed Cattleya will spotlight the criminal rise of boss Pietro Savastano, from when he was a kid on the streets to becoming the most important and ruthless boss in Naples. Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli will once again work on the screenplay.
Gomorrah ran for five seasons on Sky between 2014 and 2021, totalling 58 episodes, while a 2008 film of the same name was loosely based on the book. The TV show starred the likes of Marco D’Amore, Salvatore Esposito and Fortunato Cerlino.
Meanwhile, Romanzo Criminale – La serie will focus on the years before the rise of the Banda della Magliana criminal organization, as recounted in the two seasons of the original series,...
- 10/3/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Placebo lead singer Brian Molko is the target of a defamation lawsuit filed by Italian Prime Minster Giorgia Meloni after making inflammatory comments about the right-wing leader during the band’s set at the Sonic Park Stupinigi festival in Turin on July 11th.
Italian newspaper La Stampa reported on Tuesday that Molko had been cited for calling Meloni a “fascist,” “piece of shit,” and “racist” amidst Placebo’s festival performance, which launched an investigation in regards to the country’s “contempt of the institutions” laws. Variety notes that any critic who “publicly defames the Republic” can incur a fine of 5,000 euros.
Meloni is the highest-ranking member of the far-right political party Brothers of Italy. She was elected as the country’s first female prime minister in October 2022 and ran on a strict anti-immigration and anti-lgbtq+ platform. According to The Daily Beast, the prime minister has already gained a litigious reputation...
Italian newspaper La Stampa reported on Tuesday that Molko had been cited for calling Meloni a “fascist,” “piece of shit,” and “racist” amidst Placebo’s festival performance, which launched an investigation in regards to the country’s “contempt of the institutions” laws. Variety notes that any critic who “publicly defames the Republic” can incur a fine of 5,000 euros.
Meloni is the highest-ranking member of the far-right political party Brothers of Italy. She was elected as the country’s first female prime minister in October 2022 and ran on a strict anti-immigration and anti-lgbtq+ platform. According to The Daily Beast, the prime minister has already gained a litigious reputation...
- 8/4/2023
- by Bryan Kress
- Consequence - Music
State Italian broadcaster Rai has axed a factual organized crime series by Gomorrah creator Roberto Saviano out of the blue, prompting accusations of political interference.
Rai CEO Roberto Sergio confirmed the cancellation in an interview with daily newspaper Il Messaggero on Wednesday, saying the move was “corporate and not political.”
Saviano, who is a long-standing harsh public critic of right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her government, hit back saying the move was politically motivated.
Italian media have suggested the decision was linked to Saviano’s repeated reference to controversial far-right politician Matteo Salvini as the “Minister of the Mala Vita”, or “Minister of the criminal underworld” in social media posts.
His use of the phrase dates back to Salvini’s term as Ministry of the Interior in 2019 when Saviano challenged his policies on migrant boats entering Italian waters.
Salvini, who is now Minister of Infrastructure and Deputy Prime Minister in Meloni’s government,...
Rai CEO Roberto Sergio confirmed the cancellation in an interview with daily newspaper Il Messaggero on Wednesday, saying the move was “corporate and not political.”
Saviano, who is a long-standing harsh public critic of right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her government, hit back saying the move was politically motivated.
Italian media have suggested the decision was linked to Saviano’s repeated reference to controversial far-right politician Matteo Salvini as the “Minister of the Mala Vita”, or “Minister of the criminal underworld” in social media posts.
His use of the phrase dates back to Salvini’s term as Ministry of the Interior in 2019 when Saviano challenged his policies on migrant boats entering Italian waters.
Salvini, who is now Minister of Infrastructure and Deputy Prime Minister in Meloni’s government,...
- 7/26/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Zhang Series Debut
Zhang Yimou, China’s most enduring filmmaker, is joining the worldwide shift by feature film directors into the streaming arena.
Zhang, who directed “Full River Red,” the most successful film of 2023 in China, is to be involved with his first TV series. He will executive produce “The First Shot,” his representatives confirmed to Variety.
The show is to be directed by Xing Lu and is backed by Tencent Video. It is currently in development, with a tentative air date in 2025. That’s because Zhang has a film directing project with an anticipated Chinese New Year release date, due to begin shooting this summer.
Sakamoto Deal
Award-winning Japanese screenwriter Sakamoto Yuji will partner with Netflix over the next five years to develop a range of titles to premiere only on the streaming platform. “In Love and Deep Water,” set to be released later this year, promises to be...
Zhang Yimou, China’s most enduring filmmaker, is joining the worldwide shift by feature film directors into the streaming arena.
Zhang, who directed “Full River Red,” the most successful film of 2023 in China, is to be involved with his first TV series. He will executive produce “The First Shot,” his representatives confirmed to Variety.
The show is to be directed by Xing Lu and is backed by Tencent Video. It is currently in development, with a tentative air date in 2025. That’s because Zhang has a film directing project with an anticipated Chinese New Year release date, due to begin shooting this summer.
Sakamoto Deal
Award-winning Japanese screenwriter Sakamoto Yuji will partner with Netflix over the next five years to develop a range of titles to premiere only on the streaming platform. “In Love and Deep Water,” set to be released later this year, promises to be...
- 6/29/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Attendees at the 25th edition of the pitching and co-production forum returned to pre-pandemic levels.
The 25th edition of Cartoon Movie wrapped on March 9 in Bordeaux, returning to pre-pandemic levels of attendance - in spite of a French general strike.
The pitching and co-production forum for animated feature films registered 876 attendees, including 282 buyers from 35 different countries. 58 animated features were presented.
The pitching sessions that registered the highest attendance from buyers this year were: Back To Tomioka, lead-produced by France’s Foliascope; Julián, a co-production led by Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon; and Ninn by France’s TeamTo.
Children’s animation Back...
The 25th edition of Cartoon Movie wrapped on March 9 in Bordeaux, returning to pre-pandemic levels of attendance - in spite of a French general strike.
The pitching and co-production forum for animated feature films registered 876 attendees, including 282 buyers from 35 different countries. 58 animated features were presented.
The pitching sessions that registered the highest attendance from buyers this year were: Back To Tomioka, lead-produced by France’s Foliascope; Julián, a co-production led by Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon; and Ninn by France’s TeamTo.
Children’s animation Back...
- 3/14/2023
- by Emilio Mayorga
- ScreenDaily
Capping a milestone Cartoon Movie showcase that saw Europe’s animation sector in rude and robust form, the sprawling team behind continental co-production “No Dogs or Italians Allowed” shared the Producer of the Year prize, “Oink” auteur Mascha Halberstad claimed the Director trophy and Paris-based Kmbo took top honors in Distribution at this year’s 25th edition of Cartoon Movie, which ran over March 7 – 9 in Bordeaux.
An audience and jury favorite at last year’s Annecy Animation Film Festival, and winner of the most recent European Film Award, the stop-motion feature “No Dogs or Italians Allowed” comes courtesy of director Alain Ughetto and a whopping five production countries. France’s Les Films du Tambour de Soie, Vivement Lundi, and Foliascope joined Italy’s Graffiti Film, Switzerland’s Nadasdy Film, Belgium’s Lux Fugit Film, and Portugal’s Ocidental Filmes to bring this claymation immigration saga to life. Most parties were...
An audience and jury favorite at last year’s Annecy Animation Film Festival, and winner of the most recent European Film Award, the stop-motion feature “No Dogs or Italians Allowed” comes courtesy of director Alain Ughetto and a whopping five production countries. France’s Les Films du Tambour de Soie, Vivement Lundi, and Foliascope joined Italy’s Graffiti Film, Switzerland’s Nadasdy Film, Belgium’s Lux Fugit Film, and Portugal’s Ocidental Filmes to bring this claymation immigration saga to life. Most parties were...
- 3/9/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Italian star author Robert Saviano, whose mob exposé “Gomorrah” spawned both Matteo Garrone’s eponymous prizewinning movie and the groundbreaking crime series that plays stateside on HBO, is making his directorial debut.
Saviano will direct “I’m Still Alive,” an animation adaptation of his graphic novel illustrated by Israeli artist Asaf Hanuka (“Waltz With Bashir”). “Still Alive” examines the anti-mob activist’s life under armed guard since being forced to live with police protection shortly after 2006 when Saviano’s account of the inner workings of the Neapolitan Camorra crime syndicate was published.
Just like Saviano’s graphic novel, “I’m Still Alive” will feature illustration’s by Hanuka, an Eisner-winning cartoonist who is known, besides “Bashir,” for his autobiographical strips “The Realist” and for graphic novel “The Divine.”
“I’m Still Alive” is being mounted as an international co-production between Naples-based Mad Entertainment and Lucky Red in Italy, GapBusters for Belgium,...
Saviano will direct “I’m Still Alive,” an animation adaptation of his graphic novel illustrated by Israeli artist Asaf Hanuka (“Waltz With Bashir”). “Still Alive” examines the anti-mob activist’s life under armed guard since being forced to live with police protection shortly after 2006 when Saviano’s account of the inner workings of the Neapolitan Camorra crime syndicate was published.
Just like Saviano’s graphic novel, “I’m Still Alive” will feature illustration’s by Hanuka, an Eisner-winning cartoonist who is known, besides “Bashir,” for his autobiographical strips “The Realist” and for graphic novel “The Divine.”
“I’m Still Alive” is being mounted as an international co-production between Naples-based Mad Entertainment and Lucky Red in Italy, GapBusters for Belgium,...
- 3/6/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Mediaset CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi has given his verdict on an upcoming video appearance by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Italy’s iconic Sanremo song festival, adding fuel to an ongoing political debate around the operation.
Speaking at a press conference for Mediaset results on Thursday, Berlusconi said he did not feel the festival, celebrating Italian song, was the right place for such an address.
The TV exec and entrepreneur is the son of Italian media tycoon and politician Silvio Berlusconi, who has described himself as one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest friends.
Zelensky has made video addresses at a raft of cultural and entertainment events since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, including the Cannes and Venice films festivals, the Golden Globes and U.K.’s Glastonbury music festival.
Plans to carry out a similar operation on the final night of Sanremo on...
Speaking at a press conference for Mediaset results on Thursday, Berlusconi said he did not feel the festival, celebrating Italian song, was the right place for such an address.
The TV exec and entrepreneur is the son of Italian media tycoon and politician Silvio Berlusconi, who has described himself as one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest friends.
Zelensky has made video addresses at a raft of cultural and entertainment events since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, including the Cannes and Venice films festivals, the Golden Globes and U.K.’s Glastonbury music festival.
Plans to carry out a similar operation on the final night of Sanremo on...
- 2/2/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Author and anti-Mafia activist Roberto Saviano, whose Neapolitan mob exposé “Gomorrah” is the basis for the popular HBO Max series of the same title, stood his second trial in three months on Wednesday on charges of defaming a member of Italy’s current right-wing government.
Saviano first appeared in court in November for a defamation lawsuit brought by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for calling her a “bastard” while blasting her stance on migrants. This time, he is facing a libel suit from League leader and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini for also calling him a “bastard” while discussing migrants on a Rai TV talk show in December 2020.
On Rai talk show “Piazzapulita,” Saviano blasted Meloni and Salvini, who were then members of the opposition, for their attempts to block migrant rescue boats. Meloni said on the show that Rome should “repatriate migrants and sink the boats that rescued them.”
Saviano...
Saviano first appeared in court in November for a defamation lawsuit brought by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for calling her a “bastard” while blasting her stance on migrants. This time, he is facing a libel suit from League leader and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini for also calling him a “bastard” while discussing migrants on a Rai TV talk show in December 2020.
On Rai talk show “Piazzapulita,” Saviano blasted Meloni and Salvini, who were then members of the opposition, for their attempts to block migrant rescue boats. Meloni said on the show that Rome should “repatriate migrants and sink the boats that rescued them.”
Saviano...
- 2/1/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
58 feature projects selected for event, which takes place in Bordeaux from March 7-9.
Top international animation directors including Unicorn Wars’ Alberto Vázquez, Copellia trio Jeff Tudor, Steven de Beul and Ben Tesseur, and Bunuel In The Labyrinth Of Turtles’ Salvador Simó will unveil their latest projects at Cartoon Movie2023 from March 7-9.
The selection committee of the pitching and co-production forum, which returns for its 25th edition in Bordeaux, France, has unveiled 58 feature projects selected for the event, which includes 27 French films, nearly half of the selection.
Germany will send seven projects, followed by Spain with five, Italy with four,...
Top international animation directors including Unicorn Wars’ Alberto Vázquez, Copellia trio Jeff Tudor, Steven de Beul and Ben Tesseur, and Bunuel In The Labyrinth Of Turtles’ Salvador Simó will unveil their latest projects at Cartoon Movie2023 from March 7-9.
The selection committee of the pitching and co-production forum, which returns for its 25th edition in Bordeaux, France, has unveiled 58 feature projects selected for the event, which includes 27 French films, nearly half of the selection.
Germany will send seven projects, followed by Spain with five, Italy with four,...
- 12/16/2022
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Author and activist Roberto Saviano, whose Neapolitan mob exposé “Gomorrah” is the basis for the popular HBO Max series of the same title, was unrepentant on Tuesday during the first hearing in a defamation lawsuit being brought against him by Italy’s current right-wing prime minister Giorgia Meloni for calling her “a bastard” while blasting her stance on migrants.
“I think it’s odd that a writer is tried for his words, however harsh they may be, while defenseless individuals continue to suffer atrocious violence and constant lies,” Saviano told reporters as he exited the Rome court, where the libel trial was adjourned until Dec. 12.
Meloni, who at the time was leader of the right-wing Brothers of Italy, then an opposition party, sued Saviano shortly after a December 2020 TV interview on the Rai talk show “Piazzapulita,” in which he blasted her and fellow right-wing leader Matteo Salvini for their attempts to block migrant rescue boats.
“I think it’s odd that a writer is tried for his words, however harsh they may be, while defenseless individuals continue to suffer atrocious violence and constant lies,” Saviano told reporters as he exited the Rome court, where the libel trial was adjourned until Dec. 12.
Meloni, who at the time was leader of the right-wing Brothers of Italy, then an opposition party, sued Saviano shortly after a December 2020 TV interview on the Rai talk show “Piazzapulita,” in which he blasted her and fellow right-wing leader Matteo Salvini for their attempts to block migrant rescue boats.
- 11/15/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Roberto Saviano, the Italian writer and journalist behind the Gomorrah film and series, will go to court this week charged with criminal defamation by Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s new far-right Prime Minister.
The charges relate to an incident that took place before Meloni was elected. Saviano, speaking on Italian current affairs show Piazzapulita in December 2020, called Meloni, leader of the neofascist Brother of Italy party, a “bastard” for her anti-immigrant policies.
The context was the death of a six-month-old baby from Guinea who drowned in the Mediterranean en route to Italy. The child was among six people who perished that night in a year an estimated 1,881 migrants died trying to cross the Mediterranean along various routes, according to figures from the refugee agency Unhcr. In the months leading up to this event, Meloni, then leader of the opposition, attacked rescue ships that were...
Roberto Saviano, the Italian writer and journalist behind the Gomorrah film and series, will go to court this week charged with criminal defamation by Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s new far-right Prime Minister.
The charges relate to an incident that took place before Meloni was elected. Saviano, speaking on Italian current affairs show Piazzapulita in December 2020, called Meloni, leader of the neofascist Brother of Italy party, a “bastard” for her anti-immigrant policies.
The context was the death of a six-month-old baby from Guinea who drowned in the Mediterranean en route to Italy. The child was among six people who perished that night in a year an estimated 1,881 migrants died trying to cross the Mediterranean along various routes, according to figures from the refugee agency Unhcr. In the months leading up to this event, Meloni, then leader of the opposition, attacked rescue ships that were...
- 11/14/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Italian writer, journalist and political commentator Roberto Saviano is due to head to court in Rome on Tuesday (November 15) for the first hearing in a defamation trial brought against him by Italy’s newly installed, right-wing prime minister Giorgia Meloni.
The case is related to an incident that took place prior to Meloni taking the reins of power in Italy in October.
Meloni is suing Saviano over comments he made on the current affairs show Piazza Pulita in December 2020, during a discussion about the phenomenon of asylum seekers arriving on Italian shores via small boats or charity ships that rescue them from the sea, in which he referred to her as a “bastard” for her hard-line, anti-immigrant stance.
The judge charged with a preliminary investigation into the case ruled that the “epithet bastard” had gone “beyond the rights of political criticism” and gave the green light for the trial.
The...
The case is related to an incident that took place prior to Meloni taking the reins of power in Italy in October.
Meloni is suing Saviano over comments he made on the current affairs show Piazza Pulita in December 2020, during a discussion about the phenomenon of asylum seekers arriving on Italian shores via small boats or charity ships that rescue them from the sea, in which he referred to her as a “bastard” for her hard-line, anti-immigrant stance.
The judge charged with a preliminary investigation into the case ruled that the “epithet bastard” had gone “beyond the rights of political criticism” and gave the green light for the trial.
The...
- 11/14/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Toronto-based sales agent Syndicado Film Sales has acquired world rights to “Hide and Seek” (Nascondino), the debut feature from director Victoria Fiore, which will screen in the main Dox:award competition at the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival (Cph:Dox).
The Naples-set documentary follows Entoni, a rambunctious 10-year-old, as he navigates childhood in a country where the justice system – in response to rising levels of youth criminality – allows courts to remove high-risk children from families involved in organized crime. Watching over him is his grandmother Dora, a former criminal who fears he is falling into the pattern she started and which Entoni’s imprisoned father has continued.
Produced over the course of four years, “Hide and Seek” tackles the brutality and chaos of these lives through a cinematic lens that blurs the line between truth and fiction, seamlessly blending true events, recollections and recreations.
Fiore described the film as a response...
The Naples-set documentary follows Entoni, a rambunctious 10-year-old, as he navigates childhood in a country where the justice system – in response to rising levels of youth criminality – allows courts to remove high-risk children from families involved in organized crime. Watching over him is his grandmother Dora, a former criminal who fears he is falling into the pattern she started and which Entoni’s imprisoned father has continued.
Produced over the course of four years, “Hide and Seek” tackles the brutality and chaos of these lives through a cinematic lens that blurs the line between truth and fiction, seamlessly blending true events, recollections and recreations.
Fiore described the film as a response...
- 3/22/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
When HBO Max drops the fifth and final season of Neapolitan gangster saga “Gomorrah” on Jan. 27, it will also mark the end of a convoluted seven-year journey for Italy’s most widely exported TV show.
“In Italian TV, there is a before and after ‘Gomorrah,’” says Nils Hartmann, senior VP of Germany and Italy for Sky Studios, the production arm of the pay TV operator that originated the gritty, hyperrealistic crime skein.
Besides attaining megahit status in Italy, the show has traveled to 190 countries, including the U.S., where it ran into snags due to the misdeeds of Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Co.’s 2018 bankruptcy.
“It was a big mess,” says Oliver Bachert, sales chief at Germany’s Beta, which was selling the show.
He notes that on top of thorny rights issues, the moral quandaries and the stigma of the bankruptcy effectively blocked “Gomorrah” on its U.S.
“In Italian TV, there is a before and after ‘Gomorrah,’” says Nils Hartmann, senior VP of Germany and Italy for Sky Studios, the production arm of the pay TV operator that originated the gritty, hyperrealistic crime skein.
Besides attaining megahit status in Italy, the show has traveled to 190 countries, including the U.S., where it ran into snags due to the misdeeds of Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Co.’s 2018 bankruptcy.
“It was a big mess,” says Oliver Bachert, sales chief at Germany’s Beta, which was selling the show.
He notes that on top of thorny rights issues, the moral quandaries and the stigma of the bankruptcy effectively blocked “Gomorrah” on its U.S.
- 1/27/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italian playwright Stefano Massini’s sweeping saga of family and finance “The Lehman Trilogy,” which is a hot ticket on Broadway in a Sam Mendes-directed adaptation, is being developed as a TV series for the international market by Italy’s Fandango, the prominent shingle behind Elena Ferrante skein “The Lying Life of Adults” for Netflix.
Fandango chief Domenico Procacci said he has acquired an option for TV rights to Massini’s “Lehman Trilogy,” which follows the three Lehman brothers, from their arrival from Germany in New York in 1844 to the 2008 bankruptcy of the global financial services company they founded.
Procacci, who is known to have a sharp eye for Italian IP that can travel –– having previously optioned Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels besides “Adults,” and Roberto Saviano’s “Gomorrah” mob saga –– said he is now developing the TV version of “Lehman Brothers” with Massini on board to oversee the series adaptation.
Fandango chief Domenico Procacci said he has acquired an option for TV rights to Massini’s “Lehman Trilogy,” which follows the three Lehman brothers, from their arrival from Germany in New York in 1844 to the 2008 bankruptcy of the global financial services company they founded.
Procacci, who is known to have a sharp eye for Italian IP that can travel –– having previously optioned Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels besides “Adults,” and Roberto Saviano’s “Gomorrah” mob saga –– said he is now developing the TV version of “Lehman Brothers” with Massini on board to oversee the series adaptation.
- 11/29/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The fifth and final season of Neapolitan mob series “Gomorrah” was unveiled Monday during an emotionally charged Rome event saluting the end of the gritty, groundbreaking show.
As Nils Hartmann, senior director of Sky Italia original productions, put it during the press conference, in Italian TV “there is a before and after ‘Gomorrah.’”
The hyper-realistic crime skein is Italy’s greatest TV export, having sold to 190 territories since its 2014 launch, despite being subtitled even for Italian audiences, most of whom don’t understand the Neapolitan dialect in which “Gomorrah” is voiced. The show — best known for mixing neorealism with genre conventions and Shakespearean tropes — is produced by ITV Studios-owned Cattleya in collaboration with Germany’s Beta Film.
Plotwise, the final season takes its two lead characters — Ciro Di Marzio, played by actor-turned-director Marco D’Amore, and Gennaro “Genny” Savastano, played by Salvatore Esposito (both pictured) — and their tormented paths to extreme consequences.
As Nils Hartmann, senior director of Sky Italia original productions, put it during the press conference, in Italian TV “there is a before and after ‘Gomorrah.’”
The hyper-realistic crime skein is Italy’s greatest TV export, having sold to 190 territories since its 2014 launch, despite being subtitled even for Italian audiences, most of whom don’t understand the Neapolitan dialect in which “Gomorrah” is voiced. The show — best known for mixing neorealism with genre conventions and Shakespearean tropes — is produced by ITV Studios-owned Cattleya in collaboration with Germany’s Beta Film.
Plotwise, the final season takes its two lead characters — Ciro Di Marzio, played by actor-turned-director Marco D’Amore, and Gennaro “Genny” Savastano, played by Salvatore Esposito (both pictured) — and their tormented paths to extreme consequences.
- 11/15/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Since 2006, the acclaimed writer has lived in fear for his life, following publication of his exposé on the criminal gangs. The Observer takes a trip back to Naples with him and his minders
On a Friday in autumn 2006, local newspapers and prosecutors in Italy’s south-western region of Campania received the same anonymous letter. Computer-typed and delivered by hand in the early morning, it detailed the Neapolitan Mafia’s plan to execute a 26-year-old Italian writer. His name was Roberto Saviano and his book, Gomorrah, a devastating denunciation of the Camorra’s criminal activity, was on its way to becoming a bestseller.
The unpublished letter, seen by the Observer, refers to a meeting held in a betting office in Casal di Principe, Saviano’s hometown, in which local bosses, known as some of the most violent in the Camorra, decreed that Saviano must die, saying that his murder would take...
On a Friday in autumn 2006, local newspapers and prosecutors in Italy’s south-western region of Campania received the same anonymous letter. Computer-typed and delivered by hand in the early morning, it detailed the Neapolitan Mafia’s plan to execute a 26-year-old Italian writer. His name was Roberto Saviano and his book, Gomorrah, a devastating denunciation of the Camorra’s criminal activity, was on its way to becoming a bestseller.
The unpublished letter, seen by the Observer, refers to a meeting held in a betting office in Casal di Principe, Saviano’s hometown, in which local bosses, known as some of the most violent in the Camorra, decreed that Saviano must die, saying that his murder would take...
- 10/16/2021
- by Lorenzo Tondo
- The Guardian - Film News
Sky has unveiled the official trailer for the fifth and final season of “Gomorrah,” Italy’s cult crime series produced by Sky Studios and ITV-owned Cattleya in collaboration with Germany’s Beta Film, which is the show’s international distributor.
“Gomorrah” 5 is set to air locally on Nov. 19 after world premiering as the closing event of the CannesSeries fest on Oct. 13. The show is based on an idea by Italian writer Roberto Saviano who wrote a best-selling mob exposé by the same title.
The final instalment of the hyper-realistic skein, which is Italy’s biggest TV export, will bow on Sky in Germany in December, and in the U.K. later this year. “Gomorrah” will soon also be coming to HBO Max in the U.S., home to the previous four “Gomorrah” seasons as well as the show’s spin-off film “The Immortal,” which is an integral part of the narrative.
“Gomorrah” 5 is set to air locally on Nov. 19 after world premiering as the closing event of the CannesSeries fest on Oct. 13. The show is based on an idea by Italian writer Roberto Saviano who wrote a best-selling mob exposé by the same title.
The final instalment of the hyper-realistic skein, which is Italy’s biggest TV export, will bow on Sky in Germany in December, and in the U.K. later this year. “Gomorrah” will soon also be coming to HBO Max in the U.S., home to the previous four “Gomorrah” seasons as well as the show’s spin-off film “The Immortal,” which is an integral part of the narrative.
- 9/24/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
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Spending more time inside this summer? Amazon Prime has your streaming needs covered. Aside from exclusive content, you can typically track down those hard-to-find TV shows and movies on Amazon Prime. If you’re not already signed up, you can join Prime for just $12.99 a month after a free 30-day trial, and instantly access load of programs through Prime Video.
An Amazon Prime membership includes free two-day shipping on select items, which is great if you’re a frequent shopper or need something in a hurry. For those solely interested in Prime Video and no extra perks, you can sign up for $8.99 a month. Amazon also offers student discounts, price deductions for Ebt cardholders,...
Spending more time inside this summer? Amazon Prime has your streaming needs covered. Aside from exclusive content, you can typically track down those hard-to-find TV shows and movies on Amazon Prime. If you’re not already signed up, you can join Prime for just $12.99 a month after a free 30-day trial, and instantly access load of programs through Prime Video.
An Amazon Prime membership includes free two-day shipping on select items, which is great if you’re a frequent shopper or need something in a hurry. For those solely interested in Prime Video and no extra perks, you can sign up for $8.99 a month. Amazon also offers student discounts, price deductions for Ebt cardholders,...
- 8/2/2021
- by Latifah Muhammad
- Indiewire
Palomar, the leading Italian production outfit that’s part of Mediawan Group, has optioned the adaptation rights to “Fresh Water for Flowers,” the best-selling novel by French author Valérie Perrin. Palomar will be making an internationally-driven TV series based on the book.
Founded by Carlo Degli Esposti in the 1980’s, the Rome-based Palomar is one of Italy’s oldest production banners and has delivered some of country’s top films and series over the years, including Edoardo Ponti’s Oscar-nominated “The Life Ahead,” “Piranhas” which won the Silver Bear at Berlin in 2019, as well as the series “Inspector Montalbano” and “The Name of the Rose” with John Turturro and Rupert Everett.
“Fresh Water For Flowers,” a global literary success translated into 28 languages with over 1.5 million copies sold in France and Italy, won several awards, including the Maison de la Presse prize.
The book revolves around Violette Toussaint, the beautiful, cheerful...
Founded by Carlo Degli Esposti in the 1980’s, the Rome-based Palomar is one of Italy’s oldest production banners and has delivered some of country’s top films and series over the years, including Edoardo Ponti’s Oscar-nominated “The Life Ahead,” “Piranhas” which won the Silver Bear at Berlin in 2019, as well as the series “Inspector Montalbano” and “The Name of the Rose” with John Turturro and Rupert Everett.
“Fresh Water For Flowers,” a global literary success translated into 28 languages with over 1.5 million copies sold in France and Italy, won several awards, including the Maison de la Presse prize.
The book revolves around Violette Toussaint, the beautiful, cheerful...
- 6/29/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Some gangster movies/shows never tend to leave your mind. After all, they leave behind a lasting impressing by weaving an intricate and violent tale of power and vengeance through iconic dialogues or a particular shot from that film/show. At times, these movies/shows portray real-life mafia stories in a romantic, yet realistic, manner. If you’re in the mood for the same, here are 5 gangster dramas that are so good to be true and will surely keep your adrenaline pumping.
Dom (Amazon Prime Video)
Dom is a Brazilian crime-mafia series which is inspired by a true story. Directed by Vincente Kubrusly and Breno Silveira and starring Gabriel Leone, Flavio Tolezani, Filipe Braganca, this series is about a police officer who is has been fighting the war against drugs his entire life only to finds his own son become the most drug lord in Rio de Janeiro. Dom, that...
Dom (Amazon Prime Video)
Dom is a Brazilian crime-mafia series which is inspired by a true story. Directed by Vincente Kubrusly and Breno Silveira and starring Gabriel Leone, Flavio Tolezani, Filipe Braganca, this series is about a police officer who is has been fighting the war against drugs his entire life only to finds his own son become the most drug lord in Rio de Janeiro. Dom, that...
- 6/4/2021
- by Glamsham Editorial
- GlamSham
The best way to learn and pick up a language is by watching a film or web series with subtitles. And with you having ample time at home to binge-watch content at its very best, why not tap the play button and experience some of the best shows made in foreign languages. If you’re wondering which are the best ones to stream, here are five of the very best.
Open your mind to world cinema with these must-watch foreign shows.
Dom (Amazon Prime Video)
Dom is a Brazilian crime-mafia series which is inspired by a true story. Directed by Vincente Kubrusly and Breno Silveira and starring Gabriel Leone, Flavio Tolezani, Filipe Braganca, this series is about a police officer who is has been fighting the war against drugs his entire life only to finds his own son become the most drug lord in Rio de Janeiro. So, if you...
Open your mind to world cinema with these must-watch foreign shows.
Dom (Amazon Prime Video)
Dom is a Brazilian crime-mafia series which is inspired by a true story. Directed by Vincente Kubrusly and Breno Silveira and starring Gabriel Leone, Flavio Tolezani, Filipe Braganca, this series is about a police officer who is has been fighting the war against drugs his entire life only to finds his own son become the most drug lord in Rio de Janeiro. So, if you...
- 6/1/2021
- by Glamsham Editorial
- GlamSham
HBO Max released a trailer for Season 4 of “Gomorrah,” which launches on May 20.
The new season focuses on Genny, who, in order to protect his family, commits to legit business and tries to escape the world in which his father raised him.
“Gomorrah” stars Salvatore Esposito, Ivana Lotito, Cristiana Dell’Anna, Arturo Muselli and Loris De Luna.
Based on the book by Roberto Saviano, “Gomorrah” is executive produced by Riccardo Tozzi, Gina Gardini, Giovanni Stabilini, Marco Chimenz, Nils Hartman and Sonia Rovai. The series is developed by Saviano and Stefano Bises, alongside Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli, who also serve as writers with Enrico Audenino and Monica Zapelli. The fourth season is directed by Claudio Cupellini, Marco D’Amore, Enrico Rosati, Ciro Visco and Francesca Comencini, who is also the artistic supervisor.
Also in today’s TV news roundup:
First Looks
PBS released a trailer for “Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten,...
The new season focuses on Genny, who, in order to protect his family, commits to legit business and tries to escape the world in which his father raised him.
“Gomorrah” stars Salvatore Esposito, Ivana Lotito, Cristiana Dell’Anna, Arturo Muselli and Loris De Luna.
Based on the book by Roberto Saviano, “Gomorrah” is executive produced by Riccardo Tozzi, Gina Gardini, Giovanni Stabilini, Marco Chimenz, Nils Hartman and Sonia Rovai. The series is developed by Saviano and Stefano Bises, alongside Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli, who also serve as writers with Enrico Audenino and Monica Zapelli. The fourth season is directed by Claudio Cupellini, Marco D’Amore, Enrico Rosati, Ciro Visco and Francesca Comencini, who is also the artistic supervisor.
Also in today’s TV news roundup:
First Looks
PBS released a trailer for “Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten,...
- 5/4/2021
- by Antonio Ferme and Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Cristiana Dell’Anna, star of the HBO Max crime series Gomorrah, has landed the lead role of U.S. Catholic nun Frances Xavier Cabrini in Alejandro Monteverde’s true story feature retelling Cabrini. Production starts June 28 in Buffalo, NY and NYC.
Mother Cabrini was an Italian-American Roman Catholic nun who founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a Catholic religious institute that was a major support to her fellow Italian immigrants to the United States. Cabrini, who lived from 1850 to 1917, was the first U.S. citizen to be canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church, on July 7, 1946 by Pope Pius Xii. Her beautification miracle involved restoring the sight of a day-old baby, Peter Smith, who had been blinded by a 50% silver nitrate solution instead of the normal 1% solution in the child’s eyes. Her canonization miracle involved the healing of a terminally ill member of her congregation.
Mother Cabrini was an Italian-American Roman Catholic nun who founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a Catholic religious institute that was a major support to her fellow Italian immigrants to the United States. Cabrini, who lived from 1850 to 1917, was the first U.S. citizen to be canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church, on July 7, 1946 by Pope Pius Xii. Her beautification miracle involved restoring the sight of a day-old baby, Peter Smith, who had been blinded by a 50% silver nitrate solution instead of the normal 1% solution in the child’s eyes. Her canonization miracle involved the healing of a terminally ill member of her congregation.
- 4/7/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Sky is revealing first-look images and footage of the fifth and final season of “Gomorrah,” the groundbreaking Sky Original series produced by ITV-owned Cattleya in collaboration with Germany’s Beta Film, based on an idea by Italian writer Roberto Saviano.
The series, which is Italy’s biggest TV export, is currently playing on HBO Max in the U.S. “Gomorrah” to date has played in 190 territories since its 2014 launch.
After kicking off in Riga, the capital of Latvia, filming of “Gomorrah” season five is now underway in Naples with plans to wrap principal photography in May. The premiere playdate of the show’s final season, which will launch on Comcast-owned paybox Sky and its Now TV streaming service, has not yet been set.
The teaser materials show the protagonists of the gritty hyper-realistic crime skein back on set. Salvatore Esposito playing Genny Savastano who was forced into hiding...
The series, which is Italy’s biggest TV export, is currently playing on HBO Max in the U.S. “Gomorrah” to date has played in 190 territories since its 2014 launch.
After kicking off in Riga, the capital of Latvia, filming of “Gomorrah” season five is now underway in Naples with plans to wrap principal photography in May. The premiere playdate of the show’s final season, which will launch on Comcast-owned paybox Sky and its Now TV streaming service, has not yet been set.
The teaser materials show the protagonists of the gritty hyper-realistic crime skein back on set. Salvatore Esposito playing Genny Savastano who was forced into hiding...
- 2/26/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
From launch, critics dogged HBO Max about its higher pricing, the lack of access via Roku — and most of all, the apparent dearth of must-see shows that would make the streamer essential instead of one more platform among so many. Last summer, the complaints were still fresh when HBO Max announced a slate of international acquisitions: There, next to “The Great Pottery Throw Down,” was “Gomorrah.” All four seasons, companion movie “The Immortal,” and a fifth season to come. An Italian mafia drama didn’t get much attention; it wasn’t the stuff of corporate strategy.
But “Gomorrah” is much more than a quirky streamer pickup. For its Italian producer, Cattleya, “Gomorrah” sparked a trend in gritty, real-world storytelling that reshaped Italian TV. Beta Film — a company founded to exploit Federico Fellini’s “La Strada” — licensed “Gomorrah” in nearly 200 countries, and it became one of the most successful properties in its history.
But “Gomorrah” is much more than a quirky streamer pickup. For its Italian producer, Cattleya, “Gomorrah” sparked a trend in gritty, real-world storytelling that reshaped Italian TV. Beta Film — a company founded to exploit Federico Fellini’s “La Strada” — licensed “Gomorrah” in nearly 200 countries, and it became one of the most successful properties in its history.
- 1/21/2021
- by Dana Harris-Bridson
- Indiewire
With the reviews accompanying being truly rave and a TV series already in pre-production stage, “Tokyo Vice” seemed like the book every fan of true crime dreams of reading. At the end, however, it was so much more.
The book begins as an autobiography of Jake Adelstein’s time in Japan, starting just after his graduation from Sophia University in Tokyo, in 1992, and actually retains that tone until the end of the book. In that fashion, the story traces his path from his decision to become a reporter for the Yomiuri, to the unlikely success that had to do with both effort and luck, his training at the Tmpd (Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department) press club, to his first station in Urawa and the ones that followed, a number of high and low profile cases, and the eventual “clash” with the Yakuza.
However, through these stories, what is...
The book begins as an autobiography of Jake Adelstein’s time in Japan, starting just after his graduation from Sophia University in Tokyo, in 1992, and actually retains that tone until the end of the book. In that fashion, the story traces his path from his decision to become a reporter for the Yomiuri, to the unlikely success that had to do with both effort and luck, his training at the Tmpd (Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department) press club, to his first station in Urawa and the ones that followed, a number of high and low profile cases, and the eventual “clash” with the Yakuza.
However, through these stories, what is...
- 9/8/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Feltrinelli Editore, which is behind Roberto Saviano’s bestselling novel “ZeroZeroZero,” which was adapted into a TV series for Sky Atlantic, Canal Plus and Amazon Prime, is one of 18 prestigious publishers from across Europe attending Venice Film Festival’s Book Adaptation Rights Market (Barm).
The first two episodes of the “ZeroZeroZero” series, which offers a gritty account of the global cocaine trade and stars Andrea Riseborough, Dane DeHaan and Gabriel Byrne, had their world premiere at last year’s Venice edition before rolling out on networks worldwide.
While other components of Venice Production Bridge, the festival’s film market, like Final Cut and the Gap-Financing Market, have been moved entirely online in response to the challenges brought on by the pandemic, organizers decided that the book to film event, which is in its fifth year, would go ahead physically.
“It’s important to show we can organize things in person and on site,...
The first two episodes of the “ZeroZeroZero” series, which offers a gritty account of the global cocaine trade and stars Andrea Riseborough, Dane DeHaan and Gabriel Byrne, had their world premiere at last year’s Venice edition before rolling out on networks worldwide.
While other components of Venice Production Bridge, the festival’s film market, like Final Cut and the Gap-Financing Market, have been moved entirely online in response to the challenges brought on by the pandemic, organizers decided that the book to film event, which is in its fifth year, would go ahead physically.
“It’s important to show we can organize things in person and on site,...
- 9/6/2020
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
HBO Mas has five more international series to its roster, including “The Great Pottery Throw Down” from the producers of “The Great British Bake Off.”
HBO Max will get the first three seasons and the upcoming fourth season of the competition series, which air on the BBC and Channel 4 in the U.K.
Additionally, HBO Max will be home to all seasons of the Italian crime series “Gomorrah,” based on Roberto Saviano’s bestselling book that examines the account of the decline of Naples under the rule of the Camorra, including its prequel film, “The Immortal”; “Veneno,” a Spanish language co-production between Atresmedia Studios, Suma Latina and HBO Max about Cristina Ortiz, Spain’s most famous trans TV personality; and Season One of unscripted relationship series “Singletown,” which sees five couples press pause on their partnerships and embark on an extraordinary adventure back to the single life.
Also Read:...
HBO Max will get the first three seasons and the upcoming fourth season of the competition series, which air on the BBC and Channel 4 in the U.K.
Additionally, HBO Max will be home to all seasons of the Italian crime series “Gomorrah,” based on Roberto Saviano’s bestselling book that examines the account of the decline of Naples under the rule of the Camorra, including its prequel film, “The Immortal”; “Veneno,” a Spanish language co-production between Atresmedia Studios, Suma Latina and HBO Max about Cristina Ortiz, Spain’s most famous trans TV personality; and Season One of unscripted relationship series “Singletown,” which sees five couples press pause on their partnerships and embark on an extraordinary adventure back to the single life.
Also Read:...
- 7/22/2020
- by Tim Baysinger
- The Wrap
Italian crime drama Gomorrah has a new streaming home in the United States.
WarnerMedia's HBO Max has acquired the show based on Roberto Saviano's best-selling crime novels, which previously ran on Netflix. The drama leads a slate of international originals headed to the streamer, including Spanish limited series Veneno and unscripted show The Great Pottery Throw Down, from the producers of The Great British Baking Show.
"We are building strong collaborations as we source distinctive fare from top international partners for our U.S. viewers, also with an eye to the near future when we will look to these partners to ...
WarnerMedia's HBO Max has acquired the show based on Roberto Saviano's best-selling crime novels, which previously ran on Netflix. The drama leads a slate of international originals headed to the streamer, including Spanish limited series Veneno and unscripted show The Great Pottery Throw Down, from the producers of The Great British Baking Show.
"We are building strong collaborations as we source distinctive fare from top international partners for our U.S. viewers, also with an eye to the near future when we will look to these partners to ...
- 7/22/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Piranhas is set amongst the teenage street gangs of Naples. The young men and boys who make up these piranha gangs career around on mopeds committing acts of violence and petty crimes whilst indulging in low level drug dealing. The film charts a young gang leader's rise towards power as he cosies up to members of the Camorra. This is no epic like Scarface - it's about a kid who's a bit smarter than the others climbing the first rung of the ladder and becoming involved in organised crime.
The script for Piranhas was adapted by Claudio Giovannesi, Roberto Saviano and Maurizio Braucci from Saviano's novel La Paranza Dei Bambini. It should be the starting point for a strong film. Opening with the surprising theft of a huge Christmas tree from a shopping mall and the predictable bonfire is a good enough hook for the audience. With the right direction it.
The script for Piranhas was adapted by Claudio Giovannesi, Roberto Saviano and Maurizio Braucci from Saviano's novel La Paranza Dei Bambini. It should be the starting point for a strong film. Opening with the surprising theft of a huge Christmas tree from a shopping mall and the predictable bonfire is a good enough hook for the audience. With the right direction it.
- 7/21/2020
- by Donald Munro
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The title of Amazon’s crime drama series “ZeroZeroZero” is never mentioned in the show itself, nor is it explained in the book by Roberto Saviano on which it is based. But the meaning behind the phrase has a lot to do with the powdery white drug that the series focuses on.
“In Italy, there are various levels of purity in flour,” showrunner Gina Gardini explained in a panel discussion with actors Andrea Riseborough and Harold Torres for TheWrap’s Virtual Screening Series moderated by “Raging Bull” and “Taxi Driver” screenwriter Paul Schrader and presented by Amazon.
“There’s type zero, and type zero zero is the most pure,” she continued. “So Roberto [Saviano] had a play on that, creating something even more pure than double zero flour, and it’s zero zero zero.”
Also Read: Inside the LatinX TV Explosion, From 'Narcos: Mexico' to 'One Day at a Time...
“In Italy, there are various levels of purity in flour,” showrunner Gina Gardini explained in a panel discussion with actors Andrea Riseborough and Harold Torres for TheWrap’s Virtual Screening Series moderated by “Raging Bull” and “Taxi Driver” screenwriter Paul Schrader and presented by Amazon.
“There’s type zero, and type zero zero is the most pure,” she continued. “So Roberto [Saviano] had a play on that, creating something even more pure than double zero flour, and it’s zero zero zero.”
Also Read: Inside the LatinX TV Explosion, From 'Narcos: Mexico' to 'One Day at a Time...
- 7/8/2020
- by Margeaux Sippell
- The Wrap
The encrypted channel, a pillar of funding for French film, can now be accessed via all boxes, regardless of the provider. Just as France is entering into a state of lock-down in an attempt to combat the spread of Coronavirus, the encrypted channel Canal+ decided, yesterday, to unscramble all of its programmes; that is, to make them available, free of charge, to all those in possession of boxes in France. Monday evening, for example, the channel broadcast episodes 3 and 4 of the Italian series ZeroZeroZero (8 x 52 mn), based upon the book ZeroZeroZero: Look at cocaine and all you see is powder. Look through cocaine and you see the world by Roberto Saviano (the author of Gomorrah, the film adaptation of which scooped Cannes’ Grand Prix in 2008, among others, and whose later book formed the basis of last year’s Best Screenplay Silver...
"ZeroZeroZero" is the new 'drug crime' TV series based on the global cocaine trade bestseller by Roberto Saviano, starring Gabriel Byrne, Andrea Riseborough, Dane DeHaan, Giuseppe De Domenico and Harold Torres, streaming on Amazon's Prime Video March 6, 2020:
"...the series follows the journey of a cocaine shipment, from the moment a powerful cartel of Italian criminals decides to buy it in South America until the cargo is delivered and paid for en route to Europe..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "ZeroZeroZero"...
"...the series follows the journey of a cocaine shipment, from the moment a powerful cartel of Italian criminals decides to buy it in South America until the cargo is delivered and paid for en route to Europe..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "ZeroZeroZero"...
- 2/12/2020
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
The 2010s was the decade that foreign-language television broke through the global ceiling and got Hollywood to notice the quality of content coming from all corners of the world. While Danish drama The Killing (Forbrydelsen) and French thrillers Braquo and Spiral began inching the door open in the “aughties,” hyper local titles and the booming streaming market means that Netflix subscribers are just as likely to binge Spanish drama La Casa De Papel (Money Heist) or German supernatural thriller Dark as they are the new season of The Crown.
Netflix’s VP International Originals Kelly Luegenbiehl recently told a London conference that “Hollywood is not the be-all and end-all of storytelling,” and “this is really just the beginning.” Georgia Brown, European content chief at Amazon, agreed that “language is kind of irrelevant now.”
It’s not just the SVODs that are helping this boom; linear broadcasters around the world have...
Netflix’s VP International Originals Kelly Luegenbiehl recently told a London conference that “Hollywood is not the be-all and end-all of storytelling,” and “this is really just the beginning.” Georgia Brown, European content chief at Amazon, agreed that “language is kind of irrelevant now.”
It’s not just the SVODs that are helping this boom; linear broadcasters around the world have...
- 12/31/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Venice 2019: The Sky Studios original series created by Stefano Sollima and based upon the homonymous book by Roberto Saviano will debut on Sky and Amazon Prime Video in 2020. Gabriel Byrne lies injured on the ground beneath a shower of glass and bullets. It’s an impressive beginning for the first episode of the Sky Studios original series ZeroZeroZero, directed by Stefano Sollima. Based upon Roberto Saviano’s book of the same name, the work was screened out of competition in a world premiere and as a Special Event at the Venice International Film Festival. An international cast, three continents – America, Europe and Africa – six languages and almost a whole year of filming were required for the making of the 8-episode series, which tell the tale of the collaboration and war between the Calabrian Ndrangheta, Mexican cartels and corrupt North American businessmen for the control of trafficking routes “for...
Look through cocaine and you’ll see the world… according to the first trailer for drug drama ZeroZeroZero from the team behind Gomorrah.
Sky, Canal+ and Amazon Prime have unveiled the trailer for the eight-part series, which will have its world premiere as a Special Event Out of Competition at the 76th Venice Film Festival on September 5.
The series, produced by Cattleya and Bartlebyfilm, is based on the book by Gomorrah scribe Roberto Saviano. Andrea Riseborough, Dane DeHaan and Gabryel Byrne star in the series, directed by Stefano Sollima, that looks at international cocaine trafficking and its economic and political effects.
The drama will chart family dynamics, Mexican cartels, the ‘Ndrangheta (the Calabrian mafia) and corrupt businessmen. The stellar line up of directors also includes Pablo Trapero (The Clan) and Janus Metz (True Detective). After concluding the first weeks of shooting in New Orleans, principal photography moves on to Mexico...
Sky, Canal+ and Amazon Prime have unveiled the trailer for the eight-part series, which will have its world premiere as a Special Event Out of Competition at the 76th Venice Film Festival on September 5.
The series, produced by Cattleya and Bartlebyfilm, is based on the book by Gomorrah scribe Roberto Saviano. Andrea Riseborough, Dane DeHaan and Gabryel Byrne star in the series, directed by Stefano Sollima, that looks at international cocaine trafficking and its economic and political effects.
The drama will chart family dynamics, Mexican cartels, the ‘Ndrangheta (the Calabrian mafia) and corrupt businessmen. The stellar line up of directors also includes Pablo Trapero (The Clan) and Janus Metz (True Detective). After concluding the first weeks of shooting in New Orleans, principal photography moves on to Mexico...
- 8/30/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Stefano Sollima, the Italian director known in Hollywood for “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” and TV show “Gomorrah,” is the main creative force behind cocaine-trafficking series “ZeroZeroZero,” which will world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 5. Festival chief Alberto Barbera has praised it as blowing “Narcos” out of the water.
Sollima directed the opening two installments of the ambitious eight-episode show, which was shot on three continents and in six languages and stars Andrea Riseborough, Dane DeHaan and Gabriel Byrne. The series, created by Leonardo Fasoli, Mauricio Katz and Sollima, is produced by ITV-owned Cattleya for Sky Studios, Canal Plus and Amazon.
Sollima spoke to Variety about the challenge of telling a familiar story “from an angle that is totally original.”
How did “ZeroZeroZero” originate?
It all started with Roberto Saviano’s book [the same author of “Gomorrah”], which is completely different from the series that we ended up writing. The...
Sollima directed the opening two installments of the ambitious eight-episode show, which was shot on three continents and in six languages and stars Andrea Riseborough, Dane DeHaan and Gabriel Byrne. The series, created by Leonardo Fasoli, Mauricio Katz and Sollima, is produced by ITV-owned Cattleya for Sky Studios, Canal Plus and Amazon.
Sollima spoke to Variety about the challenge of telling a familiar story “from an angle that is totally original.”
How did “ZeroZeroZero” originate?
It all started with Roberto Saviano’s book [the same author of “Gomorrah”], which is completely different from the series that we ended up writing. The...
- 8/23/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
In the Orizzonti section, 19 titles will compete for the awards given out by the jury chaired by Susanna Nicchiarelli. It is a very wide Out of Competition selection, between fiction, non-fiction and special screenings, that was announced today in Rome by Alberto Barbera, director of the Venice International Film Festival, at the programme of the 76th edition of the festival which will take place on the Lido from 28 August-7 September (read about the Competition titles here). Twenty-four titles in total, among them two highly anticipated TV series, make up the non-competitive selection of this year’s Mostra. Titles which stand out among the feature-length fiction films, beside the already announced closing film The Burnt Orange Heresy by Giuseppe Capotondi, include Adults in...
Exclusive: The Venice Film Festival will reveal its lineup later this week and two anticipated TV series are expected to make their debut on the Lido: cocaine-trafficking crime-drama ZeroZeroZero and Paolo Sorrentino’s Jude Law-starrer The New Pope.
We hear the festival is set to screen the first two episodes of anticipated Euro-u.S. co-pro ZeroZeroZero starring Andrea Riseborough, Dane DeHaan and Gabryel Byrne.
There was some uncertainty over whether the show would bow this early given that it is unlikely to air until early next year (production was held up after an injury to Riseborough), but U.S. rights holder Amazon has given the green light for a Venice debut.
The Italian-origin show is likely to be among the festival’s biggest draws. The Cattleya epic for Sky, Canal+ and Amazon is adapted from Gomorrah scribe Roberto Saviano‘s book about international cocaine trafficking and its economic and political effects.
We hear the festival is set to screen the first two episodes of anticipated Euro-u.S. co-pro ZeroZeroZero starring Andrea Riseborough, Dane DeHaan and Gabryel Byrne.
There was some uncertainty over whether the show would bow this early given that it is unlikely to air until early next year (production was held up after an injury to Riseborough), but U.S. rights holder Amazon has given the green light for a Venice debut.
The Italian-origin show is likely to be among the festival’s biggest draws. The Cattleya epic for Sky, Canal+ and Amazon is adapted from Gomorrah scribe Roberto Saviano‘s book about international cocaine trafficking and its economic and political effects.
- 7/23/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
"There are only three guys running the hood. We could take over." Music Box Films has unveiled an official Us trailer for an Italian mob drama titled Piranhas, originally titled La paranza dei bambini in Italian. This first premiered at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, where it won a Silver Bear award for Best Screenplay; it also played at the Seattle, Shanghai, Sydney, & Chicago Critics Film Festivals this year. As the older mobsters in Naples get locked away, the gangsters become younger and younger. Piranhas is about a gang of teenage boys who stalk the streets of Naples armed with hand guns and Ak-47s to do their mob bosses' bidding. Adapted from Gomorrah writer Roberto Saviano's novel "The Piranhas: The Boy Bosses of Naples". Starring Francesco Di Napoli, Viviana Aprea, Mattia Piano Del Balzo, Ciro Vecchione, Ciro Pellecchia, and Ar Tem. This is being called both...
- 7/11/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Claudio Giovannesi with Anne-Katrin Titze on Francesco Di Napoli's Nicola in Piranhas (La Paranza Dei Bambini): "After this movie I met Giorgio Armani because Giorgio Armani watched the movie and fell in love with the main character." Photo: Lilia Blouin
Claudio Giovannesi's Piranhas (La Paranza Dei Bambini), co-written with Roberto Saviano (author of The Piranhas: The Boy Bosses Of Naples) and Maurizio Braucchi, stars Francesco Di Napoli with Luca Nacarlo, Viviana Aprea, Ar Tem, Ciro Vecchione, Alfredo Turitto, Pasquale Marotta, Ciro Pellechia, Carmine Pizzo, and Mattia Piano Del Balzo. As the director states, it "is a movie on adolescents who make a choice of a life of crime, but it starts out as a game. And then this game ends up evolving into a war."
Claudio Giovannesi on Nicola (Francesco Di Napoli) with Letizia (Viviana Aprea) in Piranhas: "It is a film in which the age of the protagonists is a protagonist itself.
Claudio Giovannesi's Piranhas (La Paranza Dei Bambini), co-written with Roberto Saviano (author of The Piranhas: The Boy Bosses Of Naples) and Maurizio Braucchi, stars Francesco Di Napoli with Luca Nacarlo, Viviana Aprea, Ar Tem, Ciro Vecchione, Alfredo Turitto, Pasquale Marotta, Ciro Pellechia, Carmine Pizzo, and Mattia Piano Del Balzo. As the director states, it "is a movie on adolescents who make a choice of a life of crime, but it starts out as a game. And then this game ends up evolving into a war."
Claudio Giovannesi on Nicola (Francesco Di Napoli) with Letizia (Viviana Aprea) in Piranhas: "It is a film in which the age of the protagonists is a protagonist itself.
- 7/11/2019
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Produced by Indigo Film, the Neapolitan director’s new title based on Eduardo De Filippo’s three-act comedy is set in a modern-day, Gomorrah-style Naples. The Mayor of Rione Sanità, Mario Martone’s new film and his own personal interpretation of the three-act comedy by the legend that is Eduardo De Filippo, has entered into post-production. A likely candidate for the 2019 Venice Film Festival, the film comes off the back of a theatre production helmed by the Neapolitan director last year. Martone’s theatrical adaption of Eduardo’s 1960s masterpiece was bold and highly contemporary, set in a modern-day version of Naples inspired by the system described by Roberto Saviano in his book Gomorrah. This particular version of Naples is home to lead character Antonio Barracano, the young, vigorous and tattooed Mayor of Rione Sanità who plays by his own rules; a paternal figure who oversees the licit and illicit activities unfolding within the.
The fourth season of hit Italo crime series Gomorrah is currently airing in Italy but UK viewers will have to wait until June to get their fix.
Sky Italia’s flagship original, based on Roberto Saviano’s story about the Neapolitan mafia, is due to get a boxset release on Sky Atlantic from June 19 in the UK. The series debuted in Italy on March 29.
The anticipated fourth season of the acclaimed Italian-language show will see central characters Genny (Salvatore Esposito) and Patrizia (Cristiana Dell’Anna) having to establish a new balance of power, while Enzo (Arturo Muselli) and Valerio (Loris De Luna) consolidate the leadership of their gang in downtown Naples. The fourth instalment will also explore white collar crime in London.
The drama has sold to 190 markets for Beta and is Sky Italia’s flagship show at home where it even outperforms Game Of Thrones.
U.S. viewers are...
Sky Italia’s flagship original, based on Roberto Saviano’s story about the Neapolitan mafia, is due to get a boxset release on Sky Atlantic from June 19 in the UK. The series debuted in Italy on March 29.
The anticipated fourth season of the acclaimed Italian-language show will see central characters Genny (Salvatore Esposito) and Patrizia (Cristiana Dell’Anna) having to establish a new balance of power, while Enzo (Arturo Muselli) and Valerio (Loris De Luna) consolidate the leadership of their gang in downtown Naples. The fourth instalment will also explore white collar crime in London.
The drama has sold to 190 markets for Beta and is Sky Italia’s flagship show at home where it even outperforms Game Of Thrones.
U.S. viewers are...
- 4/8/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
In today’s film news roundup, the Library of Congress honors Ken Burns, Anthony Anderson is hosting the NAACP Image Awards, Berlin winner “Piranhas” gets distribution and “The Biggest Little Farm” gets school screenings.
Burns Award
The Library of Congress, the Better Angels Society and the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation will present an annual documentary award named after Ken Burns.
The award, which will be presented each fall at a gala at the Library of Congress, will recognize a filmmaker whose documentary uses original research and compelling narrative to tell stories that touch on some aspect of American history. The winner will receive a $200,000 finishing grant to help with the final production of the film.
“I’ve been very fortunate to spend my career focused on our country’s history,” said Burns. “While each film is different, they all ask the same question about who we are as a people.
Burns Award
The Library of Congress, the Better Angels Society and the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation will present an annual documentary award named after Ken Burns.
The award, which will be presented each fall at a gala at the Library of Congress, will recognize a filmmaker whose documentary uses original research and compelling narrative to tell stories that touch on some aspect of American history. The winner will receive a $200,000 finishing grant to help with the final production of the film.
“I’ve been very fortunate to spend my career focused on our country’s history,” said Burns. “While each film is different, they all ask the same question about who we are as a people.
- 3/6/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Music Box Films has acquired North American rights to Piranhas, the film adaptation of Gomorrah author Roberto Saviano’s bestseller. The pic, which just won the Silver Bear for best screenplay at the Berlin Film Festival, will hit U.S. theaters later this year ahead of a digital bow.
The Claudio Giovanessi-directed film centers on 15-year-old Nicola (Francesco Di Napoli) and his group of friends as they descend from naïve, designer clothes-wearing and party-loving teenagers into violent and power-hungry gangsters groomed by members of the Neapolitan mafia. Giovanessi, Saviano and Maurizio Braucci wrote the script. Palomar Film and Vision Distribution are producers.
“Director Claudio Giovannesi and novelist Roberto Saviano have delivered a timely look at how youth and social media intersect with one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy and crafted an underworld epic to stand beside Gomorrah,” Music Box Films president William Schopf said. “We...
The Claudio Giovanessi-directed film centers on 15-year-old Nicola (Francesco Di Napoli) and his group of friends as they descend from naïve, designer clothes-wearing and party-loving teenagers into violent and power-hungry gangsters groomed by members of the Neapolitan mafia. Giovanessi, Saviano and Maurizio Braucci wrote the script. Palomar Film and Vision Distribution are producers.
“Director Claudio Giovannesi and novelist Roberto Saviano have delivered a timely look at how youth and social media intersect with one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy and crafted an underworld epic to stand beside Gomorrah,” Music Box Films president William Schopf said. “We...
- 3/5/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
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