Dino de Laurentiis

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BIRTHDAY

August 08, 1919

Torre Annunziata, Italy

RECENT CREDITS

Virgin Territory (FILM) Sep. 21, 2007

The Last Legion (FILM) Aug. 17, 2007

Hannibal Rising (FILM) Feb. 9, 2007

Red Dragon (FILM) Oct. 4, 2002

Hannibal (FILM) Feb. 9, 2001

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BIOGRAPHY

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Having studied to be a cinematographer, Italian filmmaker Dino De Laurentiis was unable to secure a job in this line and had to settle for a series of menial jobs. When he finally made his full-fledged entry into the movie business at age 20, it was as a producer. World War II prevented De Laurentiis from attaining "boy wonder" status, but after the war he earned international recognition as producer of the neorealist classic Bitter Rice (1946). In partnership with director Federico Fellini in the early 1950s, De Laurentiis produced such films as La Strada (1954) and Nights of Cabiria (1956). When Fellini broke up the partnership, De Laurentiis decided to turn his back on Art and concentrate on Commerce. He produced several popular "spectaculars" of the era, with gladiators, slave girls and outsized battle sequences in abundance. He also set up his own motion picture production center, Dinocitta, as a rival to the long-established Cinecitta studio complex in Rome. A late-'60s slump in the Italian film industry compelled De Laurentiis to move to Hollywood, where he set about to produce self-styled "blockbusters"--often remakes of earlier films or rip-offs of popular genres. Hollywood reporters of the era enjoyed making fun of De Laurentiis' variable epics (and of his "cute" Italian accent), though with such hits as Barberella (1968), Death Wish (1973) and Three Days of the Condor (1975), the producer always had the last laugh. But the law of diminishing returns inevitably exercised itself upon De Laurentiis, and after a string of expensive disasters in the mid-'80s (notably 1984's Dune), his DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group filed for bankruptcy. The producer lost his Wilmington, North Carolina studios, which have since been purchased by the Carolco Company. Though written off by some industry pundits as a has-been, Dino DeLaurentiis always seems to land on his feet; as late as 1993 he was able to sign Madonna for a Basic Instinct clone titled Body of Evidence (1993).

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Headlines

News, Sept. 2: Venice Film Festival Fetes Some, Boos Others; J...

Sep. 2, 2003

News, Sept. 2: Venice Film Festival Fetes Some, Boos Others; Jerry Lewis Telethon Breaks Bank; Cybersquatters Defined Sofia Coppola Bill Murray Lost in Translation Antonio Banderas Emma Thompson Imagining Argentina Madonna Britney Spears Michelle Rodriguez Carson Daly Pierce Brosnan

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News, May 14: "The Matrix Reloaded" Sneaks Early Shows, Jennifer Garner Files for Divo...

Posted: May. 14, 2003

News, May 7: DiCaprio Questioned in Street Brawl Suit, J.Lo's "Flashdance" Snafu, CBS ...

Posted: May. 7, 2003

Box Office Analysis: Oct. 13

Posted: Oct. 11, 2002

Box Office Analysis: Oct. 6

Posted: Oct. 6, 2002

News Roundup: July 24

Posted: Jul. 24, 2002

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