Benito Mussolini: Last News

Proud and vibrant, men in immaculate suits with sashes across their chests, women and children in traditional costume, they gather on the streets of Ancoats. The picture below was taken in 1955 and the occasion was an annual parade.

The Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands has created a soundtrack for an upcoming drama series about Mussolini. Check it out below.Titled Mussolini: Son of the Century, the upcoming series will comprise eight episodes and is set to stream on Sky from February 4.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor A 4K restoration of the 1981 film “Lion of the Desert” is to premiere at the Cairo Film Festival this week. Telling the story of Benito Mussolini’s attempt to defeat the Libyan rebellion against fascist Italian rule, the film stars Oliver Reed and Anthony Quinn and was produced and directed by Syrian-American filmmaker Moustapha Akkad. The trailer for the film is below.

It was Adolf Hitler’s name that became synonymous with evil, but his Italian counterpart — Benito Mussolini, named for a Mexican revolutionary leader by his staunchly Socialist father — was arguably the more enduring brand. Any populist politician today owes a good deal to the Mussolini playbook, brought to explosive life in an extraordinary Italian-language series by British director Joe Wright.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent British director Joe Wright, who helmed Winston Churchill drama “Darkest Hour,” is at the Venice Film Festival with another historical piece, high-end TV drama “M. Son of the Century.” The series chronicles Benito Mussolini’s rise to power and is particularly timely as populist leaders are sprouting up all over the world.

Tom Blyth is opening up about the roles he’s been playing in films. Although he is drawn to the complexities of bad guys, he thinks it might be time to play some nice guys.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Sky and Fremantle have released the first teaser-trailer for “M – Son of the Century,” the hotly anticipated series about Benito Mussolini’s rise to power that will launch from the upcoming Venice Film Festival. The kaleidoscopic eight-episode show is helmed by Joe Wright, the British director of Winston Churchill drama “Darkest Hour” – which earned Gary Oldman an Oscar for his portrayal as the British prime minister – and also of “Atonement,” among other titles.

The head of Sky Studios’ Italian fare has spotlighted the challenges behind making a Gomorrah prequel in the highly competitive streaming era.

EXCLUSIVE: Pack One Bag is a new podcast documentary series that tells the story of two Italians married on the run escaping Mussolini’s “Racial Laws,” and the story of the family they left behind, fighting to survive the Nazi occupation of Rome.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian state broadcaster RAI is under heavy fire amid allegations that it censored a planned anti-fascist monologue by prominent writer Antonio Scurati, author of international bestseller “M: Son of the Century,” which reconstructs fascist dictator Benito Mussolini’s rise to power. Scurati was meant to read his monologue – written to mark the country’s upcoming April 25 national holiday that celebrates Italy’s liberation from fascism – on the talk show “Chesarà,” which aired on the broadcaster’s RAI 3 channel Saturday night.

Stephen Colbert has made his feelings clear about the prospect of a second Donald Trump presidency, describing the former US leader as a “fascist”.During an impassioned speech on The Late Show, Colbert reminded audiences of the multiple charges currently levelled against Trump, while also asking them to imagine the “horror” of what the country would be like if “this hate-filled dingus” were to be re-elected.“People talk about him a lot, and because people are talking about him, we talk about him – like, say, the 91 charges he’s facing,” Colbert said (via The Guardian). “Which is, technically speaking, a lot of charges.“But as much as all of us talk and think about this numbnut, every so often, it’s really important to, let’s say metaphorically, jam the sharpened stick of knowledge into the soft inner thigh of your mind and just grind it around a little bit to try to reawaken the horror of what our country would be like if this hate-filled dingus and his soulless goons ever got a hold of power again.”“Because, and I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Donald Trump is a fascist,” he continued.To support his characterization, Colbert noted that the former president had once referred to “vermin” that he wanted to “root out” on the campaign trail.“First, that’s dehumanizing his fellow Americans.

A Lazio fan has penned an open letter to Celtic fans defending the Roman club's supporters and insisting they are "not fascist."

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent 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.” 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rome’s Cinecittà Studios are generating a profit for the first time in years amid a radical upgrade, overhaul, and expansion of the filming facilities where Hollywood productions are now flocking on a scale that is starting to be comparable with its glory days. Roland Emmerich last month started shooting his gladiator series “Those About to Die” starring Anthony Hopkins as Emperor Vespasian; Joe Wright is in the midst of production on TV series “M,” about Benito Mussolini’s rise to power; and in January cameras started rolling in the “City of Cinema” on Netflix’s period soap “The Decameron.” These are among the biggest international productions lured by the storied studios in recent years, also thanks to Italy’s 40% cash back tax rebate.

Sky Studios CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz has called the plethora of shows on the market “really confusing” for viewers.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, beating out Turning Red, The Sea Beast, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

After joining Guillermo del Toro on the project over 10 years ago, producers Alex Bulkley and Corey Campodonico finally got to see the fruits of their labor when Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio premiered last year. Del Toro’s Netflix adaptation of the Carlo Collodi story takes place in 1930s Italy, during the Fascist reign of Benito Mussolini. In this story, woodcarver Geppetto (David Bradley) loses his son Carlo in an aerial bombing and carves Pinocchio (Gregory Mann) from the tree at his son’s grave. Bulkley and Campodonico’s animation studio, ShadowMachine, was responsible for the stop-motion animation of the film, and the pair were incredibly excited to go on this long journey with del Toro.

“I saw the Disney film when I was very, very young, and it made a huge impression,” Guillermo del Toro said during a panel for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio at Deadline’s Contenders: The Nominees event, where he was joined by director Mark Gustafson. “What sat wrong with me was the idea that you needed to be obedient to be a real boy, and that you needed to be transformed into something you were not to be loved.”

It’s impossible to talk about Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio without considering the music. Del Toro’s Netflix adaptation of the Carlo Collodi story takes place in 1930s Italy, during the Fascist reign of Benito Mussolini. In this story, woodcarver Geppetto (David Bradley) loses his son Carlo in an aerial bombing and carves Pinocchio (Gregory Mann) from the tree at his son’s grave. Composer Alexandre Desplat, who worked with del Toro on The Shape of Water, was tasked with capturing the “joyous melancholy” of the wooden boy in music. To enhance the connection between the character of Pinocchio and the music, Desplat made the choice to only use wooden instruments in the score. Below, Desplat breaks down three key pieces of the score – “Carlo’s Theme”, “Going to Town” and “Saving Geppetto” – with the corresponding scenes included for reference.

Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont’s Close, Danish director Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider and Swedish director Ruben Ôstlund’s Triangle Of Sadness lead the nominations for the 35th European Film Awards, which were unveiled today.

K.J. Yossman Luca Marinelli has been cast as Benito Mussolini in Joe Wright’s upcoming biopic series for Sky. Variety revealed last month that Wright, who recently finished promoting his feature film “Cyrano,” was set to direct the series chronicling Mussolini’s rise to power against a backdrop of fascism and World War II. Wright also helmed Winston Churchill drama “Darkest Hour,” which saw Gary Oldman nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of the former British prime minister. “M. Son of the Century” is based on Antonio Scurati’s book and is set to go into production at Cinecittà Studios in Italy over the next few weeks. Wright will direct all eight episodes.