Italy\u2019s Indiana Production, part of pan-European studio Vuelta Group, is taking its ambitions as the country\u2019s comedy leader to the next level.<\/p>\n
The Milan-based company is setting up a multi-pronged comedy content factory \u2014 comprising a creative hub with a writers\u2019 room and a Rome theater featuring live stand-up acts \u2014 all under the guidance of multi-hyphenate Gennaro Nunziante, the director of top local hits including the country\u2019s all-time highest grosser \u201cBuen Camino.\u201d<\/p>\n
More from Variety<\/p>\n
Nunziante now has two new features in the pipeline, one of which is currently shooting.<\/p>\n
Indiana\u2019s goal over the next three years is to discover and foster a new wave of Italian comic talent, using Rome\u2019s Teatro Anfitrione as a laboratory that will put on a series of live comedy shows. The initiative, called \u201cArtificio,\u201d will be \u201ca low-cost, highly operationally efficient pilot project, capable of guiding our transition towards a more digital business model,\u201d the Milan-based company said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The plan is for Indiana\u2019s comedy creative hub to generate at least three feature films per year, Indiana\u2019s Marco Cohen \u2014 who has been spearheading the operation \u2014 told Variety. But it also seeks to spawn several series, podcasts and formats that will generate valuable and scalable IP across the digital, TV and theatrical markets, bolstering Indiana\u2019s cultural and market leadership in Italy\u2019s comedy space.<\/p>\n
One genre that the Indiana comedy factory will focus on in particular are Italian sitcoms, which are currently almost nonexistent in the country. \u201cIn Italy, situation comedies have been bumped off the airwaves and replaced by game shows in access primetime slots on linear TV because [they] are cheaper,\u201d Nunziante said, adding that local audiences \u201cstill crave\u201d sitcoms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think sitcoms made in a 24-minute format represent the future for streamers like Netflix, because they generate audience retention,\u201d Nunziante noted. \u201cSo we are going to produce several of them made for streamers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nunziante also pointed out that \u201cBuen Camino\u201d \u2014 which stars local comic sensation Checco Zalone as a rich and\u00a0debauched father who zips around in a red Ferrari searching for his daughter along Spain\u2019s famous Camino de Santiago spiritual pilgrimage \u2013 has recently been going strong on Netflix, where it reached the top 10 in 21 European countries. In January, the Zalone comedy \u2014 co-written and directed by Nunziante \u2014 became Italy\u2019s all-time highest-grossing film by scoring a whopping more than $82 million local box office haul that generated buzz around the world. Local \u201cBuen Camino\u201d remakes are in the works in Spain, France, Germany and the Nordics.<\/p>\n
Nunziante and Indiana are keen to make Italian comedy content that, similarly to \u201cBuen Camino,\u201d can travel. But he\u2019s adamant that the key to doing this is to make it quintessentially Italian.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, internationalization isn\u2019t about filming abroad or featuring foreign actors,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s more about how close I can get to a universal aspect of humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in a completely different league from American and British comedies, if only because of the language aspect,\u201d Nunziante noted. \u201cSo we can\u2019t ape foreign movies.\u201d Instead, \u201cWe need to reach international audiences with our own identity. With our own heart. With our own boldness; our own truth. That\u2019s what will open the doors of other countries,\u201d he continued. \u201cOtherwise, we\u2019re losers. We\u2019re just imitators.\u201d<\/p>\n
Within the newly created Indiana comedy creative hub, Nunziante will be working with writers Tano Mongelli, Andrea Deflino, Giuseppe Scoditti and Giovanni Busellato.<\/p>\n
Discovering, fostering and giving a voice to new talents is one of the main objectives of Vuelta, said chairman Jerome Levy in a statement. \u201cThe comedy factory, which is a partnership between Indiana and Gennaro Nunziante, will enable these emerging comedians to leverage the Vuelta infrastructure and to learn from Gennaro\u2019s experience and incredible track record,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a list of comedy projects in various stages at the Indiana comedy content factory:<\/p>\n
A new film directed by Nunziante starring young comic Angelo Duro \u2013\u2013 Shooting kicked off June 22 in Milan on this second film by Nunziante featuring the Sicilian stand-up comedian. This film follows from their first work, titled \u201cIo sono la fine del mondo,\u201d which scored more than $10 million at the Italian box office. The title and plot of the follow-up are being kept under wraps.<\/p>\n
A new film by Nunziante starring Fabio de Luigi \u2013 Nunziante will direct a comedy titled \u201cMiss Frutta\u201d starring popular Italian actor and director de Luigi (\u201cA Good Day\u201d) that will seek to broaden his fanbase beyond national confines.<\/p>\n
A romantic comedy featuring newcomer Nicol\u00f2 De Devitiis \u2013 Devitiis, who is an Italian TV personality known as an anchor on an investigative Mediaset show called \u201cLe Iene,\u201d will make his acting debut in this feature film that will start shooting this fall. The director is being kept under wraps.<\/p>\n
New Checco Zalone movie \u2013 \u201cWe\u2019ve found a fun story that we like,\u201d said Nunziante, who will start working with Zalone on the screenplay after he finishes shooting the film with Duro. The plan is to release it within two years.<\/p>\n
Pictured above: from left to right, Indiana partner Marco Cohen and Gennaro Nunziante.<\/p>\n
Best of Variety<\/p>\n
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Italy\u2019s Indiana Production, part of pan-European studio Vuelta Group, is taking its ambitions as the country\u2019s comedy leader…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29125,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4936,20377,4937,20376,20375,20374,4938,5],"class_list":["post-29124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-italy","tag-buen-camino","tag-camino-de-santiago","tag-checco-zalone","tag-content-factory","tag-creative-hub","tag-gennaro-nunziante","tag-indiana-production","tag-italy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}