TO ROME WITH LOVE is a kaleidoscopic comedy movie set in one of the world's most enchanting cities. The film brings us into contact with a well-known American architect reliving his youth; an average middle-class Roman who suddenly finds himself Rome's biggest celebrity; a young provincial couple drawn into separate romantic encounters; and an American opera director endeavoring to put a singing mortician on stage.
Well-known architect John (Alec Baldwin) is vacationing in Rome, where he once lived in his youth. Walking in his former neighborhood he encounters Jack (Jesse Eisenberg), a young man not unlike himself. As he watches Jack fall head-over-heels for Monica (Ellen Page), his girlfriend Sally's (Greta Gerwig) dazzling and flirtatious friend, John relives one of the most romantically painful episodes of his own life. At the same moment, retired opera director Jerry (Woody Allen) flies to Rome with his wife Phyllis (Judy Davis), to meet their daughter Hayley's (Alison Pill) Italian fiancée, Michelangelo (Flavio Parenti). Jerry is amazed to hear Michelangelo's undertaker father, Giancarlo (renowned tenor Fabio Armiliato) singing arias worthy of La Scala while lathering up in the shower. Convinced that talent that prodigious cannot be kept hidden, Jerry clutches at the opportunity to promote Giancarlo and rejuvenate his own career.
Leopoldo Pisanello (Roberto Benigni) on the other hand is an exceptionally boring guy, who wakes up one morning and finds himself one of the most famous men in Italy with many unanswered questions. Soon the paparazzi trail his every move and question his every motivation. As Leopoldo grows accustomed to the varied seductions of the limelight, he gradually realizes the cost of fame. Meanwhile, Antonio (Alessandro Tiberi) has arrived from the provinces in Rome hoping to impress his straight-laced relatives with his lovely new wife Milly (Alessandra Mastronardi) so that he can get an upscale big city job. Through comic misunderstanding and chance, the couple is separated for the day. Antonio ends up passing off a stranger (Penélope Cruz) as his wife, while Milly is romanced by legendary movie star Luca Salta (Antonio Albanese).
While Rome is a city abundant with romance and comedy, Woody Allen's TO ROME WITH LOVE is about people having adventures that will change their lives forever.
Jerry.....WOODY ALLEN
John.....ALEC BALDWIN
Leopoldo.....ROBERTO BENIGNI
Anna.....PENÉLOPE CRUZ
Phyllis.....JUDY DAVIS
Jack.....JESSE EISENBERG
Sally.....GRETA GERWIG
Monica.....ELLEN PAGE
Luca Salta.....ANTONIO ALBANESE
Giancarlo.....FABIO ARMILIATO
Milly.....ALESSANDRA MASTRONARDI
Pia Fusari.....ORNELLA MUTI
Michelangelo.....FLAVIO PARENTI
Hayley.....ALISON PILL
Hotel Robber.....RICCARDO SCAMARCIO
Antonio.....ALESSANDRO TIBERI
ALEC BALDWIN (John) is a graduate of New York University (BFA-Tisch, 1994) and was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from NYU in 2010. He last appeared on stage in the 2010 Guild Hall (East Hampton) production of Peter Shaffer's Equus, directed by Tony Walton. Other stage credits include: the Roundabout Theatre Company's 2006 production of Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr. Sloane, directed by Scott Ellis; Loot (Broadway-1986; Theatre World Award); Caryl Churchill's Serious Money (Broadway-1988); Prelude to a Kiss (Circle Rep, 1990, Obie Award); A Streetcar Named Desire (Broadway, 1992, Tony® nomination), Macbeth (NYSF, 1998); and The Twentieth Century (Roundabout, 2004). Baldwin also appeared in The Hartman in Stamford, Williamstown, Bay Street.
Baldwin has appeared in over forty films, including BEETLEJUICE, WORKING GIRL, MIAMI BLUES, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, MALICE, THE JUROR, THE EDGE, GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI, STATE AND MAIN, THE CAT IN THE HAT, THE COOLER (National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor, Oscar® nomination), THE AVIATOR, THE DEPARTED, and IT'S COMPLICATED, among many others.
On television, Baldwin currently stars with Tina Fey on NBC's 30 Rock, winner of the 2007, 2008 and 2009 Emmy® for Outstanding Comedy Series. Baldwin has received six SAG Awards, three Golden Globes®, the Television Critics Award and two Emmy® awards as Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance on the show. In 2011 Alec received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
His company, El Dorado Pictures, has produced several projects including Nuremberg: Infamy on Trial for TNT television (Emmy® nomination), The Confession for Showtime (WGA award for best adapted screenplay) and David Mamet's STATE AND MAIN.
Alec Baldwin is also a dedicated supporter of numerous causes related to public policy and the arts. He serves on the boards of People for the American Way, The Hamptons' International Film Festival and Guild Hall of East Hampton. He is an active supporter of The Radiation and Public Health Project, East Hampton Day Care Center, The Actors Fund, The Public Theatre/New York Shakespeare Festival, The Roundabout Theatre, People for the Ethical treatment of Animals and The Water Keeper Alliance, among many others.
Baldwin's book, A Promise to Ourselves (St. Martin's Press) was published in paperback in the fall of 2009.
ROBERTO BENIGNI (Leopoldo) is an actor, comedian, screenwriter and director of film, theatre and television. His 1997 film LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, which he co-wrote, directed and starred in, was nominated for seven Academy Awards®, including Best Picture, and won Best Foreign Language Film, Best Music, and Best Actor. The film received dozens of prestigious prizes around the world, including the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes, a People's Choice at Toronto, a BAFTA (Best Actor), a Cesar, a Goya, a European Film Award, SAG Award, nine David di Donatello Awards (including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay), among many others. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL is one of the most successful foreign language films ever released in the U.S.
Benigni first became known in this country appearing in Jim Jarmusch's DOWN BY LAW in 1986. He would go on to collaborate with Jarmusch in NIGHT ON EARTH and COFFEE & CIGARETTES.
Born in Manciano La Misericordia (Castiglion Fiorentino), Benigni moved to Rome in 1972, where he worked in experimental theatre before achieving fame on two outrageous TV series, Onda Libera, and L'altra domenica. He made his debut as a writer/director/star in 1983 with YOU UPSET ME, followed by NOTHING LEFT TO DO BUT CRY, THE LITTLE DEVIL (with Walter Matthau), JOHNNY STECCHINO, THE MONSTER, PINOCCHIO and THE TIGER AND THE SNOW. As an actor he appeared in SEEKING ASYLUM, Bernardo Bertolucci's LUNA, TIGERS IN LIPSTICK, IL MINESTRONE, Federico Fellini's LA VOCE DELLA LUNA, Blake Edwards' SON OF THE PINK PANTHER, and Claude Zidi's ASTERIX & OBELIX VS. CAESAR.
During 2006 and 2007, Benigni toured Italy with his one-man show TuttoDante (Everything about Dante), which mixes recitations of Dante's Divine Comedy with off-the-cuff humor. In 2009 he toured the United States with TuttoDante. In addition to all of his film awards, Benigni has received numerous honorary degrees from universities around the world.
TO ROME WITH LOVE is the second collaboration between Academy Award® winning actress PENÉLOPE CRUZ (Anna) and Woody Allen. For the first, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, Cruz won an Oscar® for Best Supporting Actress in 2008. In 2007, she was nominated for Best Actress for Pedro Almodóvar's VOLVER, the first actress from Spain to be nominated for an Academy Award®. She received a third nomination as Best Supporting Actress in 2010 for NINE. She is well known for starring opposite Johnny Depp in the blockbuster PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES.
Cruz is best known for her many collaborations with Pedro Almodóvar, which began with a small role in LIVE FLESH, followed by a role in the ensemble cast of ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER (awarded the Golden Globe® and Oscar® for Best Foreign Film), and the lead roles in VOLVER and BROKEN EMBRACES. In addition to her Academy Award® nomination for VOLVER, Cruz won a Goya, a European Film Award, shared Best Actress at Cannes, and received nominations for a Golden Globe®, and BAFTA and SAG Awards.
Cruz was first introduced to American audiences in the Spanish films JAMON, JAMON and Fernando Trueba's Academy Award® winning BELLE EPOQUE, and OPEN YOUR EYES. She followed with DON JUAN, TWICE UPON A YESTERDAY, and TALK OF ANGELS, before starring in her first English language film, THE HI-LO COUNTRY, in 1998. The following year she won the Best Actress award at the 13th Annual Goya Awards given by the Spanish Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for her role in Trueba's THE GIRL OF YOUR DREAMS. Cruz then appeared in opposite Matt Damon in ALL THE PRETTY HORSES, followed by BLOW, CAPTAIN CORELLI'S MANDOLIN, VANILLA SKY (opposite Tom Cruise), DON'T TEMPT ME, MASKED AND ANONYMOUS, FANFAN LA TULIPE, GOTHIKA, DON'T MOVE (David Di Donatello Award and European Film Award for Best Actress), HEAD IN THE CLOUDS, NOEL, SAHARA, CHROMOPHOBIA, BANDIDAS, THE GOOD NIGHT, ELEGY, A MATADOR'S MISTRESS, G-FORCE (voice), SEX AND THE CITY 2, and the upcoming VENUTO AL MONDO.
JUDY DAVIS (Phyllis) marks her fifth collaboration with Woody Allen on TO ROME WITH LOVE, having previously acted in his films CELEBRITY, DECONSTRUCTING HARRY and ALICE. Davis also starred in Allen's HUSBANDS AND WIVES, for which she received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Supporting Actress, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe®, a BAFTA as well as awards from the New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, London film critics. Additionally, she was Oscar® nominated for PASSAGE TO INDIA, and was named Best Actress by the Boston Film Critics.
Davis has been nominated four times for a Golden Globe®, for HUSBANDS AND WIVES, Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story, Dash and Lilly, and won for One Against the Wind and Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, She has been nominated for an Emmy® for A Woman Called Golda, One Against the Wind, The Echo of Thunder, Dash and Lilly, A Cooler Climate, The Reagans, A Little Thing Called Murder, and has won for Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story, Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, and The Starter Wife. She has been nominated for awards eleven times by the Australian Film Institute, and won for HOODWINK, WINTER OF OUR DREAMS, KANGAROO, HIGH TIDE, ON MY OWN, CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION, and THE EYE OF THE STORM.
Davis first came to the attention of international audiences with MY BRILLIANT CAREER in 1979, for which she won two BAFTA awards. Her subsequent films include: THE FINAL OPTION, A PASSAGE TO INDIA (Best Actress, Boston Film Critics), GEORGIA, IMPROMPTU (Independent Spirit Award as Best Female Lead), BARTON FINK (Best Actress, New York Film Critics, also for NAKED LUNCH), WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD, DARK BLOOD, THE REF, THE NEW AGE, BLOOD AND WINE, ABSOLUTE POWER, GAUDI AFTERNOON, THE MAN WHO SUED GOD, SWIMMING UPSTREAM, MARIE ANTOINETTE, and THE BREAK-UP.
Judy Davis' long career also includes both acting and directing for theatre where she recently starred as Irina in The Seagull and directed Victory, The School for Scandal and Barrymore for the Sydney Theatre Company.
JESSE EISENBERG (Jack) has appeared in the films 30 MINUTES OR LESS, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, HOLY ROLLERS, ZOMBIELAND, ADVENTURELAND, THE SQUID AND THE WHALE and ROGER DODGER. For THE SOCIAL NETWORK, Eisenberg was nominated for both an Academy Award® and a BAFTA award for Best Leading Actor for his role as Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. He was also nominated for a BAFTA Rising Star Award for his work on ADVENTURELAND. On stage, he has appeared in Orphans opposite Al Pacino, Scarcity at The Atlantic Theater and Asuncion at The Cherry Lane, which he wrote. He is also a contributing writer for McSweeney's and his humorous essays have appeared in Harpers and The New York Times.
GRETA GERWIG (Sally) was recently nominated for the Breakthrough Actor category in the 2010 Gotham Awards, in addition to Best Female Lead in the 2011 Independent Spirit Awards for her role as Florence Marr in Noah Baumbach's GREENBERG, opposite Ben Stiller. Famed New York Times film critic A.O. Scott said “Ms. Gerwig, most likely without intending to be anything of the kind, may well be the definitive screen actress of her generation...”
She made her mark in the indie and festival film markets starring in films such as HANNA TAKES THE STAIRS, and NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS, which she also co-wrote and co- directed with Joe Swanberg. The film premiered at South by Southwest Film Festival and was the first major sale in the festival's history.
Greta Gerwig most recently starred as 'Naomi' in the Warner Brothers remake of ARTHUR with Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner, Russell Brand and Nick Nolte. Before that she starred alongside Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Kline in Ivan Reitman's NO STRINGS ATTACHED for Paramount Pictures. She can currently be seen playing the lead role of 'Violet' in Whit Stillman's new comedy DAMSELS IN DISTRESS, released by Sony Pictures Classics. She recently shot Fox Searchlight's LOLA VERSUS in which she plays the role of Lola.
This summer Gerwig will be a part of the ensemble cast of HBO's new series The Corrections based on the Jonathan Franzen novel of the same title. Her other credits include lead roles in Mary Bronstein's YEAST, the Duplass Brothers' BAGHEAD, and THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL. A Magna Cum Laude graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University, Gerwig makes her home in New York.
Academy Award® nominee ELLEN PAGE (Monica) has established herself as one of the most talented actresses in Hollywood today. She continues to build on her impressive body of work with a diverse line-up of roles with some of the most acclaimed directors of all time.
In addition to starring in TO ROME WITH LOVE, Page will be starring in the Fox Searchlight thriller THE EAST, a story centered on a contract worker who is tasked with infiltrating an anarchist group, only to find herself falling for its leader. Page will appear opposite Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård and Patricia Clarkson.
In 2010, Page starred in a host of roles: Christopher Nolan's award-winning psychological thriller INCEPTION, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard; the independent film PEACOCK, written and directed by David Lander and also starring Susan Sarandon and Cillian Murphy; and the dark comedy SUPER, opposite Rainn Wilson and Liv Tyler.
Other recent credits include Fox Searchlight's WHIP IT (2009), which was Drew Barrymore's directorial debut. Page led an all-star cast including Kristin Wiig, Marcia Gay Harden, Alia Shawkat, Juliette Lewis and Jimmy Fallon.
With her breakout role in Jason Reitman's hit comedy JUNO, Ellen received Academy Award®, BAFTA, Golden Globe® and SAG Best Actress nominations, and won the Independent Spirit Award for her performance. Written by Diablo Cody, the film is about an offbeat teenager (Page) who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant and makes a surprising and mature decision regarding her unborn child. Cody won the Oscar® for Best Screenplay for the film.
Ellen's other credits include the title role of Bruce McDonald's, THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS (2007) where she portrayed a bullied 15-year-old high school girl; AN AMERICAN CRIME, starring alongside Catherine Keener; and the third installation of the X-Men franchise, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND (2006), which grossed more than $230 million dollars worldwide. She has also starred in the Canadian ensemble piece THE STONE ANGEL, featuring Ellen Burstyn and directed by Kari Skogland; Alison Murray's MOUTH TO MOUTH; Daniel MacIvor's ensemble piece WILBY WONDERFUL; and SMART PEOPLE, opposite Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church. As the lead in Lionsgate's 2005 independent feature HARD CANDY, directed by David Slade, Page garnered much praise for her tour de force performance as a 14-year-old girl who meets a 30-year-old photographer on the Internet and then looks to expose him as pedophile. Also starring Patrick Wilson and Sandra Oh, the indie film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.
A native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Page has long been a fixture in Canadian television and cinema. She began her career at the age of ten on the award-winning television movie, Pit Pony, for which she received a Gemini nomination for Best Performance in a Children's Program and a Young Artist Awards nomination for Best Performance in a TV Drama Series. Later, Page appeared as Joanie' in Marion Bridge, where she won an ACTRA Maritimes Award for Outstanding Female Performance. The film also won the award for Best Canadian First Feature at the Toronto International Film Festival. She won a Gemini Award for her role of Lilith' in the first season of ReGenesis, a one-hour drama for TMN/Movie Central, and for the cable feature, Mrs. Ashboro's Cat, for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series. In addition, Page appeared in the cult hit TV series Trailer Park Boys.
ANTONIO ALBANESE (Luca Salta) is an Italian actor, director and writer. Beginning his career in the theatre in Milan, Albanese became a popular TV comedian in the early 1990's, creating a number of comic personas which he showcased on the Maurizio Costanza talk show and on Mai dire gol. His films include UN'ANIMA DIVISA IN DUE, ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA...CORREVA L'ANNO 999, VESNA VA VELOCE, YOU LAUGH, LUCKY AND ZORBA (voice), STORK DAY, LA SECONDA NOTTE DI NOZZE, MANUALE D'AMORE 2, DAYS AND CLOUDS, QUESTIONE DI CUORE, and QUALUNQUEMENTE, which he also wrote. Albanese directed and starred in UOMO D'ACQUA DOLCE (also wrote), LA FAME E LA SETE (also wrote) and IL NOSTRO MATRIMONIO È IN CRISI. Albanese has been nominated repeatedly for several prestigious Italian awards (including the Italian Golden Globes) and won Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival in 2000 for his performance in HOLY TONGUE.
FABIO ARMILIATO (Giancarlo) is one of the most renowned tenors of his generation. TO ROME WITH LOVE marks his debut as a film actor. Armiliato was born in Genoa and studied at the Niccolò Paganini conservatory in his home town. He made his official debut in 1984 as Gabriele Adorno in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra. After winning the Tito Schipa competition in Lecce, his international career developed rapidly and led him to some of the greatest Opera Houses in the world. He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera House with Il Trovatore, returning later in Aida and Madame Butterfly. He has also performed in the Teatro all Scala in Milan, in the Opera de Paris, and in the San Francisco Opera. He performed Madame Butterfly in La Scala, in the Puccini Festival (Torre del Lago) and in the New National Theatre (Tokyo). Recent performances include the Great Singers of Our Time Concert (Athens), Turandot (Seville), Luisa Miller (Zurich), Force of Destiny (Vienna), Othello and Il Trovatore (Liege), Carmen (Barcelona), and Mefistofele (Monte Carlo).
ALESSANDRA MASTRONARDI (Milly) was born in 1986 in Naples, but has since lived primarily in Rome. Her acting career began in 1999 when she got a role in the TV series Un prete tra noi, followed by her feature film debut in IL MANOSCRITTO DI VAN HECKEN that same year. Most of her subsequent work has been on television, including the series, Un medico in famiglia, Don Mateo, I Cesaroni , and Romanzo criminale-la serie, and the TV movies Il veterinario, Il grande Torino, Non smettere di sognare, Pope Pius XII, Atelier Fontana – Le sorelle della moda, and La chartreuse de Parma. Her other films include DON'T TELL, PROVA A VOLARE and AMERIQUA, starring opposite Alec Baldwin. This year she has the lead role in the 12-part $30 million dollar TV series, Titanic: Blood and Steel, opposite Derek Jacobi, Neve Campbell and Chris Noth. The series is set before the Titanic sets sail and focuses on the ship's construction and the social, political and economic issues of the period.
ORNELLA MUTI (Pia Fusari) modeled as a teenager and made her film debut in 1970 in the Italian film THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WIFE and has since primarily worked in Italian cinema. She made her British film debut as 'Princess Aura' in FLASH GORDON in 1980, also starring Timothy Dalton and Max von Sydow. American movies she has since appeared in include OSCAR by Joe Landis and starring Sylvester Stallone, and Eugene Levy's ONCE UPON A CRIME starring James Belushi and Cybill Shepherd. She has been nominated for several European film awards, and gone on to win Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for her role in PRIVATE CODE in 1988. Her films include THE HOUSE OF THE DOVES, LEONOR, Marco Ferreri's THE LAST WOMAN and TALES OF ORDINARY MADNESS, AND AGNES CHOSE TO DIE, VIVA ITALIA!, THE TAMING OF THE SCOUNDREL, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, James Toback's LOVE & MONEY, SWANN IN LOVE, THE FUTURE IS WOMAN, Franco Rosi's CHRONICLE OF A DEATH FORETOLD, WAIT UNTIL SPRING, BANDINI, John Landis' OSCAR, STELLA'S FAVOR, LES BRONZES 3 and POSTCARDS FROM ROME, among many others.
FLAVIO PARENTI (Michelangelo) was born in Paris, and grew up in both France and Italy learning to speak both languages. He has worked as both an actor and director in theatre and television. His theater debut was Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children, which he also co-directed. He made his film debut in 2008 with TALK ABOUT LOVE, followed by COLPO D'OCCHIO and BLOOD OF THE LOSERS. On TV, he played Albert Einstein's son in Liliana Cavani's Einstein. Following that, he starred alongside Tilda Swinton in the highly acclaimed and Academy Award® nominated film I AM LOVE, directed by Luca Guadagnino. He made his feature film directing debut with QUANTUM BUTTERFLY DREAM, which won Best Film at the Los Angeles DIY Festival.
ALISON PILL (Hayley) most recently starred in Woody Allen's film MIDNIGHT IN PARIS. She has also acted on Broadway in The Miracle Worker and Mauritius, and in the Off-Broadway hits This Wide Night, Neil LaBute's Reasons to be Pretty, and Blackbird, for which she received Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League nominations. Pill was nominated for a Tony® Award for her Broadway debut in The Lieutenant of Inishmore and for a Lucille Lortel Award for On the Mountain. She won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble in the U.S. premiere of The Distance from Here and starred in an Off-Broadway run of None of the Above. Her films include SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD, MILK, DAN IN REAL LIFE, DEAR WENDY, CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN, PIECES OF APRIL, and GOON, with Seann William Scott. She was recently seen on television in The Pillars of the Earth and In Treatment, and has a lead role in Aaron Sorkin's upcoming HBO series The Newsroom, opposite Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, and Sam Waterston.
RICCARDO SCAMARCIO (Hotel Robber) made his acting debut in 2001 in the TV series Compagni di scuola and made his film debut in the critically acclaimed THE BEST OF YOUTH, followed by his breakout role in THREE STEPS OVER HEAVEN, which made him into a very popular actor, particularly among young people. Among his credits are THE SCENT OF BLOOD, TEXAS, MIO FRATELLO E UN FIGLIO UNICO (for which he won a David di Donatello nomination for Best Supporting Actor), MANUALE D'AMORE – CAPITOLI SUCCESSIVI, HO VOGLIA DI TE and Abel Ferrara's GO GO TALES, COLPO D'OCCHIO, ITALIANS, IL GRANDE SOGNO, Costa-Gavras' EDEN IS WEST, L'UOMO NERO, THE FRONT LINE, LOOSE CANNONS, THE AGES OF LOVE (with Robert De Niro and Monica Belucci), and POLISSE, among others. On TV, he starred in the mini-series Black Arrow (2006) and Il segreto dell'acqua (2011).
ALESSANDRO TIBERI (Antonio) has had a long career in dubbing television series and films for an Italian audience. He first started acting for television and in films in the early 1990s, and made his feature film debut in ULTRÀ, which won a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. Other films include ASCOLTA LA CANZONE DEL VENTO, COSE CHE SI DICONO AL BUIO (with Alessandra Mastronardi), SCRIVILO SUI MURI, ASPETTANDO IL SOLE and Stefano Chiantini's UNA PICCOLA STORIA and L'AMORE NON BASTA. In 2009, he got the lead role in Massimo Venier's GENERAZIONE MILLE EURO which was nominated for Best Comedy by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists. Tiberi's television credits include the series Ho sposato un calciatore (2005) based on British ITV's Footballers' Wives, the crime series R.I.S. - Delitti imperfetti (2008) and Quo Vadis, Baby? (2008). He was one of the main characters in the television series Boris, which has won a Golden Pegasus, and later played the same character in the film version of the series, BORIS: THE MOVIE. More recently he appeared in the film IMMATURI starring Isabelle Adriani, Raoul Bova and Simona Caparrini. He will next be appearing in the comedy WORKERS released later this year.
Rome is a city like no other in the world. To be in Rome is to be surrounded by the silent monoliths of an ancient civilization while at the same time experiencing the clamor of a modern metropolis teeming with life. Rome is the perfect fusion of history and the present—an exhilarating hub of extraordinary culture, art, and cuisine. "So much of the action and activity in Rome takes place outside, in its cafés and streets," says Woody Allen. "It's an amazing city just to walk in. The city itself is a work of art." Rome is a city of very contemporary and sophisticated people as well as people who are very traditional. It attracts numerous visitors, from businessmen to tourists, all of whom are passing in and out of Rome and enjoying its delights. For Allen it was a place that was too vast to be contained in a single plot. "I felt the city of Rome lent itself to a number of diverse tales," he says. "It was pregnant with possibilities. If you stop a hundred Romans, they'll tell you: 'I'm from the city, I know it well and I could give you a million stories.'"
Leopoldo Pisanello (Roberto Benigni) is an ordinary Roman who suddenly and inexplicably finds himself to be one of the most talked about men in Rome. "Leopoldo has no talent at all, he's a common, ordinary person," says Allen, "he has no idea why he is being celebrated. He is quite aware that he is a nobody. Leopoldo is at first totally bewildered and annoyed by all the attention he's getting and then starts — without even realizing—to like it." Says Benigni: "Leopoldo was happy and content before he was famous; he had a harmony in his life. But when his harmony is upset he becomes completely discombobulated, trying to understand what is happening to him." Still, there are telling cracks in Leopoldo's seeming equilibrium before fame taps him on the shoulder, notably a moment where he longingly looks at a beautiful woman in his office. "He has no chance with a woman like that and he knows it," says Allen. "Nobody cares what he has to say about anything, whether it's the movies he sees or whether he thinks the Chinese are taking over the world, and certainly that kind of extraordinary woman is out of his class, until suddenly it all becomes possible." As paparazzi start trailing him, Leopoldo soon realizes that everything he desires is readily available to him. "You do get seduced by fame," says Allen. "Not necessarily always corrupted. Fame offers you a lot of opportunities that the average person never gets a chance to experience. So fame is a very seductive drug and it does work on him." While Leopoldo enjoys the attention and the beautiful women who now throw themselves at him, he is also exasperated by other aspects associated with his sudden fame. "You give up your privacy, you're constantly hounded, and everything you do is looked at under a microscope," says Allen. Roberto Benigni, a true superstar in Italy, is all too aware of what the experience Leopoldo has is like: "My dream is to walk in the street normally, watching people and having coffee, having a pizza and talking with friends. I lose a part of my life and I can't do that. But if this didn't happen anymore, I'd be worried… it's a contradiction." Says Allen: "While there are many drawbacks to being well-known, I would have to say the perks outweigh the drawbacks. You can live with all that because what you get for it are a great many positive things."
On the flip side of Leopoldo is Giancarlo (renowned tenor Fabio Armiliato), a man who possesses great talent and yet is completely anonymous. A brilliant opera singer, Giancarlo sings only privately for his own enjoyment. He has never tried it in public. "One can never know what stimulates an artist," says Allen. If the only place that Shakespeare can write is by sitting on a bridge chair in the middle of 42nd Street, for whatever intangible reason, that's not something we may ever be able to understand. Giancarlo can only sing under very special circumstances."
On the face of it Giancarlo doesn't seem to care about fame, but meeting his future daughter-in-law's father, Jerry (Woody Allen), changes everything. A former opera director who is unsatisfied with his retirement, Jerry feels that he never really made his mark on the world. "He's tried some avant-garde things, but they didn't work out and he's never achieved the notoriety or the acceptance he was looking for," says Allen. "He's frustrated, and when he finally gets the opportunity to possibly cash in on Giancarlo's talent, he grabs it." At first Jerry must overcome the serious obstacle of Giancarlo's leftist son—and his future son-in-law—Michelangelo (Flavio Parenti), who is extremely hostile to the idea of his humble father being prodded by Jerry into the world of public entertaining. In his protectiveness, Michelangelo doesn't stop to consider his father's own wishes. Says Allen: "I think that when people have a real talent, it demands expression. Sooner or later you want some communication of it. I'm sure Giancarlo is the same as anyone. He wants someone to hear his voice and have that relational moment where he sings and people are moved by it."
Another character in TO ROME WITH LOVE, Milly (Alessandra Mastronardi), while possessing no special talent herself does get to meet a gifted actor. Milly arrives in Rome from a provincial town with her new husband Antonio (Alessandro Tiberi) in search of a new life in the big city. Everything depends on the impression they make on Antonio's wealthy relatives, who are in the position to give him a high-level job. To look her best, Milly sets out for a hairdresser, but gets hopelessly lost in the labyrinthine streets of Rome. At the same time, Antonio is surprised in his hotel room by the appearance of Anna (Penélope Cruz), a voluptuous call girl who mistakenly believes she has been hired to have sex with him. Anna has been told that Antonio is eccentric and will try to resist, so she refuses to leave. Protesting profusely, Antonio suddenly finds himself forced onto the bed and it is in this compromising position that his relatives find him when they arrive at the hotel room. The only explanation that Antonio can come up with at the spur of the moment is that Anna is actually his wife Milly. Taking pity on him—and having been paid for the day—Anna agrees to go along with this story, and the relatives, although astonished that Antonio has married this indecorous bombshell, seem to accept his ruse. While Anna is willing to say she is Antonio's wife, this doesn't mean she will alter her behavior, which sets the stage for many comic situations. Says Cruz: "Anna is a very free spirit and she doesn't have a social filter in her mind so she says everything she feels without ever worrying about the consequences."
Meanwhile, as Milly is trying to find her way back to the hotel, she encounters two movie stars, Pia Fusari (Ornella Muti) and her idol Luca Salta (Antonio Albanese). Milly is flabbergasted when Salta offers to take her out to lunch, and eventually, to his hotel room. "When a beautiful young girl comes up to any movie star and says, 'I see all your movies and I'm crazy about you,' he would have a very good chance of taking that girl to bed because three-quarters of the work is already done," says Allen. When Antonio is out for lunch with Anna and his family, he is stunned to see Milly at another table being wooed by Salta, which challenges his conception of her as an innocent, virginal girl. Later, at a party for the elite of Rome, Antonio finds out that Anna has a degree of notoriety, albeit one lacking Luca Salta's prestige. Many of Rome's top businessmen seem to know her quite well, and line up to make appointments. Later, while taking a walk in the vast gardens during the party, Anna questions Antonio about his marriage. She scoffs at his description of Milly as a "Madonna," intuiting that it is Antonio who is actually the innocent one. In her own unique way, Anna helps Antonio move forward with a heightened self-awareness. "Anna takes her job very seriously and with a lot of dignity," says Cruz. "She is convinced that her services are therapeutic and that she does a great service to society."
While in Rome on holiday, John (Alec Baldwin), a famous American architect, explores the neighborhood he lived in during his student days. There he runs into a young architectural student, Jack (Jesse Eisenberg), who recognizes John from a newspaper photo, and invites him over to his apartment for coffee with his girlfriend Sally (Greta Gerwig). John soon realizes he may have lived in the very same building as Jack. Sally tells Jack that her actress friend Monica (Ellen Page) has just broken up with her boyfriend and is coming to Rome for a change of scenery. Sally describes Monica as sensual, brainy, neurotic, funny—a real man magnet. Says Gerwig: "I think Sally is nervous about Monica, but she thinks that if she just lays out all her fears at the beginning—'I want to say all the crazy things I'm worried about'—it will act almost like a talisman and then nothing will happen." John warns Jack not to fall in love with Monica: "He probably knows that Jack will never listen," says Baldwin, "but he can't stop trying. Jack is on a course that may lead to disaster. It's like Jack is playing in traffic and John wants him to get out of the road." Says Eisenberg: "To have John giving him this practical, but also jaded advice only emboldens Jack. It makes him even more passionate about pursuing Monica."
Of course there is also the element of John seeing Jack as himself as a young man in Rome and Jack's story is really John's experience in the past seen now by John with the clarity of hindsight and the understanding of how foolish he was once and how shallow and unworthy of his love was Monica. Still, the attraction trumps logic.
Monica loses no time living up to her reputation by dazzling Jack with the lurid details of her wild and unconventional sex life, as well as her seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of art. "Monica is free and has a kind of fluidity in the moment, and I think that's a very appealing thing to people," says Page. "Maybe it's because we all want to feel free. But ultimately people like her don't necessarily make great partners because there isn't a lot of solidness." Says Allen: "You can't corral people like Monica. They're too desirable and everybody wants them and they learn that early on. It's very difficult to have a long-term stable relationship with that kind of person." While John does everything he can to forewarn Jack, the inevitable happens and he succumbs to Monica's charms. "He's in a youthful, romantic bubble, so of course he's drawn to her," says Eisenberg. "She's so self-involved, and her self-involvement makes her so interesting, that when she shines her light anywhere near him, he feels immediately and disproportionately excited."
Throughout, John hovers around Jack (but is John just watching himself as a youth?), slipping in and out of scenes, commenting on Monica and Sally as if they weren't there, leaving the question of what exactly is going on quite open. This is something that Allen has done deliberately. "You can look at it two different ways," he says, "but the safest way is that Alec takes a walk down memory lane and he's meeting his youth in spirit, remembering what had gone on, what his feelings were, the mistakes he made, what the desperations were, and having that as a memory he never got over. Jack is John's youth without being young John in flashback." Says Page: "Different people will perceive it in different ways. Maybe people who are older will look at it through the perspective of John and maybe people who are younger will be more attached to the immediacy of the interactions between Monica, Jack and Sally, and John will seem like an outsider." No matter how one interprets the story, the heart of it is about the wisdom of age looking back at the callowness of youth. Says Baldwin: "In my opinion, and from my experience, looking back at our younger selves, at youth in general is alternately moving and appalling. We see younger people and think, 'I can't believe I did that or said that.' But it's part of life to grow and change: sometimes slowly; sometimes more quickly."
Many of the characters in TO ROME WITH LOVE share a desire to be appreciated, particularly if they are relatively ordinary themselves. This need is illustrated in Jerry and Leopoldo's stories, but also in the strategy that Luca Salta employs to romance Milly: he tells her that he values her opinions on cultural matters, an acknowledgement that her husband has never given her. Jerry's son-in-law to-be Michelangelo keeps the subject of every conversation on himself and his altruistic views, which makes him feel special and important. Likewise, Jack's self-esteem swells when he believes that a woman with the sparkle of Monica would choose him as a lover. "Unavailable women are like catnip to some men, particularly when they are younger," says Baldwin. "You don't actually want them. You just want to win the game. It's about ego." Page thinks that Monica is also on a constant quest to be validated by the opinions of others: "When Monica is engaging with people, she always has this air of striving to be the intellectual. I perceive that that might have something to do with her insecurity and her need to feel important, as in 'Please like me! I'm smart and I know this really good quote!'"
This fundamental need in the human psyche to be acknowledged could be the basis of people's craving for fame. "We live in a society where fame is this completely cherished and worshipped thing," says Page, "even though it's constantly being revealed to us that's it's typically not a healthy lifestyle for people and it can even disintegrate them. People pursue the idea that: 'this is going to make me happy; this is going to make me feel important; this is going to make me feel grounded and safe and powerful.' The irony is that the thing that people are expecting to fill them is what ultimately makes them feel quite empty." Says Allen: "People desire fame for the same reason they pursue anything. Everything we do, whether it's fame, money, pretty clothes, possessions, artistic or athletic skill, whatever it is, what you're trying to do is attract a member of the opposite sex, as disguised as that may be in the actual action."
The stories found in TO ROME WITH LOVE explore the eternal quest for love and sex in its many variations: from a betrothal and a honeymoon through assorted acts of infidelity; from tender lovemaking to more spontaneous liaisons; from the absurd and ridiculous to the poignant and profound; from the exhilaration of newfound love all the way to heartbreak and its aftermath. These romantic interludes play out simultaneously in this ancient and bustling city, in every part of town, in the past and in the present. They will carry on into the future. Countless people have found love on the streets of Rome—these are but a few.
Writer/Director.....WOODY ALLEN
Producers
LETTY ARONSON
STEPHEN TENENBAUM
GIAMPAOLO LETTA
FARUK ALATAN
Co-Producers
HELEN ROBIN
DAVID NICHOLS
Co-Executive Producer.....JACK ROLLINS
Director of Photography.....DARIUS KHONDJI ASC, AFC
Production Designer.....ANNE SEIBEL ADC
Editor.....ALISA LEPSELTER
Costume Design.....SONIA GRANDE
Casting
JULIET TAYLOR
PATRICIA DiCERTO
BEATRICE KRUGE
WOODY ALLEN
WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT?, 1965
Screenwriter, Actor
WHAT'S UP, TiGER LILY?, 1966
Co-Screenwriter, Actor
CASINO ROYALE, 1967
Actor
TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN, 1969
Director, Co-Screenwriter, Actor
BANANAS, 1971
Director, Co-Screenwriter, Actor
EVERYTHING YOU'VE EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK, 1972
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM, 1972
Screenwriter, Actor
SLEEPER, 1973
Director, Co-Screenwriter, Actor
LOVE AND DEATH, 1975
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
THE FRONT, 1976
Actor
ANNE HALL, 1977
Director, Co-Screenwriter, Actor
Academy Award nominee (& winner), Best Director
Academy Award nominee (& winner), Best Original Screenplay
Academy Award nominee, Best Actor
INTERIORS, 1978
Director, Screenwriter
Academy Award nominee, Best Director
Academy Award nominee, Best Original Screenplay
MANHATTAN, 1979
Director, Co-Screenwriter, Actor Academy Award nominee, Best Original Screenplay
STARDUST MEMORIES, 1980
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S SEX COMEDY, 1982
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
ZELIG, 1983
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
BROADWAY DANNY ROSE, 1984
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
Academy Award nominee, Best Director
Academy Award nominee, Best Original Screenplay
THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO, 1985
Director, Screenwriter
Academy Award nominee, Best Original Screenplay
HANNAH AND HER SISTER, 1986
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
Academy Award nominee, Best Director
Academy Award nominee (& winner), Best Original Screenplay
RADIO DAYS, 1987
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
Academy Award nominee, Best Original Screenplay
SEPTEMBER, 1987
Director, Screenwriter
ANOTHER WOMAN, 1988
Director, Screenwriter
NEW YORK STORIES ("Oedipus Wrecks"), 1989
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS, 1989
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
Academy Award nominee, Best Director
Academy Award nominee, Best Original Screenplay
ALICE, 1990
Director, Screenwriter
Academy Award nominee, Best Original Screenplay
SCENES FROM A MALL, 1991
Actor
SHADOWS AND FOG, 1992
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
Academy Award nominee, Best Original Screenplay
MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY, 1993
Director, Co-Screenwriter, Actor
BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, 1994
Director, Co-Screenwriter
Academy Award nominee, Best Director
Academy Award nominee, Best Origin
DON'T DRINK THE WATER, 1994
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
MIGHTY APHRODITE, 1995
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
Academy Award nominee, Best Original Screenplay
EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU, 1996
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
DECONSTRUCTING HARRY, 1997
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
Academy Award nominee, Best Original Screenplay
THE SUNSHINE BOYS, 1997
Actor
ANTZ, 1998
Actor (voice)
THE IMPOSTERS, 1998
Actor (cameo)
CELEBRITY, 1998
Director, Screenwriter
SWEET AND LOWDOWN, 1999
Director, Screenwriter, on-camera interviewee
SMALL TIME CROOKS, 2000
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
PICKING UP THE PIECES, 2000
Actor
COMPANY MAN, 2001
Actor (cameo)
THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION, 2001
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
SOUNDS FROM A TOWN I LOVE (Short), 2001
Director, Screenwriter
HOLLYWOOD ENDING, 2002
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
ANYTHING ELSE, 2003
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
MELINDA AND MELINDA, 2004
Director, Screenwriter
MATCH POINT, 2005
Director, Screenwriter
Academy Award nominee, Best Original Screenplay
SCOOP, 2006
Director, Screenwriter, Actor
CASSANDRA'S DREAM, 2007
Director, Screenwriter
VICKY, CRISTINA BARCELONA, 2008
Director, Screenwriter
WHATEVER WORKS, 2009
Director, Screenwriter
YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER, 2010
Director, Screenwriter
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, 2011
Director, Screenwriter
Academy Award nominee (& winner), Best Original Screenplay
Academy Award nominee, Best Picture
Academy Award nominee, Best Director
Academy Award nominee, Best Achievement in Art Direction
Academy Awards Summary
Nominated seven times for Best Director; won for ANNIE HALL
Nominated fifteen times for Best Original Screenplay; won for ANNIE HALL, HANNAH AND HER SISTERS and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Nominated one time for Best Actor
Three films nominated for Best Picture; won for ANNIE HALL
LETTY ARONSON (Producer) previously produced Woody Allen’s MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, which was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Picture in 2012, YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER, WHATEVER WORKS, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, CASSANDRA’S DREAM, SCOOP, MATCH POINT, MELINDA AND MELINDA, HOLLYWOOD ENDING, and THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION.
Her extensive film, television, and stage experience includes numerous other collaborations with Mr. Allen. She co-executive-produced such films as DON’T DRINK THE WATER, which marked Mr. Allen’s first foray into television moviemaking; BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, which garnered seven Academy Award® nominations, winning for Best Supporting Actress (Dianne Wiest); MIGHTY APHRODITE, for which Mira Sorvino won the Academy Award® for Best Supporting Actress; and SWEET AND LOWDOWN, for which Sean Penn and Samantha Morton both earned Academy Award® nominations. Her other credits as a co-executive producer include Mr. Allen’s highly acclaimed musical comedy EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU; as well as his films CELEBRITY, DECONSTRUCTING HARRY and SMALL TIME CROOKS.
In addition, Aronson co-executive-produced THE SPANISH PRISONER, written for the screen and directed by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and critically acclaimed filmmaker David Mamet. Critics universally praised the film when it was released in 1998. She also co-executive- produced INTO MY HEART, which was written and directed by two newcomers, Sean Smith and Anthony Stark; and Coky Giedroyc’s WOMEN TALKING DIRTY, starring Helena Bonham Carter, which marked Ms. Aronson’s first European co-production with Elton John’s Rocket Pictures.
Her credits also include Dinah Was, the off-Broadway musical about blues legend Dinah Washington; THE STORY OF A BAD BOY, written and directed by acclaimed playwright Tom Donaghy; JUST LOOKING, a heartwarming coming-of-age film directed by Jason Alexander; and the comedy SUNBURN, directed by Nelson Hume, which screened at the Galway Film Festival and the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival.
Aronson’s television work includes Saturday Night Live and The Robert Klein Comedy Hour, both for NBC. In the world of theatre, she served as associate producer of Death Defying Acts, an off-Broadway comedy consisting of three one-act plays written by Elaine May, Woody Allen, and David Mamet. She had earlier served as Vice President of the Museum of Television and Radio for ten years.
STEPHEN TENENBAUM (Producer), previously produced MIDNIGHT IN PARIS which was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Picture in 2012. He also produced Woody Allen’s VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, winner of the 2008 Golden Globe® for Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical), YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER, WHATEVER WORKS, and CASSANDRA’S DREAM. He served as executive producer on SCOOP, MATCH POINT, MELINDA AND MELINDA, ANYTHING ELSE, HOLLYWOOD ENDING, and THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION, the last of which marked his first onscreen producing credit.
Tenenbaum graduated with a B.S. from New York University, where he majored in Accounting. He began his show business career in the financial arena, handling such noteworthy clients as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, Percy Faith, the Platters, Nat King Cole, Mario Lanza, Gilda Radner, Robin Williams, and many others.
Tenenbaum later decided to venture into the field of motion picture and television production, as well as personal management. He is currently a partner in Morra, Brezner, Steinberg & Tenenbaum Entertainment, Inc. (MBST), where his client roster includes Woody Allen, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, and Alain Boubil (the creator of Les Misérables and Miss Saigon). MBST has also been involved in the production of feature films, including Barry Levinson’s GOOD MORNING VIETNAM; Steve Gordon’s ARTHUR; Danny DeVito’s THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN; and Bill Paxton’s THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED, among others.
TO ROME WITH LOVE is the 20th film that HELEN ROBIN (Co-Producer) has co-produced for Woody Allen. She began her film career as a production assistant on Allen’s STARDUST MEMORIES. Over the course of his next 19 films, she worked her way up from an office production assistant, production coordinator, and production manager to, eventually, line producer. Robin co-produced ALICE, SHADOWS AND FOG, HUSBANDS AND WIVES, MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY, BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, MIGHTY APHRODITE and EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU.
Following the last, she left Allen’s production company to take some time off and do freelance film work. During that period, she worked as an associate producer on Allan Arkush’s highly- rated television miniseries The Temptations, for Hallmark Entertainment and NBC.
After a three-year hiatus, Robin returned to work with Woody Allen on his comedy SMALL TIME CROOKS, which she co-produced. She has since served as a co-producer on all of his films, including SCOOP, MELINDA AND MELINDA, ANYTHING ELSE, HOLLYWOOD ENDING, THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION, MATCH POINT, CASSANDRA’S DREAM, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, WHATEVER WORKS, YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS.
DAVID NICHOLS (Co-Producer) is an American film producer. Raised in England, his feature film career began in 1981 as second assistant director on Merchant/Ivory’s HEAT AND DUST in India. He became a location and unit manager specializing in large-scale location films, including David Lean’s A PASSAGE TO INDIA, Roland Joffe’s THE MISSION and Peter Weir’s THE MOSQUITO COAST, becoming a production manager in 1987 and in 1989 a line producer. His credits as an Executive Producer/Co-Producer include: Hector Babenco’s AT PLAY IN THE FIELDS OF THE LORD, WAR OF THE BUTTONS, Renny Harlin’s CUTTHROAT ISLAND, RACE THE SUN, and Jean-Jacques Annaud’s SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET. In 1998, he produced the HBO film Excellent Cadavers, filmed in Rome and Sicily. In 2004 he was the Supervising Producer on Mike Barker’s A GOOD WOMAN, filmed on Italy’s Amalfi coast. In 2007, he line produced the Milan and Istanbul segments of Tom Tykwer’s THE INTERNATIONAL and in 2010 he was line producer on Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s THE TOURIST, filmed on location in Venice, Italy.
After being based in Los Angeles for several years, he returned to Europe in 1998, and launched Cineroma Productions S.r.l., a film production and production service company in Rome. Cineroma Productions has supervised the Italian production for several films from the UK, Australia, and USA, including Guy Ritchie’s SWEPT AWAY, Jan Sardi’s LOVE’S BROTHER, THE INTERNATIONAL, and THE TOURIST. Cineroma also produces commercials for the Italian and international markets.
Academy Award®-nominated DARIUS KHONDJI, A.S.C., A.F.C. (Director of Photography) recently worked with Woody Allen on MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, and before that ANYTHING ELSE. Khondji was educated at New York University Film School and ICP (International Center of Photography). He shot his first film as director of photography while continuing to work in commercials, collaborating with such directors David Fincher, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Chris Cunningham, Lars von Trier and William Klein, among others.
For his work on Alan Parker’s EVITA, Khondji was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 69th Annual Academy Awards®, Best Cinematography at the 1997 BAFTA Film Awards, and Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography at the ASC Awards.
Khondji’s other feature credits include: David Fincher’s THE PANIC ROOM and SE7EN (Chicago Film Critics Award winner, ASC-nominated); Danny Boyle’s THE BEACH; Roman Polanski’s THE NINTH GATE; Neil Jordan’s IN DREAMS; Philippe Parreno's ZIDANE: A 21ST CENTURY PORTRAIT; Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s ALIEN: RESURRECTION; Bernardo Bertolucci’s STEALING BEAUTY (nominated for best cinematography at the Donatello Awards); Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN and DELICATESSEN (both César-nominated for Best Cinematography); Michael Haneke’s FUNNY GAMES; Sydney Pollack’s THE INTERPRETER; Wong Kar-wai’s MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS, and Stephen Frears’ CHÉRI. Upcoming for Khondji is UNTITLED JAMES GRAY PROJECT, with Jeremy Renner and Marion Cotillard, and Michael Haneke’s AMOUR, with Isabelle Huppert.
A graduate of the École Spéciale of Architecture in Paris, ANNE SEIBEL ADC (Production Designer) was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Art Direction in for Woody Allen’s MIDNIGHT IN PARIS. Seibel has an extensive background as an art director for films shot in France, notably James Lapine’s IMPROMPTU and Sofia Coppola’s MARIE ANTOINETTE, as well as for international films during their European shooting. Her art director credits include Steven Spielberg’s MUNICH (Paris and Munich), David Frankel’s THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, Brett Ratner’s RUSH HOUR 3, M. Night Shyamalan’s THE HAPPENING, Stephen Sommers’ G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA (Prague), and Clint Eastwood’s HEREAFTER. Seibel also served as art director for French episodes of Sex and the City and The Sopranos. Seibel made her debut as a Production Designer in 2003 on Eric Styles’ TEMPO, followed by Dev Benegal’s ROAD, MOVIE, filmed in India. Her credits as Art Director include Michel Lang’s CLUB DE RENCONTRES, Michel Drach’s IL EST GÉNIAL PAPY!, Serge Gainsbourg’s STAN THE FLASHER, and Serge Leroy’s TAXI DE NUIT.
Seibel’s art department credits include Jon Glen’s A VIEW TO A KILL and THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS, Fred Schepisi’s PLENTY, Conny Templeman’s NANOU, Richard Heffron’s LA RÉVOLUTION FRANÇAISE, John MacKenzie’s VOYAGE, Renny Harlin’s CUTTHROAT ISLAND, Randall Wallace’s THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK, Tony Scott’s SPY GAME, Dominic Sena’s SWORDFISH, and Frank Coracci’s AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS. Also a photographer, Seibel has had numerous exhibitions of her work.
ALISA LEPSELTER (Editor) marks her thirteenth collaboration with Woody Allen with TO ROME WITH LOVE. She first teamed with him on the critically acclaimed feature SWEET AND LOWDOWN, and has since edited SMALL TIME CROOKS, THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION, HOLLYWOOD ENDING, ANYTHING ELSE, MELINDA AND MELINDA, MATCH POINT, SCOOP, CASSANDRA’S DREAM, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA (for which she was nominated for an ACE award), WHATEVER WORKS, YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS. Lepselter began her editing career as an intern on Jonathan Demme’s SOMETHING WILD. She has also worked with other acclaimed filmmakers such as Nicole Holofcener, Nora Ephron, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese.
JULIET TAYLOR (Casting Director) has worked with some of the leading directors of our time, including Mike Nichols, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Louis Malle, Martin Scorsese, Alan Parker, James L. Brooks, John Schlesinger, Stephen Frears, Nora Ephron, Neil Jordan and Sydney Pollack. She has cast more than eighty films, with more than thirty of them for Woody Allen. Among her credits are: SCHINDLER'S LIST, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE, DANGEROUS LIAISONS, BIG, THE GRIFTERS, MISSISSIPPI BURNING, THE KILLING FIELDS, WORKING GIRL, JULIA, TAXI DRIVER, NETWORK, PRETTY BABY and THE EXORCIST. She won an Emmy Award for casting on the HBO Miniseries Angels in America. Her work with Woody Allen dates back to LOVE AND DEATH in 1975 and includes most recently MATCH POINT, CASSANDRA'S DREAM, SCOOP, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, WHATEVER WORKS, YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS.
Taylor graduated from Smith College in 1967, and joined the staff of David Merrick, remaining there until the spring of 1968. At that time, she went to work as a secretary to Marion Dougherty who was opening a motion picture casting office in New York. In 1973, when Marion Dougherty left casting to produce films, Taylor ran Marion Dougherty Associates until 1977, when she became Director of East Coast Casting for Paramount Pictures. She left that position in 1978 to cast motion pictures independently.
Prior to TO ROME WITH LOVE, PATRICIA DiCERTO (Casting Director) served as casting director on Woody Allen's MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, CASSANDRA'S DREAM, MATCH POINT, and SCOOP. She's also cast such independent features as JOSHUA, starring Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga; FLANNEL PAJAMAS, starring Julianne Nicholson and Justin Kirk; EULOGY, starring Ray Romano and Debra Winger; MARIE AND BRUCE, starring Julianne Moore and Matthew Broderick; ONCE MORE WITH FEELING, starring Chazz Palminteri, Drea DeMatteo and Linda Fiorentino; and most recently THE DISCOVERERS, starring Griffin Dunne. In addition, DiCerto has worked alongside a number of the industry's top casting directors, including her longtime association with Juliet Taylor. As a casting associate, DiCerto has been involved in the casting of fourteen Woody Allen films, and has had the opportunity to work with directors such as James L. Brooks, Sydney Pollack, Mike Nichols, Alan Parker, Nora Ephron, and more recently with David Frankel and Martin Scorsese, among others.
BEATRICE KRUGER (Casting Director) is a European casting director who works out of Rome where her company, FBI Casting, is based since 1992. She most recently cast the television series Titanic, written by Julian Fellowes, and Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Borgia. Amongst her many other films she recently cast Terry Gilliam’s THE WHOLLY FAMILY, Anton Corbijn’s THE AMERICAN, Valerio Mieli’s TEN WINTERS, Menelaos Karamaghoulis’ J.A.C.E. and not so recently: Krzysztof Zanussi’s BLACK SUN, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani’s THE LARK FARM, Marco Bellocchio’s MY MOTHER’S SMILE and BUONGIORNO NOTTE, Paolo Virzì’s FERIE D’AGOSTO, Michele Placido’s UN VIAGGIO CHIAMATO AMORE, Enzo Monteleone’s EL ALAMEIN and Armando Manni’s ELVIS AND MARILYN.
She is further responsible for the casting of films such as Gary Winick’s LETTERS TO JULIET, Spike Lee’s MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA, Steven Soderbergh’s OCEAN’S TWELVE, Wes Anderson’s THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU, Audrey Wells’ UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN, Rob Marshall’s NINE, Ron Howard’s ANGELS & DEMONS, Tom Tykwer’s THE INTERNATIONAL, Martin Campbell’s CASINO ROYALE, Frédéric Forestier and Tomas Langmann’s ASTERIX AUX JEUX OLYMPIQUE, François Girard’s SILK, The HBO series Rome and many more.
Kruger has also developed the idea and concept for e-TALENTA, an international casting website—accessible in English, Italian, French, German, Spanish and Russian—which helps anyone involved with the casting process find the right actor for the right par, regardless of where in Europe that actor lives or works.
