Three Italian men plot a move to the east to eke out meagre pensions in Gianni Di Gregorio’s sad, sweet and slightly flimsy drama
Gianni Di Gregorio is the veteran Italian director, screenwriter and actor who has served up some lovely filmic dishes in the past, such as his Pranzo Di Ferragosto, or Mid-August Lunch (2008) about a middle-aged man caring for his elderly mother, and his Gianni e le Donne, or Gianni and the Women, released in the UK as The Salt of Life (2011) on very much the same theme. Now he has created this gentle, wistful late-life comedy, a sort of Italian version of Last of the Summer Wine. Three old guys in Rome hang around all day complaining because their modest pensions aren’t stretching very far. They are a retired classics teacher, nicknamed Professore (Di Gregorio himself), unemployed loafer Giorgetto (Georgio Colangeli) and gregarious antiques dealer Attilio.
Gianni Di Gregorio is the veteran Italian director, screenwriter and actor who has served up some lovely filmic dishes in the past, such as his Pranzo Di Ferragosto, or Mid-August Lunch (2008) about a middle-aged man caring for his elderly mother, and his Gianni e le Donne, or Gianni and the Women, released in the UK as The Salt of Life (2011) on very much the same theme. Now he has created this gentle, wistful late-life comedy, a sort of Italian version of Last of the Summer Wine. Three old guys in Rome hang around all day complaining because their modest pensions aren’t stretching very far. They are a retired classics teacher, nicknamed Professore (Di Gregorio himself), unemployed loafer Giorgetto (Georgio Colangeli) and gregarious antiques dealer Attilio.
- 6/10/2020
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Barry Jenkins has kept busy in quarantine, as IndieWire learned during an Instagram live discussion with the Oscar-winning “Moonlight” filmmaker last month. He’s been sheltering with his partner, fellow filmmaker Lulu Wang, and continuing work on “The Underground Railroad” series as best he can remotely. He’s also busily devouring movies, just like the rest of us, and the filmmaker recently shared eight movies he recommends streaming during quarantine with The Atlantic’s David Sims.
Among his picks is Steven Soderbergh’s science-fiction film “Solaris,” adapted from the Stanislaw Lem novel, currently streaming on Starz. The misunderstood, 2002 romantic drama follows George Clooney as a psychologist who gets more than he bargained for when he’s sent to outer space.
“Though it’s a sci-fi movie, it’s about these very simple human emotions between Chris [Clooney] and his wife, Rheya [Natascha McElhone],” Jenkins said. “In one moment, I’m thinking...
Among his picks is Steven Soderbergh’s science-fiction film “Solaris,” adapted from the Stanislaw Lem novel, currently streaming on Starz. The misunderstood, 2002 romantic drama follows George Clooney as a psychologist who gets more than he bargained for when he’s sent to outer space.
“Though it’s a sci-fi movie, it’s about these very simple human emotions between Chris [Clooney] and his wife, Rheya [Natascha McElhone],” Jenkins said. “In one moment, I’m thinking...
- 5/2/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Curzon12 will stream recent and classic movies; first lineup revealed.
Curzon is beefing up its online offering with the launch of Curzon12, a monthly VoD service built into its membership packages.
The service will host 12 recent and classic movies which will be available to stream when logging in with a Curzon membership.
Scroll down for first lineup
Each month’s curated lineup, taken exclusively from Curzon’s library, is selected by the company’s programming team and is designed to complement the films playing across Curzon’s cinemas and its day-and-date service on Curzon Home Cinema that month.
The collection will feature the work of directors such as Yorgos Lanthimos, Charlie Chaplin, Andrea Arnold, Satyajit Ray and Agnes Varda as well as lesser known filmmakers.
The offering will be accompanied by a monthly newsletter that will delve deeper into three headline titles for that month.
The subscription is a benefit for existing and future members at no additional...
Curzon is beefing up its online offering with the launch of Curzon12, a monthly VoD service built into its membership packages.
The service will host 12 recent and classic movies which will be available to stream when logging in with a Curzon membership.
Scroll down for first lineup
Each month’s curated lineup, taken exclusively from Curzon’s library, is selected by the company’s programming team and is designed to complement the films playing across Curzon’s cinemas and its day-and-date service on Curzon Home Cinema that month.
The collection will feature the work of directors such as Yorgos Lanthimos, Charlie Chaplin, Andrea Arnold, Satyajit Ray and Agnes Varda as well as lesser known filmmakers.
The offering will be accompanied by a monthly newsletter that will delve deeper into three headline titles for that month.
The subscription is a benefit for existing and future members at no additional...
- 8/21/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Matteo Garrone made his name as director of the brutal mafia thriller Gomorrah. Now he is back with a dark, Big Brother-inspired satire
No one could accuse the Italian writer-director Matteo Garrone of ploughing the same furrow. His new film, Reality, a bubblegum fable with an acid aftertaste, could scarcely be more different from his previous one, Gomorrah, which announced his entrance into world cinema. He had already made three features before that (including The Embalmer, a taxidermists' love triangle) but Gomorrah was an art-house crossover phenomenon. This violent exposé-cum-thriller, based on the non-fiction book by Roberto Saviano, showed how slaughter and corruption had been absorbed into everyday life under the Camorra in Naples and Caserta. The film picked apart the infrastructure of crime: we saw how far and deep the Camorra's tentacles reach, and how asphyxiating their grasp can be. Gomorrah scooped the Grand Prix at the Cannes...
No one could accuse the Italian writer-director Matteo Garrone of ploughing the same furrow. His new film, Reality, a bubblegum fable with an acid aftertaste, could scarcely be more different from his previous one, Gomorrah, which announced his entrance into world cinema. He had already made three features before that (including The Embalmer, a taxidermists' love triangle) but Gomorrah was an art-house crossover phenomenon. This violent exposé-cum-thriller, based on the non-fiction book by Roberto Saviano, showed how slaughter and corruption had been absorbed into everyday life under the Camorra in Naples and Caserta. The film picked apart the infrastructure of crime: we saw how far and deep the Camorra's tentacles reach, and how asphyxiating their grasp can be. Gomorrah scooped the Grand Prix at the Cannes...
- 3/22/2013
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
DVD Release Date: Sept. 18, 2012
Price: DVD $29.99
Studio: Zeitgeist
Gianni Di Gregorio is looking for love in The Salt of Life.
The latest comedy from Italian director/actor Gianni Di Gregorio, 2011’s The Salt of Life is a follow-up to Di Gregorio ‘s popular 2010 arthouse film Mid-August Lunch.
In The Salt of Life, Di Gregorio portrays the middle-aged retiree Gianni, who has become invisible to all the women of Rome, regardless of age or relation. In his day-to-day existence, Gianni must contend with an aristocratic, spendthrift mother (again played by Lunchʼs Valeria de Franciscis Bendoni); a wife who is more patronizing friend than romantic partner; an ambivalent, slacker daughter (played by Di Gregorioʼs real-life daughter); and a wild party-girl neighbor who uses him…as a dog walker. Watching his codger friends snare beautiful younger women, Gianni tries his best to generate some kind of extracurricular love life—with results that are both funny and poignant.
Price: DVD $29.99
Studio: Zeitgeist
Gianni Di Gregorio is looking for love in The Salt of Life.
The latest comedy from Italian director/actor Gianni Di Gregorio, 2011’s The Salt of Life is a follow-up to Di Gregorio ‘s popular 2010 arthouse film Mid-August Lunch.
In The Salt of Life, Di Gregorio portrays the middle-aged retiree Gianni, who has become invisible to all the women of Rome, regardless of age or relation. In his day-to-day existence, Gianni must contend with an aristocratic, spendthrift mother (again played by Lunchʼs Valeria de Franciscis Bendoni); a wife who is more patronizing friend than romantic partner; an ambivalent, slacker daughter (played by Di Gregorioʼs real-life daughter); and a wild party-girl neighbor who uses him…as a dog walker. Watching his codger friends snare beautiful younger women, Gianni tries his best to generate some kind of extracurricular love life—with results that are both funny and poignant.
- 8/24/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
“I am disgusted with the way old people are depicted on television. We are not all vibrant, fun-loving sex maniacs. Many of us are bitter, resentful individuals who remember the good old days when entertainment was bland and inoffensive.” -Grampa Simpson
To be sure, Grampa Simpson would be conflicted with “The Salt of Life.” On the one hand, he’d certainly appreciate that Gianni, the recently retired protagonist of the film, is by no means vibrant or fun loving (even if he is lovable), as he’s clearly a bit resentful of and bitter with the natural passing of time. But on the other, one could easily describe Gianni as the kind of ubiquitous “sex maniac” he complains of in the quote above, from a Season 1 episode. Whether Abe would approve or not, though, we found this breezy, but never slight, Italian comedy to be a real treat.
Writer, director...
To be sure, Grampa Simpson would be conflicted with “The Salt of Life.” On the one hand, he’d certainly appreciate that Gianni, the recently retired protagonist of the film, is by no means vibrant or fun loving (even if he is lovable), as he’s clearly a bit resentful of and bitter with the natural passing of time. But on the other, one could easily describe Gianni as the kind of ubiquitous “sex maniac” he complains of in the quote above, from a Season 1 episode. Whether Abe would approve or not, though, we found this breezy, but never slight, Italian comedy to be a real treat.
Writer, director...
- 3/1/2012
- by Erik McClanahan
- The Playlist
by Vadim Rizov
In the 1970 comedy Where's Poppa?, George Segal's every attempt to find a romantic partner is sabotaged with senile maliciousness by his screen mom Ruth Gordon, whose needs preclude finding a romantic partner. It's cinema's ultimate Jewish mother joke about a son whose sexual instincts are incestuously redirected back into the family. Late bloomer Gianni di Gregorio repressed all such lusty urges in his directorial debut Mid-August Lunch, re-enacting his years of maternal care for a woman not ashamed to wheedle to get the care she needs.
The Salt of Life dreams of the future rather than brooding over the past, with all those previously unmentioned desires gushing out. Once again, "Gianni" (di Gregorio himself) is front and center and his mother (Valeria de Franciscis) is still a financial and emotional black hole. She lives in a big house, casually paying 800 Euros for roses while her son...
In the 1970 comedy Where's Poppa?, George Segal's every attempt to find a romantic partner is sabotaged with senile maliciousness by his screen mom Ruth Gordon, whose needs preclude finding a romantic partner. It's cinema's ultimate Jewish mother joke about a son whose sexual instincts are incestuously redirected back into the family. Late bloomer Gianni di Gregorio repressed all such lusty urges in his directorial debut Mid-August Lunch, re-enacting his years of maternal care for a woman not ashamed to wheedle to get the care she needs.
The Salt of Life dreams of the future rather than brooding over the past, with all those previously unmentioned desires gushing out. Once again, "Gianni" (di Gregorio himself) is front and center and his mother (Valeria de Franciscis) is still a financial and emotional black hole. She lives in a big house, casually paying 800 Euros for roses while her son...
- 2/29/2012
- GreenCine Daily
Chicago – One of the annual gems of the Chicago movie scene is the Siskel Film Center’s unmissable European Union Film Festival. It provides local movie buffs with the opportunity to sample some of the finest achievements in world cinema. For many of the festival selections, their EU appearance will function as their sole screening in the Windy City.
This year’s edition, running from March 2nd through the 29th, includes high profile films from world renowned filmmakers like Andrea Arnold (“Wuthering Heights”), Bruce Dumont (“Hors Satan”), Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon (“The Fairy”), Abdellatif Kechiche (“Black Venus”) and John Landis (“Burke & Hare”). Moviegoers will have the opportunity to see the latest work from some of the world’s most acclaimed and beloved actors, including Léa Seydoux (“Belle Épine”), Tahir Rahim (“Free Men”), Colm Meaney (“Parked”), Noomi Rapace (“Beyond”), Andy Serkis (“Burke & Hare”), Isabella Rossellini (“Late Bloomers”) and Ewan McGregor...
This year’s edition, running from March 2nd through the 29th, includes high profile films from world renowned filmmakers like Andrea Arnold (“Wuthering Heights”), Bruce Dumont (“Hors Satan”), Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon (“The Fairy”), Abdellatif Kechiche (“Black Venus”) and John Landis (“Burke & Hare”). Moviegoers will have the opportunity to see the latest work from some of the world’s most acclaimed and beloved actors, including Léa Seydoux (“Belle Épine”), Tahir Rahim (“Free Men”), Colm Meaney (“Parked”), Noomi Rapace (“Beyond”), Andy Serkis (“Burke & Hare”), Isabella Rossellini (“Late Bloomers”) and Ewan McGregor...
- 2/15/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Captain America
Blu-ray & DVD, Paramount
It's not been a great year for superhero movies. We've had the cluttered X-Men: First Class, the patchy Thor and the virtually unwatchable Green Lantern and Green Hornet. Captain America is easily the best of the bunch. There were some pre-release gripes about how this patriotic character would play in this cynical day and age. To the film's credit, rather than make fun of this, it has some fun with it. Chris Evans, with a pumped-up physique that's quite disturbingly digitally reduced to a very weedy level for the scenes leading up to his super-soldier transformation, sells it with charm and conviction. Even if you don't agree that this is the best 2011 superhero movie, there's a strong case that it's the best looking. Director Joe Johnston creates a bizarro take on second world war ephemera that constantly delights. Like Thor, all this film really had...
Blu-ray & DVD, Paramount
It's not been a great year for superhero movies. We've had the cluttered X-Men: First Class, the patchy Thor and the virtually unwatchable Green Lantern and Green Hornet. Captain America is easily the best of the bunch. There were some pre-release gripes about how this patriotic character would play in this cynical day and age. To the film's credit, rather than make fun of this, it has some fun with it. Chris Evans, with a pumped-up physique that's quite disturbingly digitally reduced to a very weedy level for the scenes leading up to his super-soldier transformation, sells it with charm and conviction. Even if you don't agree that this is the best 2011 superhero movie, there's a strong case that it's the best looking. Director Joe Johnston creates a bizarro take on second world war ephemera that constantly delights. Like Thor, all this film really had...
- 12/3/2011
- by Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
The arthouse film Mid-August Lunch made the colourful streets of Trastevere its backdrop. Our writer explores Rome's quirkiest quarter with Gianni Di Gregorio, the film's star
The street is wide, quiet and tree-lined, with ridiculously steep steps at one end and a chaotic crossroads at the other. Several old men sit outside a bar on plastic chairs, contemplating the world in silence as they absorb the intense early-morning heat. Through a heavy wooden door, up four flights of stairs, there is the screenwriter, actor and director Gianni Di Gregorio on the landing, bowing slightly as he welcomes me into his flat.
He looks exactly as he does in the wonderful low-budget film Mid-August Lunch, the 2009 arthouse hit in which he cast himself as an unemployed bachelor whose life is dedicated to looking after his 90-year-old widowed mother. It's crazy to think that the film almost didn't get made. He wrote...
The street is wide, quiet and tree-lined, with ridiculously steep steps at one end and a chaotic crossroads at the other. Several old men sit outside a bar on plastic chairs, contemplating the world in silence as they absorb the intense early-morning heat. Through a heavy wooden door, up four flights of stairs, there is the screenwriter, actor and director Gianni Di Gregorio on the landing, bowing slightly as he welcomes me into his flat.
He looks exactly as he does in the wonderful low-budget film Mid-August Lunch, the 2009 arthouse hit in which he cast himself as an unemployed bachelor whose life is dedicated to looking after his 90-year-old widowed mother. It's crazy to think that the film almost didn't get made. He wrote...
- 8/15/2011
- by Amy Raphael
- The Guardian - Film News
Italy's sad-faced charmer Gianni Di Gregorio is back as a henpecked son, now in search of a suitable mistress in this warm, witty comedy
Three years ago, after a lifetime of acting in the theatre and working as an assistant director and screenwriter in the cinema, the 60-year-old Gianni Di Gregorio won major national and international fame as co-author of Matteo Garrone's expansive Italian crime movie Gomorrah, a complex exposé of the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia. He immediately followed this up with an even greater personal success as the writer, director and star of the low-budget, multi-prizewinning Mid‑August Lunch. In that gem-like chamber comedy he played a retired middle-aged bachelor caring for his ancient mother in the bustling central Roman district of Trastevere and being persuaded to take care of three other old women over a bank holiday weekend.
His new film, The Salt of Life, is quite as good.
Three years ago, after a lifetime of acting in the theatre and working as an assistant director and screenwriter in the cinema, the 60-year-old Gianni Di Gregorio won major national and international fame as co-author of Matteo Garrone's expansive Italian crime movie Gomorrah, a complex exposé of the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia. He immediately followed this up with an even greater personal success as the writer, director and star of the low-budget, multi-prizewinning Mid‑August Lunch. In that gem-like chamber comedy he played a retired middle-aged bachelor caring for his ancient mother in the bustling central Roman district of Trastevere and being persuaded to take care of three other old women over a bank holiday weekend.
His new film, The Salt of Life, is quite as good.
- 8/13/2011
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (12A)
(Rupert Wyatt, 2011, Us) James Franco, Freida Pinto, Tom Felton, John Lithgow, Andy Serkis. 105 mins
Like X-Men: First Class, this expensive but empty effects vehicle is a lot of story-so-far bluster, never quite deciding whether it's leading up to the events of the 1968 original or the dire 2001 "reimagining". It's better than the latter, but sadly the story is as pasty as Franco's performance, playing a boffin who develops an antidote to Alzheimer's that works brilliantly on apes but has dire consequences for humanity. The effects are memorable; not much else is.
Project Nim (12A)
(James Marsh, 2011, UK) 99 mins
From the director of Man On Wire, this sad, disturbing documentary about an ineptly-run 70s science experiment to raise a chimpanzee as a human being works much better as a dystopian sci-fi fable than the big-budget Rise …
The Devil's Double (18)
(Lee Tamahori, 2011, Belg) Dominic Cooper,...
(Rupert Wyatt, 2011, Us) James Franco, Freida Pinto, Tom Felton, John Lithgow, Andy Serkis. 105 mins
Like X-Men: First Class, this expensive but empty effects vehicle is a lot of story-so-far bluster, never quite deciding whether it's leading up to the events of the 1968 original or the dire 2001 "reimagining". It's better than the latter, but sadly the story is as pasty as Franco's performance, playing a boffin who develops an antidote to Alzheimer's that works brilliantly on apes but has dire consequences for humanity. The effects are memorable; not much else is.
Project Nim (12A)
(James Marsh, 2011, UK) 99 mins
From the director of Man On Wire, this sad, disturbing documentary about an ineptly-run 70s science experiment to raise a chimpanzee as a human being works much better as a dystopian sci-fi fable than the big-budget Rise …
The Devil's Double (18)
(Lee Tamahori, 2011, Belg) Dominic Cooper,...
- 8/12/2011
- by Damon Wise
- The Guardian - Film News
The director has cast himself in the lead as a hangdog Italian looking for romantic adventure, in a commentary on men and ageing
This thoroughly delightful Italian comedy by screenwriter-turned-auteur Gianni Di Gregorio is a kind of romantic realist-fantasia with Fellini in its DNA, and a little of Woody Allen. It is a continuation of his beguiling low-budget hit Mid-August Lunch, and also a very rare example of a movie whose starring role has been given to a real human being with a real human face. A gloomy househusband in late middle-age is dominated by his formidable mother, disenchanted by his marriage and obsessed with the last-gasp possibility of romantic adventure with one of the many attractive women who seem to cross his path. In any other circumstances, the role would call for a handsome, baby-faced former matinee idol in the style of Marcello Mastroianni. Instead, as in his previous film,...
This thoroughly delightful Italian comedy by screenwriter-turned-auteur Gianni Di Gregorio is a kind of romantic realist-fantasia with Fellini in its DNA, and a little of Woody Allen. It is a continuation of his beguiling low-budget hit Mid-August Lunch, and also a very rare example of a movie whose starring role has been given to a real human being with a real human face. A gloomy househusband in late middle-age is dominated by his formidable mother, disenchanted by his marriage and obsessed with the last-gasp possibility of romantic adventure with one of the many attractive women who seem to cross his path. In any other circumstances, the role would call for a handsome, baby-faced former matinee idol in the style of Marcello Mastroianni. Instead, as in his previous film,...
- 8/11/2011
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Super 8 (12A)
(Jj Abrams, 2011, Us) Riley Griffiths, Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler. 112 mins
With Steven Spielberg producing, neo-sci-fi superstar Jj Abrams harks back to the kid-friendly action fantasies of the 80s (Et, The Goonies) while adding a few modern monster-movie scares of his own. The two genres don't always sit well together, and the retro lens flare becomes wearing, but Super 8 has character and charm, especially in the three young leads, whose plans to make a super-8 zombie movie are scuppered by the arrival of a dangerous creature.
French Cancan (PG)
(Jean Renoir, 1954, Fr) Jean Gabin, Françoise Arnoul, Maria Félix. 104 mins
Digital restoration of Renoir's salute to the swinging, sensual Paris of Toulouse-Lautrec et al. Gabin stars as the ambitious entrepreneur whose plan to spice up his new nightclub, the Moulin Rouge, with dancing girls creates a new star, a new craze and a love triangle.
Knuckle (15)
(Ian Palmer,...
(Jj Abrams, 2011, Us) Riley Griffiths, Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler. 112 mins
With Steven Spielberg producing, neo-sci-fi superstar Jj Abrams harks back to the kid-friendly action fantasies of the 80s (Et, The Goonies) while adding a few modern monster-movie scares of his own. The two genres don't always sit well together, and the retro lens flare becomes wearing, but Super 8 has character and charm, especially in the three young leads, whose plans to make a super-8 zombie movie are scuppered by the arrival of a dangerous creature.
French Cancan (PG)
(Jean Renoir, 1954, Fr) Jean Gabin, Françoise Arnoul, Maria Félix. 104 mins
Digital restoration of Renoir's salute to the swinging, sensual Paris of Toulouse-Lautrec et al. Gabin stars as the ambitious entrepreneur whose plan to spice up his new nightclub, the Moulin Rouge, with dancing girls creates a new star, a new craze and a love triangle.
Knuckle (15)
(Ian Palmer,...
- 8/5/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
He may be a little older than your average up-and-comer but Gianni Di Gregorio is steadily carving a niche for himself as one of the freshest voices in Italian cinema. His second directorial gig, The Salt Of Life, has been greeted with similarly rapturous acclaim as 2008's Mid-August Lunch, and, as this new clip illustrates, it's got the same whimsical tone and gentle humour.If gentle humour isn't your bag - and we get that - the dude's versatile too, as his gutsy work on the Gomorrah screenplay testifies. Don't expect too many motorbike-borne gunmen in this one. Di Gregorio plays Gianni, a man entering the autumn of his years, who takes a lawyer friend's (Alfonso Santagata) advice and decides to find himself a mistress. But flirting with the signorinas isn't as straightforward as Gianni imagined, even with a fluffy canine standing by with puppy eyes at the ready. There's...
- 8/5/2011
- EmpireOnline
Film director Gianni Di Gregorio only hit on his signature style – gentle, ironic comedies about ageing, romance and bossy mothers – when he turned 60. He talks to Catherine Shoard
Gianni Di Gregorio became successful, suddenly, at 60. But what if he hadn't? How might his life have been? "Allora!" He shakes his head, gummy eyes a-twinkle. "Terribile! Dead under a bridge. Alcoholic, at least." He laughs, sips his wine and rolls a fag, and isn't kidding.
What changed everything was Mid-August Lunch, which Di Gregorio wrote, directed, starred in and shot at his own flat. A gentle comedy about a man caring for his imperious 93-year-old mother, who then has three extra ageing mammas dumped on him by friends, it won the debut director prize at the Venice film festival in 2008 and hoovered up many other awards. It took £7m round the world from a budget of £400,000: a rare Italian arthouse hit,...
Gianni Di Gregorio became successful, suddenly, at 60. But what if he hadn't? How might his life have been? "Allora!" He shakes his head, gummy eyes a-twinkle. "Terribile! Dead under a bridge. Alcoholic, at least." He laughs, sips his wine and rolls a fag, and isn't kidding.
What changed everything was Mid-August Lunch, which Di Gregorio wrote, directed, starred in and shot at his own flat. A gentle comedy about a man caring for his imperious 93-year-old mother, who then has three extra ageing mammas dumped on him by friends, it won the debut director prize at the Venice film festival in 2008 and hoovered up many other awards. It took £7m round the world from a budget of £400,000: a rare Italian arthouse hit,...
- 7/29/2011
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
Gianni Di Gregorio’s newest film, Salt of Life (Gianni e le donne, 2011) was screened at a special preview at London’s Curzon Mayfair cinema last Thursday (21 July). Following the screening, the director was present for an entertaining Q&A filled with affable anecdotes.
Salt of Life is a story of late middle-age and revolves around Gianni, who lives in Rome with his wife and grown-up daughter. Alerted to the fact that other, less attractive men of his age have lovers, Gianni is compelled to find another woman for himself. That is, if he can find the confidence—or the time, in between phone calls from his mother who is frittering away his much-needed inheritance.
In spite of the comic obstacles, Gianni’s story may sound like just another film about male mid-life crisis. Indeed, during the Q&A, one audience member asked Di Gregorio whether he was inspired by...
Salt of Life is a story of late middle-age and revolves around Gianni, who lives in Rome with his wife and grown-up daughter. Alerted to the fact that other, less attractive men of his age have lovers, Gianni is compelled to find another woman for himself. That is, if he can find the confidence—or the time, in between phone calls from his mother who is frittering away his much-needed inheritance.
In spite of the comic obstacles, Gianni’s story may sound like just another film about male mid-life crisis. Indeed, during the Q&A, one audience member asked Di Gregorio whether he was inspired by...
- 7/26/2011
- by Alison Frank
- The Moving Arts Journal
Take a look at the exclusive UK poster and trailer for Gianni Di Gregorio's followup to Mid-August Lunch and let us know what you think
You can keep your Harry Potters. And you can forget your Trees of Life. The film we're really most eagerly anticipating this year is a low-budget Italian film about the lukewarm lovelife of a middle-aged Italian.
The Salt of Life is Gianni Di Gregorio's followup to Mid-August Lunch, his semi-autobiographical comedy about caring for his elderly mother in Rome (and three other ageing mammas dumped on him by desperate pals). It was slight and short and almost wholly free of the drama and glamour of Gomorrah, the film whose screenplay Di Gregorio wrote, and which enabled him to finally make Lunch. But it was, nonetheless, a marvel of a movie: incredibly charming and fresh, funny and profound.
Anyway, here's the first UK trailer for the followup,...
You can keep your Harry Potters. And you can forget your Trees of Life. The film we're really most eagerly anticipating this year is a low-budget Italian film about the lukewarm lovelife of a middle-aged Italian.
The Salt of Life is Gianni Di Gregorio's followup to Mid-August Lunch, his semi-autobiographical comedy about caring for his elderly mother in Rome (and three other ageing mammas dumped on him by desperate pals). It was slight and short and almost wholly free of the drama and glamour of Gomorrah, the film whose screenplay Di Gregorio wrote, and which enabled him to finally make Lunch. But it was, nonetheless, a marvel of a movie: incredibly charming and fresh, funny and profound.
Anyway, here's the first UK trailer for the followup,...
- 7/8/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
U.S. rights to 2011 Berlin International Film Festival title, "The Salt of Life" by Gianni Di Gregorio have been picked up by Zeitgeist Films, the distributor said Monday. Zeitgeist picked up the film from Fandango Portobello, which also handled the release of Gregorio's first film, "Mid-August Lunch," which Zeitgeist also released in the U.S. An early 2012 roll out is planned. Full press release follows: Zeitgeist Films announced today that ...
- 4/18/2011
- Indiewire
Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: I celebrate all levels of trailers and hopefully this column will satisfactorily give you a baseline of what beta wave I’m operating on, because what better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? Some of the best authors will tell you that writing a short story is a lot harder than writing a long one, that you have to weigh every sentence. What better medium to see how this theory plays itself out beyond that than with movie trailers? The City Dark Trailer Ian Cheney may have something. I never considered the idea about living where the stars are obscured by the blitz of big city light rushing upwards,...
- 3/19/2011
- by Christopher Stipp
- Slash Film
Pranzo di ferragosto, or Mid-august Lunch in English, is a delightful Italian slice-of-life comedy about a middle-aged man with the best intentions. Gianni Di Greggorio co-wrote, directed and stars in this story of Gianni and his mother versus three elderly women. Gianni does not have a job, at least, not in the traditional sense. Gianni lives with his mother nearing the age of 100, spending his days caring for her. Gianni cooks, cleans and does anything and everything else that is necessary around their apartment. However, this also means he hasn.t the means to pay his share of the condominium costs.
As a result, Alfonso the administrator breaks the bad news to Gianni that the condominium members are threatening to hire a lawyer and sue. Gianni has no substantial means, but haggles for leniency, leading Alfonso to offer a deal. Gianni must keep the Alfonso.s mother with him for...
As a result, Alfonso the administrator breaks the bad news to Gianni that the condominium members are threatening to hire a lawyer and sue. Gianni has no substantial means, but haggles for leniency, leading Alfonso to offer a deal. Gianni must keep the Alfonso.s mother with him for...
- 5/7/2010
- by Travis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Mid-August Lunch
Starring Gianni Di Gregorio, Valeria De Franciscis, and Marina Cacciotti
Directed by Gianni Di Gregorio
Not rated
We're getting close to summer, and that's when Hollywood tends to put away character development and honest emotions like winter clothes, only unpacking them again once the leaves fall off the tree. So we have to rely on the few indie films that find their way into theaters over the next few months as well as imports designed to offer you something different.
It's unlikely that any of the major summer fare will take as much time and effort to explore its characters as Mid-August Lunch, an Italian film that picked up several European film award nominations last year.
Part of that rather obvious shift from the sort of movies that will be upconverted to 3-D is the conscious decision by writer-director- star Gianni Di Gregorio to work with a cast of non-actors,...
Starring Gianni Di Gregorio, Valeria De Franciscis, and Marina Cacciotti
Directed by Gianni Di Gregorio
Not rated
We're getting close to summer, and that's when Hollywood tends to put away character development and honest emotions like winter clothes, only unpacking them again once the leaves fall off the tree. So we have to rely on the few indie films that find their way into theaters over the next few months as well as imports designed to offer you something different.
It's unlikely that any of the major summer fare will take as much time and effort to explore its characters as Mid-August Lunch, an Italian film that picked up several European film award nominations last year.
Part of that rather obvious shift from the sort of movies that will be upconverted to 3-D is the conscious decision by writer-director- star Gianni Di Gregorio to work with a cast of non-actors,...
- 4/30/2010
- by Colin Boyd
- GetTheBigPicture.net
Director: Gianni Di Gregorio Writer: Gianni di Gregorio, Simone Riccardini. Starring: Gianni Di Gregorio, Valeria de Franciscis, Marina Cacciotti, Maria Cali, Nazan Kırılmış Written and directed by Gianni Di Gregorio (co-writer of 2008’s Gomorrah), Mid-August Lunch features Di Gregorio as the financially-strapped Gianni who resides with his 93-year-old mother (Valeria De Franciscis) in a condominium in Trastevere, a working-class district of Rome. Gianni has fallen behind on their condo payments – it seems Gianni might be unemployed – and the building manager (Alfonso Santagata) blatantly takes advantage of Gianni’s situation. In exchange for taking care of his elderly mother (Marina Cacciotti) and aunt (Maria Cali) – so he can sneak away in his convertible for a mid-August vacation with his youthful signorina – the building manager will waive Gianni’s mounting housing debts. Then, in lieu of payment for a medical house-call, a doctor (Marcello Ottolenghi) convinces Gianni to baby-sit his mom (Grazia Cesarini Sforza...
- 4/18/2010
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Nick Hasted opens the Italian Cinema Special in the May issue of Sight & Sound: "When Paolo Sorrentino's Il Divo and Matteo Garrone's Gomorrah caused a double sensation at Cannes in 2008, Sorrentino dryly noted, 'Two films is rather few to launch a renaissance.' But in the last year Gianni Di Gregorio's Mid-August Lunch (Pranzo di ferragosto), Marco Bellocchio's Vincere and, most of all, Luca Guadagnino's current festival barnstormer I Am Love have taken the count to at least five. Beneath these international successes, too, there has been a noticeable stiffening in the quality of Italian films."...
- 4/11/2010
- MUBI
Girls just want to have fun, sings Cyndi Lauper, and there.s no logical reason to believe that "girls" ever outgrow this perfectly human desire. This point is driven home in just a brief seventy-five minutes by Gianni Di Gregorio, who wrote and directed "Mid-August Lunch" (Pranzo di Ferragosto, or "Ferragosto Holiday Lunch" in the Italian title). Using non-professional actors, the first-time director, who takes the major role and inhabits virtually every frame, delivers a witty, charming tale that may be too small-potatoes to afford it a top critical grade but is a diverting piece of pre-prandial entertainment.
- 3/12/2010
- Arizona Reporter
Back to indie film. Now our current film focus is on Gianni Di Gregorio's "Mid-August Lunch" (a.k.a. "Pranzo di Ferragosto") which Zeitgeist Films distributes in the U.S. The cast is frontlined by Gregoria who is joined by Valeria De Franciscis, Marina Cacciotti,Maria Calì, Grazia Cesarini Sforza, Alfonso Santagata, Luigi Marchetti, Marcello Ottolenghi and Petre Rosu. Simone Riccardini writes alongside Di Gregorio.The film had its premiere at the 2008 Venice Film Festival and is a multiple award winner including taking home three awards at the Venice Fest. The charismatic Gianni Di Gregorio (co-scenarist of the smash hit Gomorrah), stars in his directorial debut—an utterly charming tale of good food, feisty ladies and unlikely friendships during a very Roman holiday. Broke, and armed with only a glass of wine and a wry sense of humor, middle-aged Gianni resides with his 93-year-old mother in their ancient apartment.
- 11/13/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Rome -- Matteo Garrone's organized crime thriller "Gomorrah" dominated the David di Donatello awards Friday, taking home seven prizes, including a near-sweep of the major categories.
"Il Divo," the biopic from Paolo Sorrentino, also won seven awards, meaning the two films that burst onto the scene a year ago in Cannes combined to win 14 of the 18 categories in which they were eligible for a prize.
But "Gomorrah" -- which was Italy's selection for the Oscars' foreign-language-film category -- was the biggest winner, earning best film, best director for Garrone, best screenplay (for six writers), and best producer for Domenico Procacci.
The top prize for "Il Divo" went to Toni Servillo, for his portrayal of icon Italian politician Guilio Andreotti. Co-star Piera Degli Esposti was named best supporting actress. The film's other prizes include photography and musical score.
Alba Rohrwacher won the best actress prize for her role as Giovanna...
"Il Divo," the biopic from Paolo Sorrentino, also won seven awards, meaning the two films that burst onto the scene a year ago in Cannes combined to win 14 of the 18 categories in which they were eligible for a prize.
But "Gomorrah" -- which was Italy's selection for the Oscars' foreign-language-film category -- was the biggest winner, earning best film, best director for Garrone, best screenplay (for six writers), and best producer for Domenico Procacci.
The top prize for "Il Divo" went to Toni Servillo, for his portrayal of icon Italian politician Guilio Andreotti. Co-star Piera Degli Esposti was named best supporting actress. The film's other prizes include photography and musical score.
Alba Rohrwacher won the best actress prize for her role as Giovanna...
- 5/8/2009
- by By Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cologne, Germany -- The Berlinale has finalized the menu for this year's Culinary Cinema sidebar and the spread is a typical smorgasbord of documentaries and dramas with a meaty cuisine hook.
Now in its third year, Berlin's Culinary Cinema section takes the dinner-and-a-movie concept to the next level, featuring gala screenings of food-themed films followed by meals prepared by some of Europe's finest chefs.
Robert Kenner's "Food Inc.," a documentary based on the best-selling expose of the international food production industry, will open the event Feb. 8. Berlin chef Tim Raue will follow up with a non-mass-produced meal for attendees.
Other highlights this year include Gianni Di Gregorio's "Mid-August Lunch," which will run on a double bill with a meal from Luxembourg chef Lea Linster; the Spanish comedy "Dieta Mediterranea" by Joaquin Oristrell, which has inspired a dish from Kolja Kleeberg of Berlin's hip Vau restaurant and Aida Begic's "Snow,...
Now in its third year, Berlin's Culinary Cinema section takes the dinner-and-a-movie concept to the next level, featuring gala screenings of food-themed films followed by meals prepared by some of Europe's finest chefs.
Robert Kenner's "Food Inc.," a documentary based on the best-selling expose of the international food production industry, will open the event Feb. 8. Berlin chef Tim Raue will follow up with a non-mass-produced meal for attendees.
Other highlights this year include Gianni Di Gregorio's "Mid-August Lunch," which will run on a double bill with a meal from Luxembourg chef Lea Linster; the Spanish comedy "Dieta Mediterranea" by Joaquin Oristrell, which has inspired a dish from Kolja Kleeberg of Berlin's hip Vau restaurant and Aida Begic's "Snow,...
- 1/19/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto International Film Festival acquisitions this year were sparse which was no surprise given the recent closings of the well funded specialty arms of the studios. The noticeable slowdown in the business at these large festival cum market events (e.g., Toronto) has continued since Cannes although Locarno was happily surprised at the increased number of acquisitions which took place there albeit by international sales agents rather than by distributors. At least it attests to some enthusiasm in what seems to be a lackluster low energy year for the film business. Venice[/link] also created some sales in spite of its never quite becoming the market it might be. Pusan was disappointing leaving buyers and sellers looking toward the upcoming Tokyo International Film Festival and AFM as the place where deals will close. The European sales agents did better selling to the Asian distributors than the Asian sales agents. Bavaria sold 'Into the Great Silence' to Jin Jin of South Korea. Celsius sold 'Vivaldi' to Mirovision for South Korea, and new international sales agent M-Appeal's Maren Kroymann sold 'Trick' to Coral for South Korea.
This is a sample of the Rights Roundup Reports available from sales-filmfinders@imdb.com. For more information on acquisitions in the future you can purchase the Fall Festival and Market RightsRoundup and Rights Roundup Reports for AFM/ American Film Market, Berlin Film Festival and EFM/ European Film Market and Cannes Film Festival and Marche du Film after those events.
In Toronto, Fox Searchlight remained the strong buyer, picking up 'The Wrestler' for the highest sales figure of the market, but still less than $4,000,000 and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, the other hit of the festival. Summit, an A list international sales agent who entered the domestic distribution business this year also acquired ‘Hurt Locker' for U.S.. Both 'The Wrestler' and 'Hurt Locker' were packaged, financed and represented by CAA and both were significant in that only U.S. rights were acquired (without Canada) at a good high price. IFC Films continued its acquisitions activities for IFC in Theaters, its day and date distribution platform making independent films available to a national audience in theaters and on demand simultaneously, buying ‘Flame & Citron’, ‘Fear Me Not’, ‘Everlasting Moments’ and ‘Che’. Sony Pictures Classics was also active acquiring distribution rights to ‘Every Little Step: The Journey of a Chorus Line’, ‘Faubourg 36’ (aka ‘Paris 36’). The micro distributors such as Strand, Kino, Zeitgeist, Panorama, etc. continued business as usual, which generally means hanging back until there are no obvious offers for a film and then coming in with a modest proposal.
Here are the international sales agents whose sales (licensing of distribution rights on behalf of the producers) have been reported thus far:
Bavaria Film International licensed ‘Krabat’ to SPI for Poland and Romania and to Film Depot for Russia ahead of the first public screening. Strong interest is also reported from Spain, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latin America, Japan and USA. ‘The Window’ (aka ‘La Ventana’) sold to Cinemien for Benelux, Imovison for Brazil. A deal with France is expected to close. ‘Cherry Blossoms’ went to Against Gravity for Poland. ‘Empty Nest’ has interest from U.S. as does ‘Restless’.
Celluloid Dreams has acquired all international sales rights to ‘Soul Power’ from Submarine Entertainment who was repping the film. There are offers in major territories soon to close. It also acquired ‘Youssou NDour: I Bring What I Love’ for world sales. Oscilloscope acquired it for U.S. ‘Birdwatchers’ sold to Artificial Eye for the U.K., Filmladen for Austria, Trigon for Switzerland, Pandora for Germany, Cinemien for Benelux, Hopscotch for Australia and New Zealand. ‘Mark Of An Angel’ has sold to Metrodome for the UK, Odeon for Greece, Seville for Canada, Xenix for Switzerland. Diaphana is about to gross $5m with its French theatrical release and Lumiere released in Belgium. ‘Achilles and the Tortoise’ sold to Odeon for France and Maywin for Russia.
Cinema Management Group has closed several territories on ‘The People Speak’ which screened 20 minutes in Toronto FF Special Screening. ‘Zambezia’, ‘Killer Bean Forever’ and ‘The People Speak’ went to Vision Film for Poland and to Film Pop for Turkey.
Elle Driver licensed ’35 Rhums’ to New Wave Films for the U.K.
Fandango Portobello licensed ‘Mid August Lunch' (aka'Pranzo di ferragosto’) to Le Pacte for France, Pandora for Germany, Cinemien for Benelux, Xenix for Switzerland, Filmladen for Austria.
Films Distribution licensed ‘Sea Wall’ to Axiom for the U.K.
Finecut licensed 'Daytime Drinking' to Japan's Eleven Arts who will release it in 30 North American cities. Fortissimo Films signed a six picture deal with Canadian distributor Maximum Films for ‘$9.99’, ‘Laila's Birthday’, ‘Country Wedding’, ‘Serbis’, ‘Native Dancer’, and ‘Tokyo Sonata’. ‘Disgrace’ also went to Maximum. ‘Every Little Step: The Journey of A Chorus Line’ went to Sony Pictures Classics for North America and Australia and New Zealand. ‘Serbis’ and 'Tokyo Sonata' went to Regent for North America.
Hanway Films licensed ‘Of Time and City’ to Strand Releasing for all U.S. rights. ‘Genova’ went to ThinkFilm for North America just before Toronto. Wanda acquired all rights for Spain.
Maximum licensed ‘Sugar‘ to Axiom for the U.K.
Momento licensed ‘Goodbye Solo’ to Imagine for Benelux, Axiom for the U.K. and Xenix for Switzerland. It also has offers from France, Portugal, Greece and Italy among others.
MK2 licensed ‘24 City’ to The Cinema Guild for U.S.
Pathe licensed ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ to Warner Bros. and Fox Searchlight for North America. ‘Faubourg 36’ (aka ‘Paris 36’) went to Sony Pictures Classics for U.S., Australasia, and Scandinavia just before Toronto.
Rai Trade licensed ‘Il Papa di Giovanna’ to Paradis for France, ABC for Benelux, Palace of Australia and New Zealand, MFD for Switzerland.
Roissy has licensed 'Seraphine' to Metrodome for U.K. and Ireland and to Rialto for Australia and New Zealand.
Sahamonkol licensed 'Chocolate' to Magnet for North America.
The Match Factory licensed ‘Flame & Citron’ to IFC Films for U.S. ‘Teza’ went to Trigon for Switzerland and Ripley’s Film for Italy.
TrustNordisk licensed ‘Fear Me Not’ and ‘Everlasting Moments’ and 'Heaven's Heart' to IFC Films for North America. Visit Films licensed five titles including ‘Hannah Takes The Stairs’, ‘LOL’, and ‘Kissing on The Mouth’, ‘Dance Party USA’ and ‘Quiet City’ to Beyond Entertainment for Australia/ New Zealand.
Voltage licensed ‘The Hurt Locker’ to Summit for U.S.
Wild Bunch licensed ‘Che’ to IFC Films. ‘Ponyo’ went to Lucky Red for Italy.
This is a sample of the Rights Roundup Reports available from sales-filmfinders@imdb.com. For more information on acquisitions in the future you can purchase the Fall Festival and Market RightsRoundup and Rights Roundup Reports for AFM/ American Film Market, Berlin Film Festival and EFM/ European Film Market and Cannes Film Festival and Marche du Film after those events.
In Toronto, Fox Searchlight remained the strong buyer, picking up 'The Wrestler' for the highest sales figure of the market, but still less than $4,000,000 and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, the other hit of the festival. Summit, an A list international sales agent who entered the domestic distribution business this year also acquired ‘Hurt Locker' for U.S.. Both 'The Wrestler' and 'Hurt Locker' were packaged, financed and represented by CAA and both were significant in that only U.S. rights were acquired (without Canada) at a good high price. IFC Films continued its acquisitions activities for IFC in Theaters, its day and date distribution platform making independent films available to a national audience in theaters and on demand simultaneously, buying ‘Flame & Citron’, ‘Fear Me Not’, ‘Everlasting Moments’ and ‘Che’. Sony Pictures Classics was also active acquiring distribution rights to ‘Every Little Step: The Journey of a Chorus Line’, ‘Faubourg 36’ (aka ‘Paris 36’). The micro distributors such as Strand, Kino, Zeitgeist, Panorama, etc. continued business as usual, which generally means hanging back until there are no obvious offers for a film and then coming in with a modest proposal.
Here are the international sales agents whose sales (licensing of distribution rights on behalf of the producers) have been reported thus far:
Bavaria Film International licensed ‘Krabat’ to SPI for Poland and Romania and to Film Depot for Russia ahead of the first public screening. Strong interest is also reported from Spain, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latin America, Japan and USA. ‘The Window’ (aka ‘La Ventana’) sold to Cinemien for Benelux, Imovison for Brazil. A deal with France is expected to close. ‘Cherry Blossoms’ went to Against Gravity for Poland. ‘Empty Nest’ has interest from U.S. as does ‘Restless’.
Celluloid Dreams has acquired all international sales rights to ‘Soul Power’ from Submarine Entertainment who was repping the film. There are offers in major territories soon to close. It also acquired ‘Youssou NDour: I Bring What I Love’ for world sales. Oscilloscope acquired it for U.S. ‘Birdwatchers’ sold to Artificial Eye for the U.K., Filmladen for Austria, Trigon for Switzerland, Pandora for Germany, Cinemien for Benelux, Hopscotch for Australia and New Zealand. ‘Mark Of An Angel’ has sold to Metrodome for the UK, Odeon for Greece, Seville for Canada, Xenix for Switzerland. Diaphana is about to gross $5m with its French theatrical release and Lumiere released in Belgium. ‘Achilles and the Tortoise’ sold to Odeon for France and Maywin for Russia.
Cinema Management Group has closed several territories on ‘The People Speak’ which screened 20 minutes in Toronto FF Special Screening. ‘Zambezia’, ‘Killer Bean Forever’ and ‘The People Speak’ went to Vision Film for Poland and to Film Pop for Turkey.
Elle Driver licensed ’35 Rhums’ to New Wave Films for the U.K.
Fandango Portobello licensed ‘Mid August Lunch' (aka'Pranzo di ferragosto’) to Le Pacte for France, Pandora for Germany, Cinemien for Benelux, Xenix for Switzerland, Filmladen for Austria.
Films Distribution licensed ‘Sea Wall’ to Axiom for the U.K.
Finecut licensed 'Daytime Drinking' to Japan's Eleven Arts who will release it in 30 North American cities. Fortissimo Films signed a six picture deal with Canadian distributor Maximum Films for ‘$9.99’, ‘Laila's Birthday’, ‘Country Wedding’, ‘Serbis’, ‘Native Dancer’, and ‘Tokyo Sonata’. ‘Disgrace’ also went to Maximum. ‘Every Little Step: The Journey of A Chorus Line’ went to Sony Pictures Classics for North America and Australia and New Zealand. ‘Serbis’ and 'Tokyo Sonata' went to Regent for North America.
Hanway Films licensed ‘Of Time and City’ to Strand Releasing for all U.S. rights. ‘Genova’ went to ThinkFilm for North America just before Toronto. Wanda acquired all rights for Spain.
Maximum licensed ‘Sugar‘ to Axiom for the U.K.
Momento licensed ‘Goodbye Solo’ to Imagine for Benelux, Axiom for the U.K. and Xenix for Switzerland. It also has offers from France, Portugal, Greece and Italy among others.
MK2 licensed ‘24 City’ to The Cinema Guild for U.S.
Pathe licensed ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ to Warner Bros. and Fox Searchlight for North America. ‘Faubourg 36’ (aka ‘Paris 36’) went to Sony Pictures Classics for U.S., Australasia, and Scandinavia just before Toronto.
Rai Trade licensed ‘Il Papa di Giovanna’ to Paradis for France, ABC for Benelux, Palace of Australia and New Zealand, MFD for Switzerland.
Roissy has licensed 'Seraphine' to Metrodome for U.K. and Ireland and to Rialto for Australia and New Zealand.
Sahamonkol licensed 'Chocolate' to Magnet for North America.
The Match Factory licensed ‘Flame & Citron’ to IFC Films for U.S. ‘Teza’ went to Trigon for Switzerland and Ripley’s Film for Italy.
TrustNordisk licensed ‘Fear Me Not’ and ‘Everlasting Moments’ and 'Heaven's Heart' to IFC Films for North America. Visit Films licensed five titles including ‘Hannah Takes The Stairs’, ‘LOL’, and ‘Kissing on The Mouth’, ‘Dance Party USA’ and ‘Quiet City’ to Beyond Entertainment for Australia/ New Zealand.
Voltage licensed ‘The Hurt Locker’ to Summit for U.S.
Wild Bunch licensed ‘Che’ to IFC Films. ‘Ponyo’ went to Lucky Red for Italy.
- 9/16/2008
- Sydney's Buzz
Rome -- "Pranzo di Ferragosto" (Mid-August Lunch), the directorial debut from screenwriter Gianni Di Gregorio, has been selling briskly in the wake of the Venice and Toronto festivals, the film's producers said Tuesday.
As of Tuesday, the film, which centers on a middle-aged man's struggles to deal with his overbearing widowed mother and four of her elderly friends, has sold in five European territories: Austria (to Filmladen), Benelux (Cinemien), France (Le Pacte), Germany (Pandora) and Switzerland (Xenix).
The producers, who said more deals are in the works, said most of the interest was sparked in Venice, where the film won the Venice Film Festival's prize for best first film, with the deals closing days later in Toronto.
Di Gregorio made a name for himself as the co-writer of Matteo Garrone's mafia drama "Gomorrah," which won the Grand Prize at this year's Festival de Cannes.
As of Tuesday, the film, which centers on a middle-aged man's struggles to deal with his overbearing widowed mother and four of her elderly friends, has sold in five European territories: Austria (to Filmladen), Benelux (Cinemien), France (Le Pacte), Germany (Pandora) and Switzerland (Xenix).
The producers, who said more deals are in the works, said most of the interest was sparked in Venice, where the film won the Venice Film Festival's prize for best first film, with the deals closing days later in Toronto.
Di Gregorio made a name for himself as the co-writer of Matteo Garrone's mafia drama "Gomorrah," which won the Grand Prize at this year's Festival de Cannes.
- 9/16/2008
- by By Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Creating a buzz at the 65th Annual Venice International Film Festival which ran from August 27 to September 6, "The Wrestler" came out as champion by the end of the special event. On Saturday, September 6, the movie about the has-been professional wrestler has been awarded with the festival's top prize, the Golden Lion, by the Venezia 65 Jury chaired by German filmmaker Wim Wenders.
Taking the stage to receive the coveted prize alongside director Darren Aronofsky, the movie's star Mickey Rourke who dedicated the award to all the wrestlers they have met "who are making 200 dollars a night and are willing to sacrifice their bodies and their souls for it" said, "I'd like to really thank the jury for making the right decision." Meanwhile, Aronofsky threw his appreciation to the actor saying, "We need to thank Mickey Rourke for opening up his heart and soul for the camera...and reminding the world what a great talent he is.
Taking the stage to receive the coveted prize alongside director Darren Aronofsky, the movie's star Mickey Rourke who dedicated the award to all the wrestlers they have met "who are making 200 dollars a night and are willing to sacrifice their bodies and their souls for it" said, "I'd like to really thank the jury for making the right decision." Meanwhile, Aronofsky threw his appreciation to the actor saying, "We need to thank Mickey Rourke for opening up his heart and soul for the camera...and reminding the world what a great talent he is.
- 9/8/2008
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
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