Medusa focuses on comedies, Italian films and 3D

by Vittoria Scarpa

28/06/2011 - Lots of Italian films, lots of comedies: producer-distributor Medusa Film’s 2011/2012 line-up focuses on domestic films and especially the genre that has taken the box office by storm in recent months. ''The market share for Medusa’s films in 2010 was 17%, so far for 2011, it is 29%”, said managing director Giampaolo Letta, specifying that "in 2010, almost 49% of the market share came from Italian films''.

So make way for home-grown Italian films, starting with Ricky Tognazzi’s Tutta Colpa Della Musica [trailer] (“Blame It All On Music”, to be released in September and tipped for a screening at the forthcoming Venice Film Festival), starring Stefania Sandrelli; and Francesco Patierno’s Cose Dell'Altro Mondo [trailer] (“Things From The Other World”, to be released on September 3), starring Diego Abatantuono. Also in September, besides Roman Polanski’s Carnage (contender for Venice) and Dany Boon’s French film Nothing To Declare [trailer], Medusa will launch Paolo Costella’s Baciato Dalla Fortuna [trailer] (“Kissed By Fortune”, release date: September 30), featuring Vincenzo Salemme.

On October 14, it will be the turn of Paolo Sorrentino’s eagerly-awaited This Must Be The Place [trailer, film focus], which won acclaim at Cannes (see news). November 11 will see the release of Pupi Avati’s latest film, Il Cuore Grande Delle Ragazze [trailer] (“Girls’ Big Hearts”), starring Micaela Ramazzotti; and hitting screens on November 25 is the new, as-yet-untitled work by comic duo Ficarra and Picone.

While 2011 will close with Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris [trailer] (December 2) and Leonardo Pieraccioni’s Finalmente la Felicità (“Happiness At Last”, December 16 – see news), 2012 will be ushered in with two hotly-anticipated sequels by Medusa: Paolo Genovese’s Immaturi: Il Viaggio (“Immature: The Journey”, January 5) and Luca Miniero’s Welcome to the North (January 27).

Medusa will also bring five 3D projects to the big screen: Fausto Brizzi’s Come È Bello Far l'Amore (“How Nice It Is To Make Love”, currently shooting, to be released on February 10); Ghost Rider, starring Nicholas Cage (February 17); Bernardo Bertolucci’s new film, based on Niccolò Ammaniti’s book ''Me and You'' (still to be filmed); Winx creator Igino Straffi’s animated film Not Born To Be Gladiators; and the documentary about rocker Ligabue’s upcoming concert at the Campovolo in Reggio Emilia (to be released in December).

(Translated from Italian)