Outtakes

Benigni's alive with Pinocchio

Roberto Benigni's long-awaited take on Carlo Collodi's classic fairy tale Pinocchio will open next weekend in Italy on a record 860 screens, almost 30 percent of the country's 3,000 screens.
"It's an incredible number, but on the other hand, requests to play the film have come from all over Italy," producer Elda Ferri told Variety. "Even tiny theatres in very small towns want to run it."
Ferri says one Neapolitan exhibitor, whose theatre has been closed for 20 years, contacted the distribution company and offered to reopen if the distributor will give him a print.
Benigni is keeping a low profile during the run-up to the release, his first film since 1997's multiple-Oscar winner Life Is Beautiful, the highest-grossing Italian production of all time.
But interviews with supporting actors Kim Rossi Stuart, Carlo Giuffre, Peppe Barra, Alessandro Bergonzoni and Luis Molteni as well as co-scripter Vincenzo Cerami and composer Nicola Piovani have helped fuel national interest.
Ironically, residents of the tiny hamlet of Collodi in Tuscany - named for the Pinocchio author - will have to travel to see the film. The village has no cinema.
Pinocchio is scheduled for release in Toronto on Christmas Day; a sure sign that the film is may reap Oscar notice.

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The first ever Director's Guild of Canada Awards takes place at Toronto's Boulevard Club on Saturday, October 4. Hosted by Kids in the Hall alumni and News Radio star Dave Foley, 14 DGC Awards in 13 categories will be presented. Award-winning director and DGC member Dan Petrie will present the lifetime achievement award to long-time Guild member and colleague Norman Jewison. Other presenters will include DGC directors Jerry Ciccoritti, Allan King, Jeremy Podeswa, and Patricia Rozema. The final nominees include Outstanding Achievement in a Feature Film: Michael Bafaro for The Barber; Lea Pool for Lost & Delirious; and Sturla Gunnarsson for Rare Birds. Outstanding Achievement in a Television Movie/Mini-Series: Jeremy Podeswa for After the Harvest; Shawn Alex Thompson for American in Canada; Paul Shapiro for Jewel; and John Fawcett for Lucky Girl.

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DVD Releases worth checking out include a fabulous Monsters Inc., featuring a widescreen technique and some extra shorts that'll guarantee multiple viewings. The two-disc edition contains the all-new animated short Mike's New Car, the Pixar release For the Birds, and the hilarious Company Play musical performance by the film's characters. Also included in the discs is an exclusive look at Disney and Pixar's upcoming film Finding Nemo.
Also impressive is The Rookie release, available in separate full-frame and enhanced widescreen editions, and which offers deleted scenes introduced by director John Hancock, audio commentary from star Dennis Quaid, a production featurette that compares the movie's take on lead character Jim Morris to reality, and Spring Training, a collection of short video clips in which baseball coordinator Mark Ellis advises prospective rookies on how to play baseball.

Publication Date: 2002-10-06
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=1831