Roma Studios - Press release
ROMA STUDIOS OPENS WITH BRIAN DE PALMA MOVIE
Roma Studios,
situated just outside Rome, on the Via Pontina, is in the last stages of restoring
the motion pictures studios founded 40 years ago by Dino De Laurentiis and once
known throughout the world as "Dinocittà". Yesterday, at the
Cannes Film Festival, Roma Studios met Italian and international producers and
press.
Tarak Ben Ammar, major shareholder of the company and famous international producer,
announced that the next Brian De Palma film, which will begin shooting by the
end of the year, will be shot in Roma Studios' sound stages.
An important announcement considering that Tarak Ben Ammar and Brian De Palma,
respectively producer and director of "Femme Fatale", are among the
most important figures of this Cannes Film Festival.
The forthcoming re-opening of Roma Studios, (part of which will be available
by the end of June), has aroused great interest among International and Italian
motion pictures producers and financiers. In fact, the opportunity of hosting
again at Roma Studios important International productions, considering that
two of the five sound stages are still deemed the largest in Europe. The 100
hectares backlot that can accommodate large exterior sets comfortably, brings
back to Roma Studios high budget projects which will ensure thousands of jobs
and re-proposes Rome as the Capital of international cinema.
Roma Studios' President, Raimondo Lagostena and its General Manager, Mauro Enrico
Parretti, illustrated the operative structure which, apart from the 300.000
square metres of stages, offices and facilities will be able to offer all the
necessary services for the production such as: set construction, lighting equipment,
cameras, grips material and workshops, just to mention a few.
TV SERIES BASET ON COLLEEN MCCULLOUGH'S ROME NOVELS
Roma Vetus - The First Man in Rome, a great Television Series about ancient Rome. During the Cannes Festival, Roma Vetus International B.V. has announced the beginning of the pre-production at Roma Studios. The first series is divided into eight episodes based on the world best selling novels by Colleen McCullough, author of "Thorn Birds". Fred Muller is in charge of the production which will have an international cast and directors. The large interior and exterior sets are an important characteristic of this series, which will represent a life-size reconstruction of ancient Rome. A workforce of over five hundred men and women, including specialized technicians and more than a thousand extras, will be used fot the first series.