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Italy’s Indiana Production – which is part of pan-European studio Vuelta Group – is making a significant move into the comedy space by forging a multi-picture deal and a creative collaboration pact with multihyphenate Gennaro Nunziante who has directed top local hits including “Quo Vado” that is the country’s all-time highest grosser.

Nunziante – who is a writer/director and sometimes actor – and Indiana are jointly mounting a pipeline of theatrical movies with smart storylines rooted in present-day social issues that, at least in some cases, will seek to travel outside Italy.

The Indiana comedies strand being shepherded by Nunziante, has two lines of development. One dedicated to established talents, the other to discovering and nurturing up-and-coming comics, including from the stand-up sphere, as well as young comedy writers and creators.

New Italian comedy talents they have recruited comprise the Milan-based comedy group Contenuti Zero who have a broad TV and social media fanbase.

Other winners include Italian star Sophia Loren and two Netflix features.

Giorgio Diritti’s Hidden Away was the big winner at Italy’s David di Donatello awards on Tuesday (May 11), winning seven awards including best picture, best director and lead actor for Elio Germano.

The drama, which chronicles the difficult life of Italian painter Antonio Ligabue, is produced by Palomar with Rai Cinema, and premiered at the 2020 Berlinale, where Elio Germano won the Silver Bear for best actor. The film, which was the frontrunner going into the night with 15 nominations, also picked up prizes for cinematography, hair artist and sound.

Box office returns in Italy dropped about 5% to €555 million ($631 million) in 2018, posting their worst result in a decade as Hollywood blockbusters drew in fewer Italian moviegoers than usual.

On the bright side, Italian films gained traction last year, scoring a 22% market share, up from 16% in 2017, marking the second-best showing in the past four years, according to box office analyst Robert Bernocchi. He said that this surpassed the results for homegrown pics in Spain and Germany, which clocked in at about 17% and 18%, respectively.

U.S. films in 2018 nabbed a total of €330 million ($375 million), accounting for 60% of Italy’s market share. That’s a solid result, but roughly six percentage points lower than in 2017, fueling the country’s overall box office drop. The year’s top grosser was Fox’s international hit “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which has pulled in more than €21 million ($23 million), and counting.

Italian ticket sales in 2018 were just shy of 86 million,...

The Italian box office showed minor growth in 2016, according to film association Anica, which released its data for the calendar year on Tuesday. Total sales rose 3.9 percent over the previous year to $706 million (661 million euro). And tickets sold increased 3.9 percent to 105 million.

But the rise in figures was largely due to local films, most notably comedian Checco Zalone’s Quo Vado? which poked fun at the Italian job crisis and the bureaucracy of government positions.

Quo Vado? brought in an incredible $69.9 million (65.4 million euros) for the year. By contrast, last year’s number one film...

This vehicle for Italian comedy star Checco Zalone about a government official sent to the Arctic never quite convinces

This has been a homegrown box office smash in Italy; to like it, maybe you need to be a fan of its writer and leading man: Italian TV comedy star Checco Zalone – a performer somewhere between Sacha Baron Cohen and Michael Barrymore. Checco plays a guy who has a posto fisso or fixed job: a much-coveted and outrageously cushy government post with zero work required. A new official, tasked with ending such sinecures, tries to persuade Checco to take voluntary redundancy. When he refuses, she sends him to ever more unpleasant postings, including an Italian expedition to the Arctic, where he falls in love with Valeria (Eleonora Giovanardi), a beautiful scientist of liberal views who introduces him to the hilarious world of politically correct righteousness in her adopted homeland of Norway,...

Exclusive: Italian box office smash Quo Vado? has been sold to UK, Germany and Spain among other markets.

Taodue has scored key deals on its box office sensation Quo Vado?, the second-highest grossing film of all time in Italy.

Deals to close prior to and during the Efm include Germany and Austria (Weltkino), Spain (A Contracorriente Films), UK (Vue Cinemas), Portugal (Outsider Films/A Contracorriente Films), Greece (Spentzos Films), Russia (Cinema Prestige) and Australia and New Zealand (Palace Films). A deal for Latin America and Middle East with Italia Film and additional deals are also in the works.

Italian comedian Checco Zalone stars in writer-director Gennaro Nunviante’s Quo Vado?, about a middle-aged Italian slacker who goes to any lengths to hold onto his 9 to 5 government job.

The Taodue-produced comedy is second only to Avatar at the Italian box office, having taken $70.8m and overtaking previous Zalone and Taodue collaboration Sole A Catinelle ($56.3m).

Italian powerhouse Taodue...

Exclusive: Italian box office smash Quo Vado? has been sold to UK, Germany and Spain among other markets.

Taodue has scored key deals on its box office sensation Quo Vado?, the second-highest grossing film of all time in Italy.

Deals to close prior to and during the Efm include Germany and Austria (Weltkino), Spain (A Contracorriente Films), UK (Vue Cinemas), Portugal (Outsider Films/A Contracorriente Films), Greece (Spentzos Films), Russia (Cinema Prestige) and Australia and New Zealand (Palace Films). A deal for Latin America and Middle East with Italia Film and additional deals are also in the works.

Italian comedian Checco Zalone stars in writer-director Gennaro Nunviante’s Quo Vado?, about a middle-aged Italian slacker who goes to any lengths to hold onto his 9 to 5 government job.

The Taodue-produced comedy is second only to Avatar at the Italian box office, having taken $70.8m and overtaking previous Zalone and Taodue collaboration Sole A Catinelle ($56.3m).

Italian powerhouse Taodue...

Rentrak.com released the official box office results from this past weekend with the number one film worldwide going to Disney and Lucasfilm's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." The J.J Abrams-directed 'Star Wars' film grossed an impressive $184.6 million worldwide.   China's latest release, "Detective Chinatown" came in second place internationally with $45.0 million and "Mr. Six" taking third place with $38.4 million dollars.

Rentrak's Senior Analyst Paul Dergarabedian said:

"Disney's 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' continues its record-breaking run at an astounding pace, crossing $1.5 billion globally this weekend after 19 days in release and not stands as the sixth highest grossing movie of all-time worldwide, passing 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' and is on track to pass Universal's 'Furious 7' and 'Marvel's The Avengers' to take the number four global spot."

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was also the number one film domestically with $88.3 million. Paramount Pictures' Comedy film,...

© 2015 Lucasfilm Ltd. Tm. All Right Reserved..

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was number one again at the weekend box office.

Rentrak’s Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian commented, “the film is breaking records at an astounding pace, crossing $1.5 billion globally this weekend after 19 days in release and now stands as the sixth highest grossing movie of all-time worldwide, passing ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ and is on track to pass Universal’s ‘Furious 7’ and ‘Marvel’s The Avengers’ to take the number four global spot.”

The top 12 worldwide weekend box office estimates, listed in descending order, per data collected as of Sunday, Jan 3rd, 2015, are below.

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Disney – $184.6M

2. Detective Chinatown – Multiple – $45.M

3. Mr. Six – Multiple – $38.3M

4. Daddy’s Home – Paramount Pictures – $38.2M

5. Mojin: The Lost Legend – Multiple – $32.M

6. Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Road Chip – 20th Century Fox – $22.1M

7. Nuovo progetto Di Checco Zalone – Multiple...

Marina Roberti is the costume designer of the Italian box office hit Sole a Catinelle. She has worked in the Us with the likes of Milena Canonero, Sandy Powell and Dante Ferretti…

How did you become a costume designer?

When I was a kid I was a bumbler at school. I spent all the time drawing and reading. My parents were kind of worried so they decided to enroll me at a fashion college in Turin, my home town. During my last school year they took us to Rome to visit the National Film School. Next year I decided to try and join the school. I thought I could never make it but I did and so I started attending the costume course.

Piero Tosi (costume designer of Il Gattopardo) was one of your teachers in Rome. What did you learn from him?

The most important thing he taught me...

Wildly successful Italian producer Pietro Valsecchi says he's eager for Antonio Banderas to star in biopic about the pontiff's younger years

Antonio Banderas is being tapped by one of Italy's most successful film producers to star as a young Pope Francis in a new biopic.

Pietro Valsecchi, the man behind popular comedies Sun in Buckets (Sole a catinelle) from this year and What a Beautiful Day (Che bella giornata) from 2011, broke the news in a television interview. The proposed film would most likely debut on the small screen in Italy.

Valsecchi's popular films, which star musician and standup comic Checco Zalone and are often directed by Gennaro Nunziante, are lowbrow comedies. But the producer certainly has the financial clout to get the biopic made, with his last two movies currently standing as the highest grossing films of all time in Italy, ahead of Roberto Benigni's 1997 Oscar winner Life is Beautiful.

Rome -- Checco Zalone is little known beyond Italy's borders, but here he's the hottest ticket in cinema. Zalone has made only three feature films, but his latest, Sun in Buckets (Sole a catinelle), set an all-time record for the biggest opening weekend in Italian cinema history -- whether for a domestic film or a foreign production -- earlier this month. It raked in more than $25 million in four days. Now, just two weeks into its release, it's climbed to fourth on the all-time list for Italian box office receipts with an estimated $52 million in ticket sales. It's an

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The festival's market event, The Business Street, got under way Wednesday and will run through Sunday.

Rome -- At its halfway point, the Rome Film Festival is putting memories of last year's event behind it with strong ticket sales, sold-out screenings and events, and a lineup that has much of the Italian capital talking.

Wednesday's highlights included an audience event with Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, along with the world premiere of Hard to Be a God, the magnum opus from Russian auteur Aleksei German. German died in February, and his career honor Wednesday -- his widow and son were on hand to receive it -- made Rome the first international festival to give a career honor posthumously.

The Business Street, the festival's market event, also got under way Wednesday and will run through Sunday, when the festival concludes. Officials said the number of market badge holders was up 6 percent compared to last year.

‘Movie Talks’ will also feature John Hurt, Jonathan Demme and Roman Coppola among others.

The 8th Rome film Festival (Nov 8-17) will again offer audiences on-stage conversations with actors and directors.

Those taking part in the Movie Talks series include Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme, following the world premiere screening of Fear of Falling, presented in the CinemaXXI section, dedicated to new trends in international cinema.

Other on-stage conversations will take place with Spanish director and screenwriter Álex de la Iglesia, veteran British actor John Hurt and Italian comedian Checco Zalone.

Each will meet the audience to talk about his relationship with cinema, commenting on the most significant film scenes in his career and answering questions from the audience.

A notable addition is a conversation that will take place between director, screenwriter, and producer Wes Anderson and director, actor and producer Roman Coppola. The duo will discuss their long-term collaboration, having worked...

The Rome film Festival (November 8-17) is once again offering on-stage conversations ("Movie Talks") with an impressive list of actors and directors. This year Jonathan Demme, Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Spike Jonze, John Hurt, Álex de la Iglesia and Italian comedian Checco Zalone will meet the audience, and get the chance to talk about their relationships with cinema, commenting on their most significant film scenes and answering questions from the audience.Full schedule below.Saturday, November 9 - 4pm Sala PetrassiJohn Hurtmoderated by Sandra Hebron and Mario SestiJohn Hurt, amazing protagonist of four decades of cinema, has been directed by Alan Parker (Midnight Express, 1977), Ridley Scott (Alien, 1979), David Lynch (The Elephant Man, 1980), Michael Cimino (Heaven's Gate, 1980), Sam Peckinpah (Osterman Weekend, 1983), Gus Van Sant (Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, 1993), Robert Zemeckis (Contact, 1997). He also starred in big budget productions such as, Harry...

We won't waste too much time on the American box office today as it's the usual stories: an animated film tops the charts (don't make me say the name), Bridesmaid barely dipped and Midnight in Paris is zooming up the "all time Woody Allen lists". On this last bit I wish we had "adjusted for inflation" charts at the ready. Those inevitable stories about it passing Hannah and Her Sisters at the box office are going to be annoying because $40 million in 1986 is a helluva lot more ticket-buying action than $41 million in 2011, you know? I'm guessing that Annie Hall, which really captured mainstream attention, would reign supreme if you adjusted for inflation. [updated: yep, Annie Hall is #1]

And yes I normally do a new drawing for the box office but I hate drawing cars and the only picture I'd like to conjure in that realm is Cars 2's "Mater" squished flat in a compactor.