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Exclusive: A biopic devoted to legendary Italian Rome, Open City and The Rose Tattoo actress Anna Magnani is in development at Indiana Production, the Milan and Rome-based company behind Netflix’s upcoming period drama The Leopard.

Entitled Anna, the production will be directed by Alessio Cremonini (On My Skin), who is also co-writing the screenplay with actress Olivia Magnani, grand-daughter of the late actress and daughter of her only son Luca Magnani.

The feature will focus on Magnani in a pivotal period of her life between the late 1950s and early 1960s, when the actress’s son was coming of age and she was embracing a new role as a mother in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1962 drama Mamma Roma.

Filming for Anna is scheduled to begin in 2025, with casting in the early stages for the role of Magnani and the many other famous figures from Italy’s film and artistic...

In the Antico Teatro in the Sicilian town of Taormina, the 70th edition of the Taormina Film Festival got off to a lively start, with the Nastri d’Argento Awards ceremony, amid a mix of comedy and controversy.

The comedy was on hand with the loudest applause of the evening going to Carlo Verdone and Christian De Sica (above), two “pillars of Italian comedy” as they were introduced by Pilar Fogliati, star of “Confidenze,” and “Romeo Is Juliet.” Pilar herself was a recipient of her first Nastro d’Argento. The Nino Manfredi awards were given by the late actor’s son and film director Luca Manfredi to Emanuela Fanelli, last seen in Paola Cortellesi’s box office hit “There’s Always Tomorrow” as well as to Claudio Bisio, the actor-director who sent a video message of thanks.

Other absent awardees were Margherita Buy and Oscar-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore who received a special career prize.

Italy’s Indiana Production – which has just become part of pan-European studio Vuelta Group – is staying true to its roots with production kicking off this month on gender swap movie “Romeo is Juliet,” directed by quality comedy specialist Giovanni Veronesi, just as the company expands its horizons.

This latest title in Indiana’s slate stars A-lister Sergio Castellitto and Pilar Fogliati (“Romantiche”) who plays an actress named Vittoria who after being brutally rejected by a cynical stage director when she auditions to play Juliet in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” decides to reinvent herself as a man to audition for Romeo and gets the part. The film’s lead actors and director are pictured above.

“Romeo is Juliet” is being produced by Indiana, co-produced by Capri Entertainment, and will be distributed in Italian theatres by Vision Distribution. The movie will start production in September.

Founded in 2005, Indiana over the ensuing...

Italian actor and screenwriter Daria Nicolodi, who played the prying journalist Gianna Brezzi in the Dario Argento cult classic “Deep Red”(Profondo Rosso), and was herself a cult figure, has died. She was 70.

The cause of her death, announced by her daughter Asia Argento and Italian news reports, was not disclosed.

Born in Florence in June 1950, Nicolodi made her acting debut in Italian master Francesco Rosi’s “Many Wars Ago” (Uomini Contro). She was working with helmer Elio Petri when in 1974 she met Dario Argento, with whom she had a longstanding romance, becoming his muse both on and off the screen. In 1975, Nicolodi gave birth to their daughter, Asia Argento, now an actor, director, singer and well-known media personality.

After “Deep Red’s” release in 1975, Nicolodi went on to perform in Dario Argento films “Inferno,”(1980), “Tenebre” (1982), “Phenomena” (1984) and “Opera” (1987).

She is also credited with conceiving the original idea and contributing...

Asia Argento isn't hiding anymore ... she's showing her face in public for the first time since Jimmy Bennett's claim she sexually assaulted him when he was 17.   The Italian actress resurfaced on the streets of Rome, going out for a ride with her director pal, Giovanni Veronesi, last weekend. The agency that shot the photos says they went to a house party overnight ... and Veronesi dropped her off at home the next day.  Asia made...

Comic-Con isn’t the only movie convention generating buzz this week. Fledgling Italian distributor Vision, the potent collaboration between Sky Italia and leading local producers Cattleya, Wildside, Lucisano Media Group, Palomar and Indiana Production Company, revealed an impressive upcoming movie slate this week at Italian trade event Cinema Days.

Among buzzy projects revealed on the lineup was crime pic La Paranza Dei Bambini (literally Kids Gang), Gomorrah writer Roberto Saviano’s adaptation of his best-selling novel about youth gangs in Naples.

In the book, a new kind of gang rules the streets, the Paranze are groups of teenage boys who divide their time between Facebook or Call of Duty, and stalking the streets armed with pistols and Ak-47s in order to mark out their mafia bosses’ territories.

It tells the story of the rise of one such gang and its leader, Nicolas, known to his friends and enemies as...

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Seventh Code and Takashi Miike’s The Mole Song added to the competition titles.

The Rome Film Festival has revealed its line-up of features, including 12 world premieres among 18 competition titles.

The festival, which runs from Nov 8-17, will include 71 features in the official selection as well 11 medium-length films and 19 shorts.

A total of 1,542 features and 1,078 short films were submitted from 76 countries, according to the festival.

The competition (‘Concorso’) films include:

Wp = World Premiere

IP = International Premiere

ItP = Italian Premiere

Another Me, Isabel Coixet (Spain-uk) Wpi Am Not Him, Tayfun Pirselimoglu (Tur-Fra-Gre-Ger) WPForeign Bodies, Mirko Locatelli (Italy) WPDallas Buyers Club, Jean-Marc Vallée (Us) ItPSheep’s Clothing, Paulo Morelli (Brazil) IPAcrid, Kiarash Asadizadeh (Iran) WPHer, Spike Jonze (Us) IPBlue Sky Bones, Jian Cui (China) WPManto Acuífero, Michael Rowe (Mexico) IPThe Mole Song, Takashi Miike (Japan) WPOut Of The Furnace, Scott Cooper (Us-uk) IPQuod Erat Demonstrandum, Andrei Gruzsniczki (Romania) WPSeventh Code, Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Japan...

Giovanni Veronesi’s The Fifth Wheel (L’Ultima Ruota del Carro) will open the 8th Rome Film festival next month (November 8-17).

Elio Germano, who won Best Actor at Cannes for Our Life (La Nostra Vita) in 2010, stars with Alessandra Mastronardi in the comedy-drama which screens Out of Competition.

Warner Bros. Entertainment Italia and Fandango produce in association with Ogi Film. International sales are handled by Fandango Sales.

Veronesi’s past credits include the popular Manual of Love (Manuale d’amore) trilogy, What Will Become of Us (Che ne sarà di noi) and Parents & Children - Shake Well Before Using (Genitori & Figli - Agitare Bene Prima dell’uso).

Rome -- The Fifth Wheel (L'ultima ruota del carro), Giovanni Veronesi's comedy about an unlikely everyman-type hero, will premiere as the opening film of the Eighth Rome Film Festival, organizers said Thursday. The production, which stars Cannes best actor honoree Elio Germano in the main role, along with Alessandra Mastronardi and Ricky Memphis, will screen out of competition in the Santa Cecilia venue that during the festival is transformed into Rome's largest cinema. Story: Jonathan Demme's 'Fear of Falling' to Debut at Rome Film Fest  The film will go into wide release in Italy, from Warner Bros. Italia, Nov. 17.

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Giovanni Veronesi’s The Fifth Wheel (L’Ultima Ruota del Carro) will open the 8th Rome Film festival next month (November 8-17).

Elio Germano, who won Best Actor at Cannes for Our Life (La Nostra Vita) in 2010, stars with Alessandra Mastronardi in the comedy-drama which screens Out of Competition.

Warner Bros. Entertainment Italia and Fandango produce in association with Ogi Film. International sales are handled by Fandango Sales.

Veronesi’s past credits include the popular Manual of Love (Manuale d’amore) trilogy, What Will Become of Us (Che ne sarà di noi) and Parents & Children – Shake Well Before Using (Genitori & Figli – Agitare Bene Prima dell’uso).

We complete our look at the key players in the Cannes market with the sales agent that has the most number of highly anticipated film projects. Wild Bunch came to the fest with popular items such as Polisse, The Artist and The Kid With a Bike, and it looks like they might outfit Venice and Tiff with some premium titles with Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmasters being one of the most sought after titles this coming August/September. Here's their lengthy list of auteur film projects. Bye Bye Blondie by Virginie Despentes - Post-Production In Turmoil (Dans La Tourmente) by Christophe Ruggia - Post-Production That Summer (Un Ete Brulant) by Philippe Garrel - Post-Production Bollywood - Completed Declaration Of War by Valerie Donzelli - Completed Hideaways by Agnes Merlet - Completed Leila by Audrey Estrougo - Completed Michel Petrucciani/ Body And Soul by Michael Radford - Completed Polisse by Maïwenn...

All sorts of new photos this week, as usual click on any of them below for more shots and/or bigger versions. We start with some action stills of James Marsden, Kate Bosworth and Alexander Skarsgard in the revenge thriller remake "Straw Dogs"; and the first still of Bruce Willis in Rian Johnson's time travel thriller "Looper".

Two more stills from the remake of "Fright Night" which includes the first look at David Tennant's new look Peter Vincent character, and the first photo of Jeremy Piven as the villainous Timekeeper in Robert Rodriguez’ "Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World".

The first photos of Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Mickey Rourke in the action thriller "The Courier", and some new shots of Mia Wasikowska in Gus Van Sant's Cannes-entry "Restless".

A new shot of a H.Y.D.R.A. soldier, the minions of Red Skull...

Ok, we already had a little (mark that as a lot of) chat about the upcoming Giovanni Veronesi‘s comedy Manuale d’amore 3, (or if you prefer Ages Of Love), but now is the right time for all of us to finally see how the whole thing looks like! Well, I love the photos, and when [...] Manuale d’amore/Ages of Love Starring Robert De Niro and Monica Bellucci Clips and Images is a post from: www.FilmoFilia.com...

Remember that Bananarama song from the 80s that went something like “Robert De Niro's waiting, talking Italian”? Well, he really does talk Italian in The Ages of Love, the third installment of Giovanni Veronesi's comedy Manuale d'amore, De Niro plays an American college professor who moves to Rome and, of course, rediscovers the joys of love with a curvacious woman, played by Monica Bellucci. An anthology of love stories, Manuale d'amore came out in 2006, followed by Manuale d'Amore 2 (Capitoli Successivi) the following year. With de Niro in the case, here's to hoping that the film will make it to screen Stateside. It was released in Italy on February 25 and will hit French theaters on June 15. Hit the jump to read the synopsis and check out some photos and teasers. [gallery link="file" order="Desc" columns="1"] The synopsis: Three stories about love at different ages: Youth, Maturity and the Age of Reason. Youth starring Riccardo Scamarcio and Laura Chiatti.

The Berlin Film Festival begins today and in typical Ioncinema.com fashion, I've decided to unveil my predictions for the 2011 edition of the Cannes Film Festival. I've taken the liberty at breaking down the predictions by what should logically fit into what sections: Main Comp, Ucr and the Director's Fortnight sidebar. In the Main Competition category, we should see an increase in the number of titles selected (perhaps hovering around the twenty mark. We can cross out films such as Haneke's latest, Kamen Kalev's The Island, Raymond Depardon's Journal de France, Andrei Zvyagintsev's (2007's Banishment) latest and I wouldn't be surprised if Walter Salles' On the Road isn't completed on time -- and in what should be a vintage year for the festival, these no-shows won't matter. A pair that remain in limbo are the alreasy completed David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method and Pawel Pawlikowski...

A teaser trailer for Giovanni Veronesi’s Manual of Love 3 (Manuale d’amore 3), which is an anthology of love stories set in Italy, starring Robert De Niro and Monica Bellucci, has gone online.

The film has received attention because it’s managed to land De Niro and Bellucci in one of the storylines. As we previously reported, De Niro will play a divorced American professor living in Rome and his role will partially be spoken in Italian. Bellucci will play his love interest.

Also stars Michele Placido, Laura Chiatti, Valeria Solarino, and Donatella Finocchiaro.

Manual of Love 3 will hit theaters in Italy on February 25th, 2011. No word if it will ever be released in the Us.

In an interview with Variety, producer Aurelio De Laurentiis said that the first two movies have been successful in Europe making a combined total of $45 million at the Italian box office.

But now, he...

Back in September, it was announced that Robert De Niro and Monica Bellucci (The Matrix Reloaded, Tears of the Sun) have joined the cast of the third "Manual of Love," an Italian film. In the new movie, Bellucci plays the love interest of a divorced American professor (De Niro) who is staying in Rome. Today, we have a trailer for the film and you can check it out below. "Manual of Love 3" is once again directed by Giovanni Veronesi and will hit theaters in Italy on February 25th. No word if it will ever be released in the Us. Trailer: If you cannot see the player, click here.

Giovanni Veronesi, writer and director of the first two "Manuale d'amore" films, throws a third one into the ring with "Manuale d'amore 3." Today the first official trailer for the Italian romantic comedy leaps online.The film centers on four different love stories that all take place at the same time. Robert De Niro plays Adrian, a divorced university professor. The rest of the cast includes Monica Bellucci, Laura Chiatti, Riccardo Scamarcio, Valeria Solarino and Donatella Finocchiaro."Manuale d'amore 3" will be released in Italy on February 25th. No word on when it will be released in the States. Go on, check out the trailer below. Source: CinemaNotizie...

A teaser trailer for Giovanni Veronesi's The Ages of Love (formerly Manual of Love 3, which sounded like it should be on late-night Cinemax) has gone online.  The film is an anthology of love stories set in Italy and has received attention because it's managed to land Robert De Niro and Monica Bellucci in one of the storylines.  As we previously reported, De Niro will play a divorced American professor living in Rome and his role will partially be spoken in Italian.  Bellucci will play his love interest. Hit the jump to check out the trailer. Click over to Thompson on Hollywood to see a higher-quality version of this trailer. Trailer above via [Cinema Notizie via Bleeding Cool]...

When do a lot of people start to care about the third film in an Italian romance series? When one of the stories within features Robert De Niro as a divorced American professor romancing Monica Bellucci during a stay in Rome. We talked about Manual of Love 3 when the two actors were cast in the film [1], and now there's a trailer featuring their characters. See it after the break. As in the first two installments of this series, the film is built out of a small collection of standalone stories, so don't worry about not having caught the previous installments. Neither of the first two films got theatrical distribution in the Us, and I'm not sure they've ever been on DVD here. With Robert De Niro and Monica Bellucci involved in this one, however, there's a much better chance that it'll hit our shores. Italian audiences will see it on...

Check out Robert De Niro and Monica Bellucci (and a handful of Italian co-stars) in this lip-locked teaser trailer for Giovanni Veronesi's The Ages of Love, which opens in Italy February 25. De Niro plays Adrian, an American Art History professor who has been living the loner life in Rome since divorcing his wife years ago. His limited and tranquil existence is disturbed when he meets his doorman's daughter, played by Bellucci...

Update: Here's the English language version of the trailer which is going under the title "Ages Of Love" Well, that was fast. It was only late last summer that is was announced that Robert De Niro was (kind of randomly) joining "Manual Of Love 3," the latest entry in the Italian omnibus series. Well, it looks like it's already in the can and getting ready to make audiences swoon. Sort of. The film was directed by Giovanni Veronesi, who helmed the very popular previous entries. The films are not unlike "Paris, Je T'Aime" or "New York, I Love You," investigating…...

Why did Robert De Niro and Monica Bellucci decide to shoot an Italian-language romantic comedy that is the third in its trilogy overseas? That is a question you may be asking yourself right now and we don’t have an answer, but we do have proof that it did happen. The film is actually a series of vignettes about romance. One strand is that De Niro plays a divorced American professor living in Rome with Bellucci as his love interest. CinemaNotizie (via BleedingCool) has uncovered an Italian trailer for Giovanni Veronesi‘s Manual of Love 3 and you can see it below.

Update: Anne Thompson has acquired the domestic trailer, which has the title The Ages of Love.

The film hits Italian theaters in February and I’ll be surprised if we ever get it.

What do you think of the trailer? Would you like to see De Niro take on...

Continuing their work on “Manuale d’amore 3,” Monica Bellucci and Robert De Niro shot scenes for the film in Rome, Italy on Tuesday evening (October 5).

The “Whistleblower” babe looked focused as she and her "Casino" co-star plugged away at the flick, hopping into a slick white vehicle during one of the many scenes.

Also known as Manual of Love 3, the movie is the third and final film in the Giovanni Veronesi series.

Mr. De Niro is playing the role of an American professor who falls in love with his colleague played by the beautiful Bellucci.

Rome -- Residents in the Italian capital blasted Robert De Niro and the cast of Giovanni Veronesi's "Manuale d'amore 3" (Love Manual 3) for the unusually large disruption the shooting of the film is causing in Rome, the Italian press reported Tuesday.

The daily newspaper Il Tempo called the complaints a "revolt," and several newspapers ran large spreads about the third film in the highly successful Italian franchise. In the end, law enforcement had to step in Monday to make sure public complaints did not escalate, the reports said.

In the latest installment of the story, De Niro -- who, according to reports, will speak Italian in the film -- plays an American professor who falls in love with a colleague, played by Monica Bellucci. Most of the film is set in Rome.

Manual of Love 3. We already had a little chat about the project that already has Robert de Niro attached to star.

Today, we’re here for a little (lovely) update, because Monica Bellucci will join the cast of this Italian romance film!

Lucky De Niro, because the gorgeous actress is set to play his character’s love interest…

Manual of Love 3 is the third film in the Italian franchise that takes a look at the joys and sorrows of love via several intertwined vignettes, and it will be De Niro’s first foreign-language production for him since 1976, when he starred in Bernardo Bertolucci’s “1900.”

As we already mentioned, he’ll play a divorced American professor living in Rome in one of the four chapters of the movie, and we also know that the role will be partly spoken in Italian.

Monica Bellucci will play the love interest of De Niro’s character,...

Monical Bellucci joins Manual of Love 3Monica Bellucci has been brought onto star in the upcoming Italian movie Manual of Love 3, according to Variety.

Monica Bellucci will appear as a love interest alongside Robert De Niro, who is portraying an American professor. This is the third film in an Italian trilogy. Director Giovanni Veronesi hopes to reach a broader audience with this new chapter in this ongoing romance series. Here's what producer Aurelio De Laurentiis said about this third film:

"This third one, with De Niro in the cast, will have greater international ambitions."

The first two films took in $45 million total in Italy, and were also released in several other international markets. Manual of Love 3 will start filming this month in Rome's Cinetta Studios. We'll be sure to keep you posted as new information is made available.

Manual of Love 3 comes to theaters in 2011.

Monica Bellucci has joined the cast of Manual of Love 3 , reports Variety . The film is the third entry in the Italian anthology franchise from Giovanni Veronesi. Each part is made up of short, intertwining films about love and have been box office hits in Europe. Bellucci is said to play the love interest of Robert De Niro's character, a divorced American professor living in Rome. De Niro's part (and presumably Bellucci's as well) will be spoken partially in English and partially in Italian. Cameras are set to roll on the production at the end of the month.

Whenever and whereever Robert De Niro is involved in some project we’re signed in as well! Even if it’s some romantic comedy, like the latest reports indicate!

Yes, you read it correctly, great De Niro is in talks to star in the latest installment of film franchise Manuale d’amore (or if you prefer Manual of Love 3), the latest installment of the franchise produced by Aurelio De Laurentiis. Now that sounds…meraviglioso?

At this moment, we know that De Niro’s role will be partly spoken in Italian, and the actor will play “a divorced American professor living in Rome in one of the four chapters of the movie.”

All three pics have been helmed by Giovanni Veronesi, and the movie will start shooting in Rome on September 24.

So what can we expect from this project? It’s not such a big surprise to see De Niro in something like this,...

On the day after his sixty-seventh birthday veteran method actor Robert De Niro shows no sign of slowing down as The Wrap are reporting that he is in final negotiations to join the cast of Italian director Giovanni Veronesi’s next feature, Manual of Love 3, the final instalment of a trilogy (part’s one and two having been made in 2005 and 2007, respectively).

The part requires De Niro to speak Italian, but I’m sure after playing the lead in Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1976 epic 1900 (which clocks in at 315 min!) he’ll only require a quick refresher course on the language.

The former Taxi Driver can be next seen as part of the weird and wonderful ensemble in Robert Rodriguez’s ‘mex’ploitation flick Machete.

Robert De Niro is in final talks to join the cast of the Italian romance "Manual of Love 3." According to Variety, Giovanni Veronesi is directing the latest installment of the franchise produced by Aurelio De Laurentiis. All three installments have been directed by Veronesi.De Niro.s role, a divorced American professor living in Rome, will be partly spoken in Italian.The film will start shooting in Rome on September 24.The two previous "Manual of Love" films opened in 2005 and 2007 and grossed a total of $45 million at the Italian box office.It will be the first foreign-language production for De Niro since 1976, when he starred in Bernardo Bertolucci's epic "1900."De Niro will be seen next in the upcoming films...

A Wangdoodle would eat ten of them for breakfast and think nothing of it. So, I said, "Come and live with me in peace and safety, away from all the Wangdoodles, and Hornswogglers, and Snozzwangers, and rotten Casting Tidbits. First, Variety reports Robert De Niro is joining the cast of Manual of Love 3, the third installment of an Italian romantic comedy franchise from director Giovanni Veronesi. Each film has a few different episodes (kind of like Paris, je t'aime) telling varying romantic stories. De Niro (who will partially speak Italian) will play a divorced American professor living in Rome in one of the episodes within the film. Second, Latino Review was the first to report (confirmed by Heat Vision) that Victoria's Secret model and 2010 Sports Illustrated cover girl Brooklyn Decker has joined the cast of Peter Berg's adaptation of the board game Battleship. Decker will play one ...

By Sean O’Connell

Hollywoodnews.com: I might be the only person who enjoyed Robert De Niro in last year’s tearjerker, “Everything’s Fine.”

And I’d prefer to see him in challenging emotional dramas instead of watching him run back to the “Meet” well for “Little Fockers.”

So the news that De Niro is eyeing a romance film titled “Manual of Love 3” is encouraging.

Latino Review reports that De Niro will play a divorced American professor living in Rome. The part requires De Niro to speak Italian, but I doubt that will be an issue for the seasoned actor.

The site reports that “Love” begins shooting in September for a 2011 release. Giovanni Veronesi will direct.

In the meantime, the former “Raging Bull” has “Fockers” on the calendar for December, and a part in Robert Rodriguez’s “Machete,” which opens on Sept. 3.

Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.

Actor Robert De Niro is gearing up to be part of the cast for the Italian romance film "Manual of Love 3". The role he'll be playing is a divorced American professor living in Rome. Yes, he'll have to be speaking Italian for almost half of the time he's on screen. Yeah, my mind shot over to "The Godfather 2" as well, wonderful film. Anyways, principal photography begins on September 24th and hopefully the film will be out sometime late next year overseas. Giovanni Veronesi, the director of the first two features from this franchise, will be taking on the third piece. Apparently De Niro's last brush with working on a foreign film is "1900", a Bernardo Bertolucci drama that came out in 1976. That's quite a gap in between foreign films.You have a couple of options of how and when you want to see De Niro in theaters soon. The first is...

Warners has released nine new hi-res stills from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, there's also the first set photos from Captain America: The First Avenger.

"Marvel's "The Avengers" film, which starts shooting in February, will be shot natively in 3D..." (full details)

"Max Von Sydow is said to be in talks to play retired industrialist Henrik Vanger in David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" film adaptation..." (full details)

"Noomi Rapace, the star of the Swedish-language film adaptations of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" films, is in Los Angeles this week meeting with studio representatives and directors like Ridley Scott, Brett Ratner and McG..." (full details)

"Robert De Niro is in final talks to join the third installment of the Italian romantic comedy franchise"Manual Of Love" which Giovanni Veronesi will direct. De Niro will play a divorced American professor living in Rome..." (full details)

"Oddest rumor of late?...

Rome -- The percentage of the Italian film market controlled by local productions is on pace to contract in 2009, reversing a six-year trend that has seen home-grown films' share of the total boxoffice steadily grow. But the boxoffice as a whole held steady compared to last year.

According to information released by cinema monitoring company Cinetel on Wednesday, Italian films accounted for 28.2% of the total boxoffice over the first four months of the year, sharply lower than 34.2% of the market over the January-to-April period in 2008. The first part of the year is traditionally a strong one for Italian films, which captured 27.7% of the Italian boxoffice for 2008 as a whole.

There were just three Italian films in the top 10 so far this year, compared to five of the top 10 after the first four months of last year. The year's top grossing film --- Giovanni Veronesi's comedy "Italians" -- is a local film,...

ROME -- Italian films are continuing to experience a banner year as the first quarter draws to a close, with five Italian films among last weekend's top 10 and an unprecedented 42% of the country's overall boxoffice tied to domestic productions, according to film monitoring company Cinetel.

In 2006, 24.6% of the overall Italian boxoffice came from Italian productions, a slight jump compared with 2005. In most years, about a fifth of overall boxoffice has come from domestic films.

Through 10 weeks this year, five weekends have seen an Italian film top the boxoffice: two weeks each for Luis Prieto's "Ho Voglio Di Te" (I Want You) and "Manuale d'Amore 2" (Love Manual 2) from Giovanni Veronesi and one week for Fausto Brizzi's romantic comedy "Notte Prima Degli Esami -- Oggi" (Night Before Finals -- Today).

But the strong start does not necessarily mean the year will end well. Last year, Italian films accounted for about a third of the country's total boxoffice after four months but ultimately finished with a whimper.

Giovanni Veronesi's Manuale D'Amore (Manual of Love), the Italian boxoffice hit directed by Giovanni Veronesi, will kick off Cinema Italian Style, a two-week showcase of contemporary Italian cinema, on Thursday at the American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Giovanna Mezzogiorno, named best actress at the recent Venice International Film Festival, and director Christina Comencini will accompany the screening of their film La Bestia Nel Cuoure (Don't Tell), screening at the Egyptian Oct. 7. The closing night film Oct. 16 will be the L.A. premiere of Pupi Avati's "So When are the Girls Coming?".

CANNES -- Giovanni Veronesi and Ferzan Ozpetek led the way with 12 David di Donatello nominations each for their respective films Manuale D'Amore (Manual of Love) and Cuore Sacro (Sacred Heart), Italy's equivalent to the Oscars. Both films were nominated in the best film category. Paolo Sorrentino's Le Consequenze dell'amore (The Consequences of Love) and Gianni Amelio's Le Chiavi di Casa (The House Keys) received 10 and seven award nominations respectively including best film and director nominations. Rounding out the best film category was Certi Bambini (Certain Kids), which was directed by Andrea and Antonio Frazzi. Both Ozpetek and the Frazzi brothers were nominated for best director as was Davide Ferrario for Dopo Mezzanotte (After Midnight), which received ten nominations.

CANNES -- Giovanni Veronesi and Ferzan Ozpetek led the way with 12 David di Donatello nominations each for their respective films "Manuale D'Amore" (Manual of Love) and "Cuore Sacro" (Sacred Heart), Italy's equivalent to the Oscars. Both films were nominated in the best film category. Paolo Sorrentino's "Le Consequenze dell'amore" (The Consequences of Love) and Gianni Amelio's "Le Chiavi di Casa" (The House Keys) received 10 and seven award nominations respectively including best film and director nominations. Rounding out the best film category was "Certi Bambini" (Certain Kids), which was directed by Andrea and Antonio Frazzi. Both Ozpetek and the Frazzi brothers were nominated for best director as was Davide Ferrario for "Dopo Mezzanotte" (After Midnight), which received ten nominations.

ROME -- In some much needed good news for the Italian film sector, an indigenous Italian film rose above its Hollywood rivals in boxoffice take over the weekend for the first time this year, according to national boxoffice tracking agency Cinetel on Monday. Giovanni Veronesi's romantic comedy Manuale D'Amore (Love's Manual), which stars Carlo Verdone and Silvio Muccino, pulled in €2.8 million ($3.7 million), easily bumping off last week's leader Sony Pictures' Hitch, which had a weekend take of $1.3 million. In third place was the Jim Carrey starrer Lemony Snicket, which pulled in $610,000 over the weekend. And while a small victory for the Italians, any good news is welcome at a time when the industry has been battling a series of depressing figures. Cinetel said overall ticket sales in Italy are down 11% to date with respect to 2005.