Agostino De Laurentiis, called Dino, born in Torre Annunziata in 1919 and deceased in Beverly Hills in 2010, was the most influential Italian film producer in the 20th century. Brother of Luigi De Laurentiis and uncle of Aurelio De Laurentiis, he founded with Carlo Ponti la Ponti-De Laurentiis and produced masterpieces such as The Road and Nights of Cabiria (Oscar), The Great War and International Successes as Hannibal
The memory of Francesco Zimone
I met Dino De Laurentiis in 2004, at Universal Studios, and I had the privilege of working with him. When I met him he was about 85–90 years old, but he carried over half a century of film history, made of characters and productions that left an indelible mark. For all it was the “Doctor Dino”. He had an unmistakable voice, that timbre full, authoritative, typical of the De Laurentiis family: it was enough to hear him speak to recognize him in closed eyes. I was the youngest in the company and I proposed more modern projects than the traditional line of society. He, with great curiosity, passed them to his daughters, who were then only 14 and 16 years old, Dina and Carolina, to have their point of view. He only worked in the morning and went away at lunchtime. The rare times when it was held longer and had no driver, he asked me to call him a taxi. In the meantime, I learned to imitate his voice perfectly, so much so that when he went out, in the office they asked me to “do Doctor Dino”. Even today, when I meet someone from the family, I happen to joke by repeating that phrase that always said with its unmistakable accent: “Francis… take a taxi to go home.” A way of speaking I still find myself in Aurelio today. I have many other anecdotes to tell, but some belong to the personal sphere and I prefer to keep them discreetly. If I had to describe it with three adjectives I would say: affectionate, traditional, tireless. He was very affectionate with his wife and daughters, an old-fashioned man, serious, with a certain elegance in ways. He loved watching football matches – he was a fan of Inter – and, despite age, business was still an integral part of his soul. He never stopped being a producer. I keep a very nice, honest memory of him. And I also keep some beautiful photographs that draw him back together with his wife: images that, for me, tell not only a giant of cinema, but also a man deeply linked to his family.
The memory ofJonathan Sanger
I worked with Dino De Laurentiis for the first time in a movie entitled Crazy Joe, of which he was producer and directed by Italian director Carlo Lizzani, who did not speak English. He and photography director Aldo Tonti came to New York to film the film. I was a junior assistant, some kind of assistant director. Dino was there just to make sure everything went smoothly, but he was not so interested in the film, he was making two films at the same time. Crazy Joe, but he was also filming Serpico, a much bigger film with Al Pacino, and that’s what he dedicated most of his time. The other thing I did with Dino was a film directed by William Friedkin, titled The Brink’s Job, shot in Boston and also in this case Dino always came. He was adorable when he was there, but he was interested in the volume of things to turn. He was trying to make many films at the same time and also trying to find the way to not use too many unionized people, so he came and sent his men to look for location and while they were looking for him he was shooting with his Italian crew without saying anything to anyone and then he said “Oh, we can’t find the location, so we won’t go back here” and they were going back to Italy and had already shot for three days. It was his way of doing things. He was really a fascinating character.
L’articolo The memory of Dino De Laurentiis proviene da IlNewyorkese.