David Bridges
Italy’s Leone Film Group is taking the legacy of its founder, spaghetti Western grasp Sergio Leone, to the next stage.
As a result of the Rome-based agency run by the maestro’s children, Raffaella and Andrea, celebrates its thirty fifth anniversary, it continues to consolidate its standing as a result of the preeminent supplier of U.S. indie product to Italy. The Leone’s film and TV manufacturing facet has been these days rising with a sturdy slate of high-end content material materials for the worldwide market.
Having develop to be the best distribution companion in Italy for U.S. indies comparable to Lionsgate, STX Leisure, Voltage and Black Bear Footage, the Leone Film Group is now centered on what Raffaella Leone calls the “more durable course of” of “laying the groundwork for our manufacturing facet throughout the worldwide space.”
The group’s Lotus Manufacturing label, which is now run instantly by Raffaella, has a slew of initiatives in assorted phases, with new films by James Gray, Isabel Coixet and Gabriele Muccino. As a result of it ramps up its manufacturing division, LFG is busy forging shut ties with a galaxy of producing companions, from Spain’s Mediapro to Ridley Scott’s Scott Free, to Rodrigo Teixeira’s Brazil-based RT Choices and “The White Lotus” producer David Bernad.
“We’re pushed by a strong must work as producers with worldwide companies on an equal footing,” says Raffaella, who’s the company’s co-owner and CEO.
This improve to Leone’s manufacturing facet goes down in direction of a backdrop of upheavals in Hollywood attributable to strikes and mergers. And LFG’s ambitions are unfolding amid consolidation throughout the Italian market the place, following quite a lot of worldwide buyouts of their rivals, LFG is now certainly one of many few completely Italian-owned companies left standing.
All the uncertainty and train is opening doorways for non-U.S. players throughout the world content material materials space.
“Our goal is it to remain an Italian agency, and actually do the choice: buy or merge with a world agency that is likely to be Spanish or presumably American,” say Raffaella and Andrea. This must broaden is simply not dictated by “delusions of grandeur,” they add, nonetheless on account of “that’s the place the market goes and as well as due to the dimensions of initiatives we want to produce.”
A take a look on the LFG manufacturing pipeline:
Untitled James Gray mission
Produced by LFG in tandem with Teixeira (“Armageddon Time”), who said in an announcement: “It’s such an honor to work on a film with the Leone family. I started my occupation throughout the film enterprise partly as a consequence of Sergio Leone’s legacy. When the possibility to co-produce a model new film by James Gray with Raffaella and Andrea Leone bought right here, it was a dream come true.” Particulars of the mission, which is able to seemingly be Gray’s subsequent film, are being saved beneath wraps.
Days of Abandonment
Penelope Cruz will star in Coixet’s English-language adaptation of Italian author Elena Ferrante’s novel of the equivalent title, and a screenplay by “The Affair” co-creator Sarah Treem. “Abandonment” is about to reunite the two excessive Spanish abilities following their collaboration on one different U.S.-set film, the 2008 drama “Elegy.” That film is an adaptation of Philip Roth’s novella “The Dying Animal,” about an affair between a professor (carried out by Ben Kingsley) and his scholar (Cruz).
Deep Crimson remake
LFG has teamed up with “White Lotus” producer Bernad on a current remake of Dario Argento’s 1975 horror primary.
Siracusa
Filmmaker Gabriele Muccino — whose Hollywood credit score embody Will Smith-starrer “The Pursuit of Happyness” — will direct this English-language adaptation of Delia Ephron’s novel “Siracusa.” The availability supplies follows two {couples} and a child who make a journey on the sun-drenched coast of the Ionian Sea in Sicily, and turns into “a thriller” of varieties, says Raffaella. Muccino’s Sicily-set romantic thriller “Proper right here Now,” starring Elena Kampouris (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding ceremony ceremony 3”), moreover produced by LFG, will seemingly be launched in Italy in October.
Scandalo
Paolo Genovese (“Glorious Strangers”) will direct this reconstruction of the love triangle involving director Ingrid Bergman, neo-realism grasp Roberto Rossellini and actor Anna Magnani, based on the e ebook “Gli amanti del vulcano” (“The Volcano Lovers”) by Italian journalist Marcello Sorgi. The screenplay is by Francesco Piccolo (“My Wise Good buddy”) and Genovese.
Joan of Arc mission
LFG and Scott Free are creating this mission, promising a model new sort out the French icon. It’s an adaptation of a chapter of a bestselling e ebook by Italian historian Alessandro Barbero, who describes Joan as a lady “who headed a army dressed as an individual and paid alongside along with her life for that drawback to the rules of her time.”
American director Roger Kumble (“Cruel Intentions”) will direct the first instalment of the phenomenally worthwhile Wattpad novels trilogy by Stefania S. “Love Me, Love Me” amenities on 16-year-old June, who turns into entangled in a love triangle with two boys who’re best associates and uncovers hidden truths. Lotus is producing with Amazon MGM Studios in collaboration with Wattpad Webtoon Studios. Prime Video will launch globally.
Leone Film Group “understand the importance of viewers engagement and fandom, which is essential to our studio,” says Aron Levitz, president of Wattpad Webtoon Studios. “We take good satisfaction in partnering with such a legendary studio and are excited to proceed making content material materials with Leone Film Group and the gifted crew at Lotus Manufacturing,” he supplies.
The Leone Film Group milestones:
“As quickly as Upon a Time throughout the West,” starring Charles Bronson, correct, and Henry Fonda.
Courtesy Everett Assortment
1989
Sergio Leone items up a corporation to help make “Leningrad,” his long-gestating dream mission, nonetheless he died that yr. In the midst of the following years, two of his three children, Raffaella and Andrea, go into enterprise selling TV movies as Leone Film Group after chopping their enamel managing rights of two Westerns they inherited from their father: “As quickly as Upon a Time throughout the West” and “Duck, You Sucker!”
After a decade all through which they solid relationships with U.S. indies and outfitted product to most Italian broadcasters, accu-mulating a substantial library, Raffaella and Andrea make the leap into theatrical with Steven Soderbergh’s “Web site guests.” As well as they start broadening their market train from TV to further platforms, along with pay TV and residential video.
2009
LFG strikes into native manufacturing with youth comedy “Generazione 1,000 Euro.”
2012
LFG indicators its first multi-year output deal for theatrical with DreamWorks (Amblin/Storyteller).
2013
Shingle inks a multi-year output address Summit Leisure and, by extension, Lionsgate. Pacts with FilmNation and totally different U.S. players observe.
Start of shut collaboration with RAI Cinema’s 01 Distribution. First key titles are “Rush” and “The Wolf of Wall Avenue.”
LFG flotation kicks off on Dec. 19 as Ennio Morricone’s ranking for “As quickly as Upon a Time throughout the West” performs inside Milan stock alternate.
2014
LFG acquires manufacturing agency Lotus.
2015
Lionsgate supplies LFG a mandate to develop to be their govt producer on “John Wick 2,” the first of quite a lot of giant U.S. productions they’ve serviced in Italy.
2016
Lotus produces its first TV sequence, “Immaturi,” and begins creating worldwide displays. Its newer TV sequence embody Disney+’s “The Lions of Sicily” (2023) and upcoming Naples-set current “Uonderbois,” about youngsters who roam city’s underbelly led by a Robin Hood-like character, moreover for Disney+.
Lionsgate’s family drama “Shock” scores its best European haul in Italy with $13.8 million. Gabriele Muccino’s ensemble dramedy “A Casa Tutti Bene” (“There Is No Place Like Dwelling”) is Italy’s excessive native hit.
2019
LFG sees success in Italy with “Mia and the White Lion,” “Vice,” “Inexperienced Information” and “After.”
Shingle inks distinctive first-window 30-month address Amazon. Sky has second window.
2020
Muccino’s “Gli Anni Più Belli” (“The Best Years”) sees its high-grossing launch decrease temporary by the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021
LFG-produced teen romancer “Time Is Up” starring Bella Thorne is the highest-grossing limited-event launch of the yr in Italian cinemas.
Partnership with Amazon extended due to stellar outcomes achieved by LFG-distributed product on the Prime Video platform, espe-cially with the “After” film franchise. “They’re the gold commonplace in distribution,” says “After” producer Nicolas Chartier, head of Voltage Footage. “And their father is my favorite director!”
The Prime Video partnership expands with the launch of a curated Leone “As quickly as Upon a Time” channel of excessive Italian titles from LFG’s library.
2022
Raffaella Leone takes the reins at Lotus.
2023
LFG releases 11 titles theatrically, 4 of which self-produced, amongst them Micaela Ramazzotti’s “Felicità” (“Happiness”), which premieres on the Venice Film Competitors.
2024
Italian billionaire Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio buys a 13.78% of LFG by way of his LMDV Capital, “pushed by a necessity to help the group preserve in Italian palms and develop,” says Raffaella Leone.
Raffaella Leone is awarded the Cavaliere del Lavoro (Order of Profit for Labour) medal in recognition of the prominence she has attained as an Italian entrepreneur.
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