Variety: Joe Wright making Benito Mussolini TV Series (!) with a ‘Rave Culture’ Aesthetic (!!) and a Techno Score (!!!) -- (edited)
Posted by
mud
Apr 17 '23, 06:38
|
By Nick Vivarelli
British director Joe Wright, who helmed Winston Churchill drama “Darkest Hour” – which earned Gary Oldman an Oscar for his portrayal as the British prime minister – has now changed historical sides.
Wright is at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios shooting high-end TV drama “M. Son of the Century” which chronicles Benito Mussolini’s rise to power. A timely tale because, as he puts it: “Populist leaders are sprouting up all over the world.”
Aesthetically, the show will be “quite outlandish” with deeply saturated colors, punctuated by a “kind of techno score,” the director said during a recent set visit. Though “It’s not told in a vérité style,” Wright pointed out that “All the facts of what happened, they’re all there.”
Luca Marinelli (“The Eight Mountains,” “Martin Eden”) plays Mussolini during the period between 1919, when he founded the fascist party in Italy, and 1925 when – having gained power with the 1922 March on Rome – Mussolini made an infamous speech in the Italian Chamber of Deputies declaring himself a dictator.
“M” is based on Antonio Scurati’s eponymous Premio Strega-winning and international bestselling novel which traces the birth of Fascism in Italy and Mussolini’s ascent with an innovative approach. The script is written by Stefano Bises (“Gomorrah,” “The New Pope”) in collaboration with Davide Serino (“1992”).
Sky Studios and Lorenzo Mieli’s Fremantle-owned The Apartment Pictures are producing in collaboration with Pathé and Small Forward. The show will play on Sky in its European territories (U.K., Ireland Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) with Fremantle handling international sales.
The bulk of the series is being shot at Cinecittà where, thanks to a pact between Cinecittà and Fremantle, the production has been using five soundstages, including a large LED wall and a swathe of the outside backlot where several Mussolini-era buildings and interiors have been meticulously reconstructed under the guidance of production designer Mauro Vanzati.
|