Italian Producer

Background:

Born in Italy, producer Dino De Laurentiis is most likely known for his involvement in Michael Mann’s Manhunter (1986), Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002), all of which are part of the Hannibal Lecter series. De Laurentiis will also produce the upcoming Hannibal Rising, slated for release in 2007.

De Laurentiis, who has collected five David di Donatello Awards and three Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists’ Silver Ribbons, also enjoyed success with such films as War and Peace (1955), John Huston’s The Bible: In the Beginning (1966), Serpico (1973, starred Al Pacino), David Cronenberg’s landmark project The Dead Zone (1983) and Sometimes They Come Back (1991, TV). Nonetheless, he also reaped considerable amounts of criticism for working in ill-fated films like the remake King Kong (1976), Amityville II: The Possession (1982), as well as the Razzie-nominated films Year of the Dragon (1985) and Body of Evidence (1993).

De Laurentiis’ catastrophic films in the 1970s inspired critics Harry and Michael Medved to catcall him “Dino Di Horrendous,” in their 1980 book “The Golden Turkey Awards.” The ex-husband of actress Silvana Mangano (1949-1989, has 4 children) is now married to Martha Schumacher, with whom he has two children.


Spaghetti

Childhood and Family:

Agostino De Laurentiis, later known simply as Dino De Laurentiis, was born on August 8, 1919, in Torre Annunziata, Naples, Italy. Dino spent his teenage years selling spaghetti produced by his father. He later moved to Rome and studied cinematography at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia while working as an actor and miscellaneous crewmember. After serving in the Italian army during World War II, Dino worked full-time in film production. In the early 1970s, he moved to the United States.

The producer was previously married to actress Silvana Mangano, from July 17, 1949, to her death on December 16, 1989. From the marriage, he has four children: Veronica, Raffaella, Federico and Francesca. In 1990, Dino married Martha Schumacher and has two children from her: Carolyna and Dina.


Hannibal Pictures

Career:

Dino De Laurentiis, who could be seen in the mystery film L’Orologio a cucù (1938), received his first credit as the production supervisor in Troppo tardi t’ho conosciuta (1940). A year later, he was billed as the producer for L’Amore canta (1941). De Laurentiis also became the production manager for the films Margherita fra i tre (1942) and Zazà (1944), as well as the unit manager for Le Miserie del Signor Travet (1945).

As a producer, De Laurentiis worked on several movies, including the crime drama Il Bandito (1946), the adventure La Figlia del capitano (1947) and the comedy Molti sogni per le strade (1948). He began earning international notice with the neo-realistic drama Riso Amaro (1949), which featured future wife Silvana Mangano. De Laurentiis, who in the early 1950s co-founded the Ponti-De Laurentiis Production Company with Carlo Ponti, then financed numerous films, including Napoli milionaria (1950), Anna (1951), Totò a colori (1952), La Tratta delle bianche (1953) and Un Americano a Roma (1954).

De Laurentiis gained critical and commercial success with the Federico Fellini-directed/written La Strada (1954), the drama about a girl’s journey with an abusive traveling entertainer. The Oscar-winning movie soon brought De Laurentiis an Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists’ Silver Ribbon for Best Producer. Following the Audrey Hepburn-starring War and Peace (1955) and Guendalina (1956), the producer reunited with Fellini for the Oscar-winning Le Notti di Cabiria (1957) and collected a David di Donatello award and a second Silver Ribbon.

After dismissing the Ponti-De Laurentiis company in 1957, the producer moved on by supporting This Angry Age (1958, adapted from Marguerite Duras’ novel) and the Oscar-nominated La Grande guerra (1959). De Laurentiis, who in 1961 received another Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists’ Silver Ribbon for Best Producer, then took part in the war drama Tutti a casa (1960), which gave him a David di Donatello award.

Next up for De Laurentiis, he teamed with Vitorrio De Sica as the producers of Il Giudizio universale (1961) and worked in the biblical epic Barabbas (1962). He was also credited in the projects Il Processo di Verona (1963), La Mia signora (1964) and Le Tigre se parfume à la dynamite (1965), before winning a David di Donatello award for his contribution to John Huston’s The Bible: In the Beginning (1966).

The next years, De Laurentiis worked in Lo Straniero (1967), Banditi a Milano (1968, won a David di Donatello award), Nerosubianco (1969), Waterloo (1970, won a David di Donatello’s Best Film award), The Deserter (1971), The Valachi Papers (1972), the box office hit Serpico (1973, starred Al Pacino) and the mob-themed Crazy Joe (1974). He, however, was booed for backing films like Mandingo (1975), the remake King Kong (1976), The White Buffalo (1977), The Brink’s Job (1978) and Hurricane (1979). De Laurentiis continued receiving mixed reviews after being involved in Flash Gordon (1980), the acclaimed drama Ragtime (1981), the mediocre Amityville II: The Possession (1982), David Cronenberg’s landmark project The Dead Zone (1983), David Lynch’s Dune (1984), Year of the Dragon (1985, was nominated for Razzie’s Worst Picture), as well as Michael Mann’s Manhunter (1986), one of the movies in the Hannibal Lecter series.

In the 1990s, De Laurentiis produced the remake Desperate Hours (1990) and made his first foray into American television with the adaptation of Stephen King’s Sometimes They Come Back (1991). Subsequent to Army of Darkness (1992), he worked in the Basic Instinct-like melodrama titled Body of Evidence (1993, was nominated for Razzie’s Worst Picture), starring Madonna. De Laurentiis teamed up with A-list actors in Assassins (1995, starred Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas), Unforgettable (1996, featured Ray Liotta), Breakdown (1997, starred Kurt Russell) and the star-studded U-571 (2000, cast Matthew McConaughey, Harvey Keitel, Bill Paxton and Jon Bon Jovi).

The recipient of the 2001 Oscar’s Irving G. Thalberg Memorial award also produced Hannibal (2001), the long-awaited sequel to The Silence of the Lambs (1991). It was soon followed by another Hannibal Lecter movie titled Red Dragon (2002).

Continuing the serial killer franchise, De Laurentiis is set to produce the prequel Hannibal Rising, slated for release in 2007. He will also produce The Last Region (2007, will feature Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley and Aishwarya Rai) and Virgin Territory (2007, will feature Hayden Christensen and Mischa Barton).


Awards:

- David di Donatello: 50th Anniversary David, 2006
- PGA Golden Laurel: Lifetime Achievement Award in Motion Pictures, 2004
- Flaiano International Prizes: Career Award - Cinema, 2002
- Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival: “The General” Honorary Award, 2002
- Oscar: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, 2001
- Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films: Lifetime Achievement Award, 1997
- David di Donatello: Cinecittà Award, 2000
- Venice Film Festival: Pietro Bianchi Award, 1999
- David di Donatello: Best Film, Waterloo, tied with Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini and Il Conformista, 1971
- David di Donatello: Best Production, Banditi a Milano, tied with Il Giorno della civetta, 1968
- David di Donatello: Best Production, The Bible: In the Beginning, tied with Signore & signori and Africa addio, 1966
- David di Donatello: Best Production, Tutti a casa, tied with Rocco e i suoi fratelli, 1961
- Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists: Silver Ribbon for Best Producer, 1961
- Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists: Silver Ribbon for Best Producer, Le Notti di Cabiria, 1957
- David di Donatello: Best Production, Le Notti di Cabiria, tied with L’Impero del sole, 1957
- Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists: Silver Ribbon for Best Producer, La Strada, 1955