London, January 23, 2020 – Amazon today announced three new Italian Amazon Original shows at its Prime Video Presents Italy showcase event, hosted this morning at Hotel de la Ville in Rome by Head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke, Head of International Originals, James Farrell, Director of European Amazon Originals Georgia Brown and Head of Unscripted Originals series in Italy, Nicole Morganti. The event featured appearances from leading Italian creators and talent including Carlo Verdone, Aurelio & Luigi De Laurentiis, Andrea Di Stefano, Lorenzo Mieli, Carlo Cracco, Fabrizio Ievolella, Francesco Lauber and Dante Sollazzo. The announcement of Vita da Carlo featuring Italian film legend Carlo Verdone; Ferro featuring international music star Tiziano Ferro and Dinner Club featuring Michelin starred chef Carlo Cracco, marks another step in Amazon Prime Video’s increasing investment in Italian TV production, with further announcements to follow soon.

“Here in Italy we’re focused on making great Original shows specifically for our local Prime members and we’re so excited to announce these three new Italian Amazon Original productions,” said Georgia Brown, Director of European Amazon Original series for Prime Video. “We know that viewers want to see unique, authentic and entertaining stories that they truly connect with, and we’re committed to producing the widest variety of quality Italian programming across drama, reality, comedy, lifestyle and music. There isn’t a genre or topic we aren’t considering right now. Production companies and creatives who are focused on making high-quality, Italian shows that reflects the local audience will know that these shows can and will travel internationally.”

“We have lots of more exciting ideas in development with Italian producers, writers, directors and acting talent,” added Brown. “We are working on premium TV productions in Italy and there will be plenty more in the coming months as we continue our commitment to invest in production in Italy.”

At the event Georgia Brown, Director of European Amazon Original series, and Nicole Morganti, Head of Unscripted Originals series in Italy, announced:

  • Vita da Carlo, a comedy TV series that sees Carlo Verdone, one of the most popular Italian actors and directors, star as a fictionalized version of himself alongside cameos from some of Italy’s biggest stars. Set in Rome, created by Nicola Guaglianone, Menotti and Carlo Verdone, produced by Aurelio and Luigi De Laurentiis with their company Filmauro, this 10-episode Vita da Carlo will start production in 2020.

“I am so happy and proud to start this new creative experience with my producers, Aurelio and Luigi de Laurentiis. Working with a global streaming service like Amazon Prime Video will mean I am able to tell my story around the world, in multiple languages, said Carlo Verdone. “It will be very stimulating to know that, thanks to such an important partner, I will be able to tell an Italian story to an international audience, depicting characters, feelings and emotions that everyone can relate to. Most of the story will be focused on my private life, taking a look at episodes and situations I’ve had, trying to explain how often truth surpasses fiction.”

“We are proud to begin this collaboration with Amazon Prime Video with such an Italian legend as Carlo Verdone”, said Aurelio and Luigi De Laurentiis, producers at Filmauro. “Our company, which has long been synonymous with comedic Italian Cinema, brings traditional values with a modern approach to storytelling and production. Verdone is the Italian artist who has been able, more than any other, to depict our country along last decades with lightness, irony and deep truth.”

  • Ferro, an intense and powerful documentary about Tiziano Ferro, one of the most famous contemporary Italian musicians. Filled with never–before-seen footage of Tiziano while preparing and rehearsing for his new concert tour, the documentary will give audience a private and unique look at his life, passions, work and love. Produced by Banijay, Ferro will launch exclusively on Prime Video in June 2020.

“I am so proud of this movie. I am happy to share with fans the truth about the hard work and preparation behind a concert tour”, said Tiziano Ferro. “The film is a tribute to the music, but it will also open a window on my world and will allow the audience to know me better than ever before, both artistically and personally”.

“Ferro is not a self-celebrating documentary but an unfiltered personal portrait”, said Francesco Lauber Chief Creative Officer, Banijay Italia. “A daily diary that unveils unseen and fascinating details of one of most beloved artist in Italy and around the world”.

  • Brand new Italian Amazon Original Series, Dinner Club. This new unscripted cooking travelogue sees Michelin starred chef and TV personality Carlo Cracco and six famous Italian actors and comedians travel around the world to Japan, Vietnam, France, Spain, Peru and Mexico to discover exotic cuisine and learn from the world’s best chefs, in order to create a perfect dinner for guests appearing on the show. Dinner Club is produced by Banijay and will launch exclusively for Prime members in 2020.

“Dinner Club will allow the audience to discover some of the most incredible culinary wonders all around the World, through an amusing trip done together with some very special friends”, said Carlo Cracco. “My goal will be to turn them into real experts of various flavours and at the end they will be able to prepare a perfect themed dinner”

“This show is not a typical cooking show”, said Fabrizio Ievolella CEO, Binijay Italia. “Irony and adventure are important elements of this show which itself is a mix between a journey and a dinner with friends. It also features a brilliant new cast every episode, led by Carlo Cracco. Together they will discover the international cuisine, enjoying intelligent and engaging conversations at the same time.”

  • The official title and the leading role actress of Bang Bang Baby the first ever scripted Italian Amazon Original Series, which is a crime drama set in Milan in the late eighties which tells the story of a shy, insecure teenager Alice - played by the talented Arianna Becheroni - who becomes the youngest member of the mafia, not for money, ambition or the desire of power, but to win the love of her father. Created by Andrea Di Stefano and produced by Fremantle’s The Apartment and Wildside for Amazon Studios, Bang Bang Baby will start shooting in 2020.

“I’m proud and delighted that Bang Bang Baby will be the first production by The Apartment (in collaboration with Wildside) for Amazon Prime Video. It’s an important project for us and an extremely ambitious challenge”, said Lorenzo Mieli, Chief Executive Officer, The Apartment. “It brings together crime genre and an all-female cast for a teen drama like no other. The result is an explosive coming-of-age story, a dark rock comedy, all merged with the pop-culture of the 80s. Our ambition is to innovate and explore new original and surprising opportunities to entertain the Italian and international audience. I’d like to thank Amazon, Georgia Brown, James Farrell and Jennifer Salke for their trust in a such original project, since the beginning”.

“In the 80s I was a teenager just like Alice, the main character of this show, and like her I’ve grown up with the American TV shows that often offer a particular point of view on the real life and the world of crime”, said Andrea Di Stefano. “I have always been fascinated by the bad side of the society and this also determined my choice in directing two crime movies before this TV series. Working now on a coming-of-age story, about a woman and her personal journey into a cruel ruthless world set in the 80s, an era so close to my youth, is for me an incredible opportunity. Alice faces her descent into hell with innocence, but also with an incredible maturity giving life to an usual story that comes directly from our world, from our culture”.

  • More details of Celebrity Hunted – Caccia all’uomo, the first Italian Amazon Original Unscripted show, starring Francesco Totti, Fedez, Luis Sal, Claudio Santamaria, Francesca Barra, Diana Del Bufalo, Cristiano Caccamo and Costantino della Gherardesca, produced by EndemolShine Italy; revealing for the first time the teaser trailer and confirming the launch date of 13th March 2020

“Celebrity Hunted – Caccia all’uomo is an innovative concept to viewers,” said Dante Sollazzo, Head of Unscripted, EndemolShine Italy. “A revolutionary format, innovative storytelling, suspenseful and thrilling elements and A-list talent will make this show a unique challenge that has never been seen on Italian TV before”.

Amazon Prime Video also presented panels with leading creators and stars of all announced upcoming Italian Amazon series including:

· Carlo Verdone (Vita da Carlo)

· Aurelio e Luigi De Laurentiis (Vita da Carlo, Produttori, Filmauro)

· Carlo Cracco (Dinner Club)

· Fabrizio Ievolella (Dinner Club, Chief Executive Officer, Banijay Italia)

· Francesco Lauber (Ferro, Chief Creative Officer, Banijay Italia)

· Andrea Di Stefano (Bang Bang Baby, Creator)

· Lorenzo Mieli (Bang Bang Baby, Chief Executive Officer, The Apartment)

· Dante Sollazzo (Celebrity Hunted – Caccia all’uomo, Head of Unscripted EndemolShine Italy)

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