OfElvira Serra
The journalist will be awarded with a special David di Donatello on May 3 in Cinecittà, on the evening of the “Italian Oscars”. «From Fellini to Benigni, the most beautiful memories help me in the dark days». On Morricone: «Today I can’t see him, but I remember his words: “Listen to the music, the images will make themselves”»
Next Friday Vincenzo Mollica will receive a special statuette at the David di Donatello ceremony, live on Rai Uno from Cinecittà. Piera Detassispresident of the Academy of Italian Cinema, motivated the choice as follows: «For over 40 years he has been describing the world of entertainment with passion and sobriety, enthusiasm and competence. His unique style, empathy and his art of interviewing have been an example for decades for those who have undertaken a career as a journalist.” To these qualities we add humility, generosity and humanitywhich make a small miracle possible: everyone who knew Vincenzo Mollica loves him forever.
So, would you have ever imagined this special David?
«If I had dreamed it I would have fallen out of bed! When Piera Detassis notified me I was excited: it seemed as if Christmas had suddenly arrived with all the festivities”, she replies happily from her home in Rome, near Rosemarie, the love of her life.
What excites you most?
«I like the idea that David arrives in my life like a beautiful wind. It brings with it all the things that have marked the trajectory of my existence, a mixture of joy, passion, effort and, above all, two things: curiosity and the ability to listen respectfully, which is the secret of our work.”
Which journalist are you?
«I am a reporter, impressionistic and impressionable: always ready to talk about a character and his art, making me emotional».
But he is now retired.
«But I still do things. These days I am working on a docu-film dedicated to the last years of Federico Fellini’s life, produced by Atomic and Rai Cinema. When the proposal came to me, it seemed like a clear sign that we need to move forward.”
He will be awarded in the legendary Theater 5, where Fellini shot his most important films.
«It’s a magical place, so many memories… There I saw him walking around, thinking, working; it was her second home. I accompanied him to Cinecittà many times, sometimes we came by subway, others by car we got lost, she made me turn this way or that and we found ourselves in the suburbs. He had a geography all of his own, intimate, personal, made up of suggestions, of visions. At night we went to a hill in Rome and stood there contemplating that bizarre landscape, which for him was always full of life. He told me: the only true realist is the visionary.”
He covered many Oscar evenings, the Venice and Cannes Festivals. Which one did you prefer?
«I started in 1982 with Cannes and Venice, then the Oscars in 1990, when Tornatore won with New Cinema Paradiso. The most exciting moments were those in which Italians were rewarded: from the Oscars for the career of Fellini and Sophia Loren to those for Benigni and Life is Beautiful».
A personal memory?
“Many. Benigni comes to mind, two days before they gave him the statuette. We had to do an interview on Sunset Boulevard and we had an appointment in front of a large hotel: the extraordinary thing was that he came on foot and as they identified him, the cars rushed towards the sidewalk to celebrate him. It was a beautiful moment.”
Who would like to interview today’s actors? Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy…
«Better not to risk disappointment. Today interviews are organized like assembly lines, the actors already have the answer ready even if you have asked another question. In recent years it happened to me too, but I had devised a stratagem: the real interview started from the fourth question onwards.”
Has anyone ever disappointed you?
«But no, because I have always let myself be surprised. I remember a beautiful one in Gregory Peck. I never arrived with written questions. I tried to know everything beforehand, but I asked questions as if it were a normal conversation.”
How’s your health?
«I get along with Mr Parkinson and Miss Blindness, I try to get along with them. There are darker days and brighter days, peace is never made. I hope they don’t accompany me to the afterlife and are stopped first.”
What do you do on bad days?
«I try to always keep a smile ready for all uses in my pocket: it is hope in its pure state».
Do you happen to “re-watch” a film listening only to the audio?
«Yes, sometimes I review sequences of films that I loved, and my memory returns the images to me. A piece of advice from Ennio Morricone helped me: you will hear the soundtrack and the words better, the images will create themselves.”
What do you think of the recent controversies in Rai?
«For me, Rai has always been a public service. I thank Tg1 and Rai Cinema, who have always allowed me to work freely.”
The best actors?
«Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren in all the films made together. Giulietta Masina was amazing: Charlot in a skirt, Charlie Chaplin said of her. And then Anna Magnani, with the poetry that she carries with her when she appears, seems like a spell.”
If you could watch again for 2 hours, which film would you watch?
«If I were given the chance to review for two hours, I would watch my wife Rosemarie and my daughter Caterina, the blessing of my life, the most beautiful film that has happened to me in my life».
April 28, 2024 (modified April 28, 2024 | 09:09)
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