La Repubblica, 28.01.01
TRANSLATION:
Scorsese: "DiCaprio has instinct, he reminds me of De Niro and Al Pacino"
by LAURA LAURENZI
Rome -- the star of the stars arrives escorted by his mother and also by his grandmother. With a Moustache and a goatee barely visible, liquid view (?) of an angel/god (?) almost white, winning smile, Leonardo DiCaprio makes his little speech of courtesy, he thanks everybody, he evokes his own Italian roots, he praises the beauties of Rome, he puts himself in pose as it is inevitable and he leaves, he disappears passing through the kitchens with an considerable bodyguard who defends him from the fans, before among them Flavia Vento has launched between undercarriages of plates and batteries of big pots to pursuit.
"I had a great admiration for DiCaprio even since before Titanic: he is an actor who has a great instinct, and who remembers me with these qualities of De Niro and of Al Pacino", Martin Scorsese praises him. Great parade of stars yesterday evening in the Hilton for the delivery of "the Rudolph Valentino Awards" to Virna Lisi, Leo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese. Formidable the hunting for tickets. Thousand persons seated at the tables, the gentlemen all in tuxedo and the ladies with long dresses; chaos, confusion, stars, starletts and old glories, one great contest of presenting oneself for a beneficial evening, in favor of Telethon. In the background a sky with stars, a model desert, and a gigantic golden statue of Rodolfo Valentino, about two meters high, between two palms. There’s Boris Biancheri, Carol André with Luigi Abete, Mario D' Urso with Pia Ruspoli. The Pampanini is an apparition in her candid sable. Of all more. Jocelyn with a cape. Claudia Gerini in white and black, Renzo Arbore with dark glasses. Flavia Vento who isn’t recognized by anybody. Giuliano Gemma, Roberta Capua, with allures of a model. The false Valentino and the true Biagiotti. Carlo and Camilla di Borbone. The most beautiful is the historical (?) fiancée of Sgarbi Sabrina Colle. The very elegant Susanna Agnelli, president of Telethon, in tuxedo and mocassins, seated on the right of Antonio Tajani, while on her left she has Sgarbi. All concentrated at the same table are the ladies of the saloons: Sandra Verusio, Mirella Haggiag, Guia Sospisio. Here’s Anna Valle and there’s Proietti. Franco Nero arrives with Raoul Bova. Romina Power is with her two daughters, Al Bano is there but he sits at an other table. Nino Manfredi is with his granddaughter/niece(?). There are Barbara Bouchet, at the table of DiCaprio, and Maria Grazia Cucinotta, in black with a red stole and extralarge neckline. The only one to be asked for autographs is Cettina del Medico in family. Virna Lisi cheers: "To say that I’m happy is (too) little. This is an acknowledgment of the seriousness and the professionality that I have put into my job". There is also a competition, which is also noble: 100 mila Liras a ticket, a Smart wins. D’Urso buys five ticket at one time.
Convincing melodies of Glenn Miller the Big Band of maestro Mazza are played. The other musical hosts of the glamorous evening are the Avion Travel, Ivana Spagna and Jenni B. Light the menu: insalata julienne, an ethnic first plate, homage to the native region of Rodolfo Valentino which is linked by a partnership with California, and that is orecchiette pugliesi with tomates and basil (hot), and then filet of calf al Porto (hard), with browned potatoes and grilled radicchio (good), dessert of fruits of forest with mousse au chocolat.
DiCaprio hasn’t touched anything, gliding down between the other common mortals only for some minutes. Very rarely so many affectations from the side of an actor have been seen: he has expected that there weren’t any photographers in the hall to film him except his photographer of confidence and that one of the Ansa (?). And he wanted that there was written, between the clauses, the assurance that between the waiters there weren’t any hidden cameras. He has accepted the television cameras of RaiUno, which will broadcast the presentation on Tuesday, February 6th, in a second evening, only because it is a beneficial event. So much allergy towards the paparazzi is due perhaps to the fact that for putting on the clothes of the Irish gang leader Amsterdam Vallon, the protagonist of Gangs of New York, DiCaprio has had to put on eighteen kilos. The simple idea to pass the entire evening together with colleagues, people presenting themselves, want-to-be-stars and scattered vip must have horrified him. It appears improbable to receive an eventual proposal from the part of Raffaella Carrà to make her the knight at one of the evenings of the Festival di Sanremo.
Until the moment of the presentation he has barricaded himself in a suite of the Hilton choosing to confine himself to the indispensable: the few minutes necessary to receive the prize from the hands of Maria Grazia Cucinotta. To Virna Lisi, instead, who meets an acknowledgment which had already gone, before to her, the golden statuette representing Rodolofo Valentino in the role of "the Son of the sheik" has been delivered by Gigi Proietti, to Sophia Loren and to Claudia Cardinale, while Martin Scorsese, rewarded as the third, received it from his colleague Gillo Pontecorvo. The beautiful Paola Saluzzi, who lead through the evening, has struggled enormously to keep the audience silent. The chatter has surpassed any speech.
My translation (sorry, no time to make it perfect!) - Mona Lisa
Thank you Mona Lisa for your hard work with the translation !
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