‘Ferrari’ producer denies claims of “cultural appropriation”
A producer for Michael Mann‘s upcoming car designer biopic Ferrari has rebuked claims that casting a non-Italian actor as Italian manufacturer Enzo Ferrari is cultural appropriation.
Andrea Iervolino, an Italian-Canadian film producer on Mann’s movie, lashed back at Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, who lamented the absence of Italian actors in more big-budget Hollywood films.
Favino, who is currently starring in the Italian film Comandante, called out the casting of Driver at the Venice Film Festival, where Ferrari had its premiere. He asked why actors on the level of Toni Servillo, who led the highly acclaimed Italian movie The Great Beauty, weren’t considered for more American productions.
“There’s an issue of cultural appropriation,” Favino stated. “Instead, the parts are given to foreign actors who are distant from the story’s real protagonists, starting with the exotic accents,” he added. “If a Cuban can’t play a Mexican, why can an American play an Italian? It only happens with us.”
Referring to the iconic Italian actor Vittorio Gassman, Favino continued: “In another time, Gassman would have played Ferrari. Now, Driver does it, and no one says anything.” The casting of Driver has particular weight as he portrayed another Italian icon, Maurizio Gucci, in Ridley Scott’s widely derided fashion epic House of Gucci.
However, Ierovlino rejected the claims of cultural appropriation and even went as far as to blame Italy for not giving global audiences more mainstream exports. Speaking at the festival, as reported by The Telegraph, he said: “Italian cinema needs to look beyond Italy and come up with synergies with the international film industry, which wants to invest in Italian icons.”
“Films like Ferrari, which will be distributed in 150 countries, promote Italy and Italian genius.” He also urged the industry to “make films based on stories that speak to the whole world, with international stars who work side by side with our own talent.”
Watch the trailer for Ferrari below.
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