Saturday, May 20, 2006

The Director

It's been a hard road to find the right director for Dante's Inferno, mainly because he or she had to have two very important qualities: to be a Christian (mandatory to direct a Christian story) and to be open minded (mandatory to work as a team). So, after a long search and contacts with several major directors, I found director Armand Mastroianni to be the best fit for these mandatory qualities and to be in command of Dante's Inferno and its sequels.

Mr. Mastroianni is a very unique director, who likes to get every artist's input and freedom so he/she can exercise his/her own artistic qualities without constraints. This is quite important so artists can stimulate and inspire each other as well as the director, and vice versa, to bring the best of everyone and work as an artistic collaborating team rather than as individuals reciting from a script.

So today I'm proud to publicly announce that Dante's Inferno will have a great director, Mr. Armand Mastroianni. His latest film is the long awaited "The Celestine Prophecy" based on the first series of books by James Redfield. He made a name for himself when he directed "He Knows You re Alone" with Tom Hanks and later "The Linda McCartney Story". Mr. Mastroianni also directed some great episodes of the TV series "Touched by an Angel", which aired for 9 years.

This is what Mr. Mastroianni had to say after he read the latest version of the Inferno script:

"I have read your script for The Divine Comedy and let me begin by saying it's an extraordinary achievement. After reading your script it's easy to see the passion you have for this project.

I was immediately reminded of the epic poem I had read years ago. This time it was realized with an incredible visual sense and meticulous attention to detail. I had forgotten how many well known characters being punished for their specific indiscretions populated the levels of hell. Your script of Dante's journey with Virgil as his guide is destined to be a major film event. The production of this film is by no means a small undertaking, but knowing your dedication and conviction I sense your journey won't be that hard. You must make this film.....

A huge part is already done.

The Divine Comedy is a project that comes along once in a lifetime and one that I would be honored to be a part of. "