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Showing posts from December, 2014

The Life and Art of Marcello Mastroianni

A legendary actor who influenced cinema across the globe, Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni was born in 1924 in Fontana Liri, a mountainous area  of Lazio, about an hour from Rome.  Mastroianni spent his childhood near the Eternal City experimenting with acting in stage roles at his local church. During his teenage years, he took odd jobs in Rome, including bit parts in movies. Then during World War II, he was forced by German soldiers to work at a labor camp in northern Italy. He escaped, taking refuge in Venice until 1945. During the post-war period when war-torn Italy was recovering from the devastation it had just endured, Mastroianni returned to Rome and landed a job as a clerk with a British film company. During off-hours, he would get together with local actors to hone his craft. Then in 1947, he landed his first significant acting role in Riccardo Freda’s adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel, “Les Miserables.” Watch this video that I recently shot on the Isola Liri, close to

Paying Tribute to Giuseppe “Pino” Mango through one Filmmaker's passion for Basilicata

 The Ionian Coast of Maratea in Basilicata I have great pride in my Lucani origins. It’s a pride that runs deep through my soul and I only realized that depth when I visited for the first time in 2002. I met my cousins and walked the narrow streets my great grandparents once walked. After visiting, I felt truly to have gone home.  Whenever I want to feel the nostalgia and warmth of the people.. or the clouds lingering over the mountains, I lose myself in the music of Giuseppe “Pino” Mango with his unique voice and regional instruments that bring me back to the land of my heart. Today, the world lost this amazing artist, but his music will live on in those who appreciate his unique talent for creating not only a song, but a memory and an atmosphere. We mourn the untimely death of Basilicata’s renowned singer and songwriter, Mango, by revisiting my 2012 interview with an innovative filmmaker whose passion is writing about our beloved southern Italy. Michelangelo Frammarti

The Life and Work of Monica Bellucci

Monica Bellucci as Malèna Born in Umbria in 1964, Monica Bellucci is one of the most recognizable faces of international cinema. But she didn't always have her sights set on the spotlight. She went to college to study law and modeled to pay her tuition. Her success in the fashion world coupled with the offers that were pouring in to appear on the big screen eventually took over, changing her fate. Bellucci made her on-screen debut in the 1990 television movie, " Vita coi figli." Just two years later, she scored her first American role in Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula."   In addition to her native language, she speaks fluent English and French, which has made for a smooth transition from Italian to international cinema. Stateside, she has acted in blockbusters such as "The Matrix-Reloaded,"     " The Passion of the Christ" and " The Sorcerer's Apprentice." She has also appeared in several French films, a