The actor and director received the CNA La Chioma di Berenice Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the International Cinearti Award, now in its twenty-fifth edition
CIAK
By Caterina Sabato
July 18, 2024
82 years old, a very strong temperament, always on the set around the world: Franco Nero is a tireless icon of cinema who last night was honored at the Summer Arena of the Casa del Cinema in Rome with the career award La Chioma di Berenice CNA, presented to him by Antonio Flamini, artistic director of the International Cinearti Award, now in its twenty-fifth edition, with the following motivation: "Eclectic, original and highly professional interpreter, he was a priceless protagonist of the Italian spaghetti western, therefore free from schemes and prejudices: he fascinated young and old with his intense blue eyes, crossing cinema in the widest of ways, from the great authors to the most popular and commercial films, but always with extreme competence. Franco Nero is awarded the Chioma di Berenice Lifetime Achievement Award".
More than 200 roles played by the actor directed by masters of cinema from all over the world: from John Huston to Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and then Sergio Corbucci, Elio Petri, Luis Buñuel, Claude Chabrol, many meetings that have marked his life, such as the one with the legendary Laurence Olivier, many indelible roles, such as the legendary Django of the cult of the same name by Sergio Corbucci, still today an inspiration for films and series.
But for Franco Nero the time has not yet come to stop. We interviewed him.
The Chioma di Berenice CNA for lifetime achievement is just the latest of the many awards she has received, is it always an emotion or do you get used to it?
"You get used to it, and then I tell you the truth, I also touch my balls because the lifetime achievement award is given to actors who no longer work, who are retired, and fortunately I still work a lot around the world, I am in great demand. Of course I am pleased and I add it to the others, I will have about a thousand ".
In fact, you continue to be very prolific both as an actor and as a director, it's as if you don't breathe outside the set...
"I like to be on set, I like to be with the crew, electricians, stagehands, cinematographers, with the actors, when I work I never think about whether the film will be successful, I just want to have fun".
Has it always been like this or were you a little more worried about the outcome of the film when you were young?
"But no, I've always been so sincerely."
[Franco Nero with Antonio Flamini, artistic director of the La Chioma di Berenice Prize]
Do you already have other films in the pipeline?
"Yes, two as a director that I will also play, one is called Parsifal, inspired by Wagner's opera, and the other is a film called The Secret Lies Within, a very beautiful story between a couple in their forties, husband and wife. And then I have many proposals as an actor, many I have already rejected, I have become very difficult, at my age I want to do the things I really like. A great American writer called John Sayles wrote a screenplay, Django lives!, they proposed me to be the protagonist, Django again, we hope to be able to do it, production has not yet started. I have just returned from London where I shot an English film directed by my son, Carlo Gabriel, with his mother and my wife, Vanessa Redgrave, with my son's wife, the grandchildren, in short, a "family" film, and then there are extraordinary English actors, it will be released next year".
You have practically toured all genres, but is there one that you prefer in particular?
"No, look, I think that when there is a good script, good actors and a good director, any genre is fine. I missed playing the character of the Pope and two years ago I agreed to shoot The Pope's Exorcist with Russel Crowe! I've done detective, mystery, political, action, western, horror films, I've always had a lot of fun, I really like to change my face too, transform myself physically".
Among all the encounters you have had in your life, is there anyone who has particularly inspired you, even in the role you later had as a director?
"I've worked with the greatest directors in the world: with Buñuel from Spain, Fassbinder from Germany, I've worked with Chabrol in France, he worked with Quentin Tarantino. And then with Elio Petri, he was the greatest Italian director, I have always considered him the Italian Kubrick, that is, he made 10 films all completely different from each other, while the others always made the same film, but he was always innovative. It is logical that working with all of them I have always "stolen" something".
What does it feel like to be a world icon, an inspiration for great artists like Quentin Tarantino?
"Well, a lot of satisfaction, it means that I have done a good job in my life, it means that I have left my mark. Tarantino has always been a fan of mine, he told me, when he was 14 he started working in a video store and began to see my films, to look for those that did not arrive in America to see them all. He still remembers the jokes, the music, look, it's impressive."
What do you like about today's cinema? What do you think in particular of Italian cinema?
"Honestly, it's not that I follow him much because I'm always around the world, but I notice that he's recovering, there are good directors, there's a whole new generation that makes good films. It means that there is hope for the future. A short time ago I was in the United States and I gave an award to Matteo Garrone, I think he is a very good director, he too always chooses particular topics".
[Franco Nero with the La Chioma di Berenice CNA Lifetime Achievement Award]
I ask you a somewhat risky question: how do you think your career would have gone if you had been born in this era?
"Look, I don't know, if we want to talk about Italy today there are clans, there are clubs, if you are not part of them it is difficult to work. I've always been a free spirit, and maybe I'd have more difficulty working, then in my time people dreamed of the actor on the big screen, they wanted beauty on the screen. I remember going to the cinema to see Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, beautiful faces, today I saw that accountant faces are more popular (laughs)".
And she has never had the face of an accountant. Perhaps the dream of cinema at some point was supplanted by television, which you criticize in your last film as a director, The Man Who Drew God (released in 2022) ...
"I made that film because I wanted to focus on a few things: I liked the world of the blind, then I wanted to talk about immigration, there are an African mother and daughter who come to Italy and face a series of problems, then racism, then the loneliness of old age, I wanted to talk about junk TV that takes advantage of the misfortunes of others... Unfortunately in Italy my film did not have a great distribution, but fortunately I made good sales, it was considered for the Golden Globes in America, but Matteo Garrone's Io capitano was rightly chosen".
And in his film he chose to have Kevin Spacey play a small part, the first role after the accusations of sexual abuse that cut short his career...
"In the meantime he has been exonerated both in America and in England. America is a strange people, it does not forget. Spacey is the greatest living actor, it's a shame, when I offered him a role in my film I explained to him that it was a small part, and he replied: "It doesn't matter, I want to be on set". In life you always have to give everyone a second chance."
When you think of her, you automatically associate her with Django, do you like it?
"Sean Connery used to tell me, 'I've done a lot of movies, but everyone always thinks of James Bond!' And that's okay, I'm always considered the original Django, last year my autobiography was released which is entitled Django and the others (published by Rai Libri), and at the end of the book I give a speech to Django, I tell him "you made me popular all over the world, but you forget that I played characters of 30 different nationalities", in short, a fairly funny dialogue".
If you could choose how to be remembered, what would you prefer?
"Look, I was lucky enough to work with the greatest
actors in the world, American actors, English, among them the greatest who was
Laurence Olivier, who once told me: "Well, of course you have a beautiful
physique, you could always be a hero, as the Americans do, clean, clean-shaven,
winning, but what a monotony! Or you are an actor, you change roles all the
time, you will have ups and downs in your career, but in the long run you will
reap the rewards". And I followed his advice."
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