In just 48 hours, Checco Zalone dragged one million and 700 thousand Italians to the cinema, causing the total takings to skyrocket Good Way at the threshold of 14 million (to be precise 13,766,122 euros). After the record start on Christmas Day, on Boxing Day the new comedy by the Apulian comedian, directed by Gennaro Nunziante, totaled another 7,918,273 euros: a historic record that sent the booking sites of many theaters into a tailspin. And now the Zalone-mania, which has overshadowed rival films starting with Avatar Fire and Ashes, does not fail to reverberate on the actors who work alongside Zalone on the screen. Among these it stands out Martina Colombaria real surprise: putting aside the glamor and elegance she just showed off on Dancing with the Stars, the actress appears with long gray hair, thick shortsighted glasses, no make-up and shapeless clothes. She plays the hilarious character of the ex-wife of the nabob Zalone: when she was with him she was a top model but today, alongside her new Palestinian intellectual partner, she has renounced the jet set, elegance and every form of vanity to dedicate herself to serious theatre.
What effect did playing a character so far from your image of a beautiful woman have on you?
«I had a lot of fun, I liked transforming myself. And to think that at the audition Checco and Nunziante were almost afraid to ask me to make myself look ugly. They asked me if I was willing to forget today’s Martina.”
No doubts on your part?
«No way. I am happy to give up my beauty or put it in the background: even in the theatrical comedy Steel Magnolias I played Anna, a modest character. A beautiful actress is condemned to play the man-eating fatale. But it is an entirely Italian stereotype that has prevented me from opportunities: a director told me that I would not have been credible in the role of a blind woman.”
How did you end up on the set of “Buen Camino”?
«I was contacted by the casting director Francesco Vedovati on Instagram, which was quite unusual. It means that social media is useful for something.”
And then, during filming, how did it go?
«Zalone, whom I already admired as an artist, confirmed that he is also extraordinary from a human point of view. I remember lots of eating and drinking, chatting, in short there was a very nice atmosphere on the set.”
Did the actor give you any advice?
«He told me not to care, to leave aside the fear of being chosen for my beauty. He advised me to take it more calmly. And it pushed me to participate in Ballando to put myself out there and have a new experience.”
In the film Zalone defines his partner as “the only Palestinian who has occupied a territory, my Gaza”: do you think this is an inappropriate joke?
«He can do it, the courage to speak clearly is his signature. Instead in my mouth that joke would be incorrect… If he talks about an inflamed prostate it makes you laugh, another would be vulgar. Zalone is an intelligent comedian and at various moments in the film he says the things that people think.”
At what times?
«When, seeing his daughter kissing another girl, he fears she has become a lesbian. A parent is worried: I have a gay cousin and his mother, despite having accepted him, is afraid that he may be a victim of discrimination. However, Zalone’s films always convey a positive message.”
Which one, in the case of “Buen Camino”?
«The certainty that there can be a wonderful relationship between parents and children».
In your opinion, why did the film also receive negative reviews?
«All envy. Italians do not rejoice in other people’s success. The competition is very strong, as I discovered on Dancing with the Stars.”
What was that TV experience like?
“Wonderful. I miss the program and would start again tomorrow. Meanwhile, I got a tattoo of “Insemprarsi”, the verb used by Dante in Paradise: it means to continue forever».
Did you expect to win instead of Andrea Delogu?
«No, I hoped to last as many episodes as possible to remain in Milly Carlucci’s magnificent family».
Are you satisfied with your career?
“Certain. I have done many beautiful things and will soon be taking two comedies on tour, Friday the 13th and Truer Than True. Since 1991, when at the age of 16 I won the title of Miss Italy in Salsomaggiore, I have never stopped. I kept rolling up my sleeves and in the end I was rewarded.”
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