Tuesday,
December 23, 2008
Gabriele Muccino
is Will Smith
The
ANNOTICO Report
Director
Gabriele Muccino, was a lanky 41-year-old who barely spoke English when he
paired with Will Smith a few years ago on the story of a homeless man
This time, Muccino, who has become Smith
Gabriele Muccino
is Will Smith
By
Rachel Abramowitz
December 22, 2008
Italian neorealism and Will Smith are not concepts
that usually go together. The first hearkens to the postwar film tradition of
movies like "The Bicycle Thief," which focused on the problems of
everyday people with nonjudgmental compassion, often featuring nonprofessional
actors. And then there
The task of marrying these disparate worlds has fallen to director Gabriele Muccino, a lanky 41-year-old who barely spoke English when
he paired with Smith a few years ago on the story of a homeless man
This time, Muccino, who has become Smith
It is a dark and complicated movie, which has generated mixed reviews and
earned just $16 million at the box office this past weekend, Smith
But then, Muccino knew it would be tough to pull off.
"It was the most challenging, difficult, complex and ambitious movie I had
ever read," he says of the script.
Just three years ago, the director was living in
Smith explains what he saw in "The Last Kiss": "I could tell
that none of the actors in the film were world-class actors with 10,000 hours
of experience. Everybody was new, yet everybody gave fantastic performances.
The only way that happens is because the director crafted all their
performances." Smith also liked that Muccino
told him that "an American shouldn't direct
Muccino recalls over wine and soup at an Italian
restaurant in
At that time, Muccino also had to complete the film
in 150 words or fewer, which was about the extent of his English vocabulary.
"Sometimes, I barely understood what people were talking about," he
says now with a laugh. "It was all about instinct and guts. Particularly
with Will, I had to use sounds."
Smith offers up a demonstration of Muccino
For their efforts, Smith received an Oscar nomination and Muccino
As he did on "Happyness," Muccino devoted a month to rehearsing, holed up with the
actors to hammer out the script and characters, but also to distill "the
need for relatability with what is real outside your
room. You have to be honest and respectful of the real life that real people
are experiencing every day."
That
Yet "Seven Pounds" examines themes of altruism and sacrifice.
"The idea that you have somebody who helps you and protects you is much
more needed here than in
rachel.abramowitz@latimes .com
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