Independent Los Angeles-based film producer Niels Juul (“Ferrari”, “Killers of the Flower Moon”) founded a former post base in Italy and earned the right to make a feature film about Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla.
Juul’s No Fat Ego Shingle secured the rights to the book “Lucio C’è” published by the renowned Italian imprint Mondadori and written by Dara’s lifelong friend and manager Marcello Balestra.
Dara, whose musical genres range from folk to jazz to classical, passed away in Montreux, Switzerland in 2012 on a European concert tour. He was 68 years old. His hits included the melody “Caruso.” This was sold 9 million copies worldwide and was sung by the late opera great Luciano Pavarotti along with Dara at a concert in Modena in 1992. Dara toured frequently overseas, including in the US.
There will be no fat egos opening offices in Rome and Milan in October. They aim to work with strategic partners to produce four to six feature films a year, while also attracting foreign productions to Italy.
“I went to study in Italy at a very young age and always felt at home here, and I have admired the unique creative Italian spirit that I have worked in fashion (von Dutch) and film,” Juul said in a statement. “I was also very fortunate to meet and learn about creative giants like Giorgio Armani and Vittorio Secki Goli.
The company’s previously announced Italian projects include the biopic “The Lion of Orbieto,” a financier Giancarlo Paletti, who purchased MGM in 1990 and turned to a glamorous Italian waiter who was banished and charged when his acquisition was signed for Hollywood Studios. The Paletti Project is written by American comedy writer Michael O’Rourke. Michael O’Rourke collaborated with Sacha Baron Cohen on “Daali G Show.”
