Italy to the Stars – A destination for international productions
Tom Cruise’s arrival at Bari Airport made the headlines a few weeks ago. Could he be looking for locations for the new chapter of the Mission Impossible saga? It wouldn’t be Ethan Hunt’s first visit to the Belpaese. While the third chapter of the series directed by J.J. Abrams took the IMF (Impossible Mission Force) to the heart of the Vatican City (rebuilt in the magnificent setting of the Reggia di Caserta), the actor’s firm insistence on shooting the seventh instalment in Italy – Venice and Rome – despite the difficulties created by the Covid pandemic in 2020, created even more of a sensation.
A feature of recent years is the use of locations that are lesser known to an international public alongside some of the most famous and recognisable of places, such as Italy’s art cities.
One thing leads to another, however, and, following the resonance brought to Matera by the 25th James Bond film No time to Die (all the locations here), the last with Daniel Craig as secret agent 007 on her Majesty’s service, a Bollywood production, Salaar, starring Prabhas and Shruti Haasan, was based in the city of the Sassi, and is now due for theatrical release in India in the autumn with a predictable return for the locations featured.
After providing the setting for the multi-prize winning HBO series, The White Lotus, Sicily will also feature on big screens around the world: this is where Harrison Ford has set the fifth outing for film’s most famous archaeologist, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, due to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on 18 May. The archaeologist had previously visited Italy in 1989, exploring the canals and palaces of Venice, and the Church of St. Barnaba in particular whose exteriors were used for the Marciana library.
A hunger for new locations also brought to Italy the imposing production machine behind Fast X, the 10th chapter in the Universal Pictures blockbuster tentpole Fast & Furious featuring Vin Diesel as a car racing champion and criminal on the run and his antagonist Jason Momoa, in particular to Turin and Rome.
The Italy to the Stars itinerary (follow this link) in the Itineraries Section of Italy for Movies, plots a journey that showcases Italy and the world’s most beloved film stars who lived it through their characters and plots.
It reveals that in Once upon a time in America, Sergio Leone has Noodle (Robert De Niro) and his Deborah (Elizabeth McGovern) meet at the Hotel Excelsior (a famous gathering place for stars and celebrities at the Venice Film Festival) and that the canals of the lagoon city were the setting, obvious this time, for Woody Allen’s love for Julia Roberts in Everyone says I love you, to cite just one of the most famous films shot here.
Florence ranks no lower in terms of being taken around the world by stars, counting Nicole Kidman, Isabel in Portrait of a Lady and Tom Hanks in Inferno, based on Dan Brown’s novel.
The perfect finale is a great classic: Roman Holiday, the film which made the world dream of the millenary beauty of the Eternal City that Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck cross on board a Vespa and opened the way to an unimaginable catwalk of stars whose stories have since contributed to creating (and maintaining) the legend of the city of La Dolce Vita of Fellinian memory in the collective imagination.
Without aiming to provide an exhaustive list, Italy to the Stars showcases Italy, as seen from the firmament above.