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EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winner Bobby Moresco (Crash) has been set to direct Italian producer Andrea Iervolino‘s (Ferrari) biopic of late fashion giant Giorgio Armani.
Moresco, who previously collaborated with Iervolino on car racing biopics Lamborghini and Maserati, is writing the script for Armani — The King Of Fashion with his daughter Amanda.
The film will follow the personal and professional evolution of Armani, who passed away last September, aged 91, and is widely regarded to be among the most influential designers in 20th and 21st Century fashion. The designer is one of the most successful Italian businessmen ever — The Armani Group is estimated to be worth in excess of $10BN.
The Armani brand, synonymous with luxury and sophistication, was intertwined with the designer’s strong links with Hollywood, both on set and the red carpet. He famously created the costumes for Richard Gere in the 1980 classic American Gigolo and would take credits on another 30 films. Stars to wear Armani on the red carpet included Blanchett, Julia Roberts, Jessica Chastain, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Sophia Loren.
Armani was an intensely private man but had a longstanding personal relationship with his business partner, the architect, fashion designer and businessman Sergio Galeotti, who died of complications from AIDS in 1985. It’s not clear at this stage whether the film will take in Armani’s private life or focus solely on his work on the runway and red carpet. It’s also not clear whether Iervolino has sought collaboration from the Armani family on the project.
Despite being one of the great Italian success stories, Iervolino says the film is unlikely to shoot in Italy in favour of Hungary.
According to Iervolino’s production company: “The decision regarding the filming location followed an in-depth review of the investment plan and extensive discussions with the pool of U.S. banks and funds supporting TAIC [Iervolino’s company] Funding, in light of the current Italian production and administrative environment.”
Iervolino, whose credits include To The Bone, Johnny Depp starrer Waiting For The Barbarians and the upcoming thriller Deep Water, said he is also planning to move the production of another biopic, Bugatti – The Genius, to Hungary. Combined, he claims the loss of both projects will mark a significant production loss for his homeland, but he says the moves were necessary following controversial changes to the local tax credit, which he says have spooked some U.S. investors.
A source close to the company claimed that “the decisions were not driven by artistic or industrial considerations, nor by the quality of Italian talent, but rather by structural administrative uncertainty that has significantly undermined international investors’ confidence…several major American banks no longer consider film productions based in Italy to be financeable, due to regulatory unpredictability and administrative delays and based on a huge disparity of treatment between local competitors based on local relations and not based on law.”
Iervolino stated: “I am deeply in love with Italy and with Italian identity. Although I am Italian-Canadian, I remain a proud Italian. I will continue to develop projects dedicated to great Italian icons, driven by my profound love for my country. Even if, at this moment, these films will not be shot in Italy, I will continue to tell Italy’s stories to the world by producing them abroad.”
Deadline understands that work on the Italian tax credit is ongoing at government level and that reforms are still being finalized with potential for adjustments. We asked Iervolino whether he would reconsider taking projects abroad following changes. “I can’t answer that at the moment,” he told us.
English (US) ·