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Roberto Benigni • Director

I am Pinocchio

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- As Benigni Day approaches, the Oscar-winning director meets the press to talk about his new film that'll be released on Friday 11 October onto almost 900 Italian screens

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Benigni, you do know, don’t you, that this the most eagerly awaited film of the year? “Good! I’m grateful to all the “awaitors”, such an overwhelmingly huge desire for something can only be good for you.”
After an extenuating wait, Benigni-Day is finally here: the day of the “premiere”. After the wave upon wave of emotions that he regaled us with in Life is Beautiful, emotions that were both small and gigantic – the Tuscan-born comic finally screened his new film for the journalists. But only those whose names were on a select and very limited list. The film is scheduled for release on Friday 11 October onto almost 900 Italian screens, followed by the UK on 27 December; January in Germany, France and Belgium in March and The Netherlands in April. (The arrival of this film was preceded by a reported Euros 40million budget, was eight months in pre-production and a further eight in post-production and fully 28 weeks in the making in the Papigno Studios, features 4000 extras and an unprecedented number of special effects. This was also the very last film that set designer, Danilo Donati worked on and it was dedicated to his memory)... Then came the wave of controversy when it emerged that Berlusconi’s Medusa would distribute this film, after all, Benigni is the man who took Berlinguer in his arms. This was followed by another wave after Carlo Collodi’s name disappeared from the posters. Then came the sadness on realising that Benignaccio seems to have become the prisoner of ceremonials worthy of a superstar. And hopes and fears for the US release on Christmas Day, by courtesy of Miramax who are pondering a new race for the Oscar.
With all these expectations in the balance, it was perhaps inevitable that the critics emerged somewhat disappointed by today’s screening. However, they were all only too well aware that Benigni, the Jester of Misericordia who will celebrate his 50th birthday on 27 October, has become a national icon and criticism of him would be unseemly, to say the very least. He is the symbol of Italian cinema – or rather, Our genius. But let’s now listen to what he had to say.

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Fellini’s Legacy: Federico used to call me “Pinocchietto” (Little Pinocchio – Editor’s note) and he even drew me as Pinocchio. “You will make Pinocchio alone, Robertino” was the last thing he said to me from his deathbed. I’d been dreaming about making Pinocchio for twenty years but I could not wait any longer or I’d ended up playing Geppetto.

Collodi You ask “Why is Collodi missing from the credits?” It’s like saying that they should have written at the beginning of the Bible that it was “based on the novel of the same title by God”. “Pinocchio” is the world’s most widely read and translated book in the world after the Koran and the Bible and everyone knows it was written by Collodi”

America. The Americans have a very Disneylike idea of Pinocchio. They can’t believe that he is hanged! Let’s hope they like it just the same.

Current Events How can you make Pinocchio contemporary? That would be like modernising a myth. You ruin anything you touch... But did you notice the court scene and the judge sucking on his lollypop?

The Blue Fairy. The Blue Fairy is the most often betrayed character. Gadda used to say that she is the archetypal 19th century female myth. I could have played her but Nicoletta has been the Blue Fairy ever since I first met her.

Role Models. I consider Comencini’s Pinocchio to be the most Italian of them all, but I also adore a 1940s Pinocchio. Guardone’s version where Gassman played the Green Fisherman.

Berlusconi. Silvio Berlusconi is our distributor and I’d never speak well of him behind his back. As a politician, he’s no Cavour but he is one of the world’s pre-eminent entrepreneurs. I found all the controversy about Medusa rather puzzling.

Childhood. I was born in a small town called Misericordia and my name is Benigni. Doesn’t it make you cry? My mother did not know how to read but would tell me bits of Pinocchio and the Divine Comedy too: I confused Pinocchio with Dante because of his long nose.

Jackie Chan. Miramax wanted to make a film starring me and Jackie Chan where we were to have played two window cleaners who witness a murder? Really?

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