Divine Comedy Trilogy Producer's Blog

The Documentary and Online Community

2009-05-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

Finally, Dante's Inferno Documented, the first documentary ever on Dante's Inferno is in post-production. Check it out: and join the newly created Dante's Inferno Community.

3D Cinematographer

2008-07-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a while since I've been watching carefully who may be the best cinematographer to film The Divine Comedy trilogy - Dante's Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso in 3D and digitally. Well, I'm very happy to announce that the search is over. After assisting at a NAB introduction to Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D, I approached cinematographer Chuck Schuman, who immediately said to me that he had read The Divine Comedy earlier in his life. We got hooked! After a few conversations over the phone, Mr. Schuman and I got together in Los Angeles along with director Armand Mastroianni. We decided on the spot that he was the right cinematographer for The Divine Comedy trilogy, not only for his great skills but also because of his great personality and team player approach.

So, I welcome Chuck Schuman to the real Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D, and beyond.

PS: It was not Jules Verne who first wrote Journey to the Center of the Earth, but Dante Alighieri over 600 years earlier. Furthermore, Dante's journey is the only one that really made it to the Center of the Earth, while Jules Verne never made it all the way.

Riabilitazione di Dante Alighieri - Read in English Below

2008-06-19T14:52:00.000-07:00

Oggi e un giorno molto speciale per me dopo aver letto questa grande notizia in italiano.

E' anche un giorno molto speciale per i Fiorentini, per tutti gli italiani e per ogni cittadino del mondo.

La lettera che segue l'ho spedita lo scorso 15 Febbraio al Presidente della Provincia di Firenze, Sig. Matteo Renzi. Sembra che qualcuno abbia poi ascoltato le mie pretese di tanti anni fà:

From: Divine Project
Sent: 02/15/08 10:01 am
To: Presidente Renzi
Subject: Proposta - Perdono del Esilio di Dante Alighieri

Gentile Sig. Renzi,

Come lei sapra, sono in conttato con Raffaella Spadoni la quale ha dimostrato interesse sulla quattrologia dei documentari che sto producendo su L'Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso e Dante stesso.

Al di fuori di questi documentari, vorrei sapere se lei sarebbe disposto a considerare di dare il perdono ufficiale a Dante Alighieri dal esilio di Firenze. Questo fatto fara notizia mondiale che io saro disposto a filmare come un documentario independente a tutto quello che sto facendo. Anche se dovra considerare fare una festa enorme in tutta Firenze. Penso che il perdono del esilio di Dante Alighieri potra essere molto utile, per dopo fare la richiesta a Ravenna per ritornare a Firenze i resti del Vate....

Spero la sua risposta diretta su questa idea non piu tardi di lunedi 18 di febbraio, gia che partiro per l'europa martedi mattina e non sara faccile per me guardare la mia posta elettronica.

Grazie e a presto,

Boris Acosta
Produttore/Regista

Vorrei approfittare di questa opportunità per ringraziare pubblicamente il Presidente Renzi per aver ascoltato la richiesta che avevo piu' vicina al mio cuore. Desidero anche ringraziare i Signori Enrico Bosi e Massimo Pieri per aver presentato la mozione al Comune di Firenze per liberare Dante Alighieri dall'esilio permanente al quale fino adesso era stato costretto. Infine ringrazio tutti coloro che hanno avuto il coraggio e la comprensione di votare a favore della riabilitazione di Dante Alighieri. Grande la Firenze d'oggi!

Boris Acosta

Dante Alighieri's Pardon from Exile

2008-06-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

Today, after reading the news, (click here), it has become one of the most important days of my life. The world will change forever, as it did 700 years ago with the writing of Inferno and the start of the Italian language, fathered by the great Dante Alighieri. Dante's exile was arranged by his political enemies during his lifetime because of his demand to the Pope of the time to step down from power. The society of separation of Church and Politics we live in today in the free world is thanks to Dante Alighieri, who forced the Popes to relinquish political power, through his denounce of ALL Popes in Inferno.

It's been quite a few years since I've been advocating the idea of Florence pardoning Dante Alighieri from his exile. Today the day has come! And I thank God for listening and for making this a memorable day in my life as well as all Florentines, Italians and citizens of the world.

The letter below was sent on 02/15/08 to President Renzi of Florence, Italy. It was original in Italian, which can be read in another post. Here is the Italian translation into English:

From: Divine Project
Sent: 02/15/08 10:01 am
To: Presidente Renzi
Subject: PROPOSAL - PARDON OF DANTE ALIGHIERI FROM EXILE

Dear Mr. Renzi,

As you know, I'm in touch with Raffaella Spadoni who has shown interest in the quattrologia documentaries Inferno, Purgatory, Paradise and Dante himself, which I'm producing.

Outside of these documentaries, let me know if you would be willing to consider giving official forgiveness to Dante Alighieri's exile from Florence. This fact will make news worldwide and I will be willing to film a special documentary independently of what I am doing now. Also, it should be consider making a huge festival in Florence. I think the forgiveness from exile of Dante Alighieri will be very useful, to make the request in Ravenna to return his remains to Florence ...

I hope your direct response on this idea not later of Monday, February 18,since I'll leave for Europe Tuesday morning and will not be easy for me to access my e-mails.

Thank you and I'll see you soon.

Boris Acosta
Producer/Director

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Florence President Renzi for taking my request seriously, the one that I've had closest to my heart. I also wish to thank the distinguished politicians Enrico Bosi and Massimo Pieri for presenting the motion to the Florentine municipality to permanently liberate Dante Alighieri from exile. Lastly, I thank all the municipality politicians that had the courage and the understanding to vote in favor of Dante Alighieri's motion to free him from exile forever. I salute today's Florentines!

Boris Acosta

Dante's Inferno Documentary

2008-06-08T16:02:00.000-07:00

The Dante's Inferno Documentary is the first slate of the trilogy, Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradise, now in post-production.

The idea behind the documentaries is mainly about bringing awareness to the world about Dante's masterpiece, The Divine Comedy.

Inferno, as well as Purgatorio and Paradiso have been filmed, for its most part, concurrently, at least in Italy. For more information about this trilogy please visit Dante's Inferno Documentary official website

More to come soon...
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The Art Director

2007-10-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

An Art Director is as important as having a great painter in front of a canvas. Dante's Inferno deserves the best, so I'm happy to announce Tamara Marini to take on this great and challenging task.

Ms. Marini did a fantastic job as Art Director in The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino, proving herself as an artist that does not fear the greatest challenges. So, after I had a very pleasant conversation with her, I decided that she was the right person for this privilege position in Dante's Inferno.

In addition, Ms. Marini is a native Italian born, so she grew up with Dante's Divine Comedy book at home and school. As anyone that reads Dante's own words in his late Italian language, you can feel Dante's intense feelings as he describes his experience in the afterlife.

The Production Designer

2007-06-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

The Production Designer was another difficult position to fill in. Dante's Inferno, as well as its sequels, deserves the best and nothing less. So, I started investigating and I talked to a few of them until Lord of the Rings production manager Bridget Bourke kindly referred me to Dan Hennah. He had won an Oscar as production designer for Lord of the Rings. After I communicated with him, he said:

"I am delighted to be considered for the Production Design role on such an interesting film. It would certainly be an opportunity to practice all the skills accumulated in the past few years...and no doubt add a few more.

The rich imagery and depth of Dante's vision are a Production Designer's dream. They will provide a grand opportunity in today's world of high tech and low tech blend of film making which allows a convincing marriage of fantasy with reality. While it was many years ago that I read "The Divine Comedy", many images remain."

With these kind of words from an Oscar winner, there was no need to look for anywhere else!

The Editor

2007-06-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

The Editor in a movie is crucial, as much as the director and cinematographer. My challenge was to be able to find a great editor that had read Dante's Inferno and Dante's whole masterpiece, The Divine Comedy. My understanding is that the largest number of editors do not have the time to read. So, I was facing a big dilemma. As on everything that happens in this project, God is totally behind. I talked to a few great editors until I run into Thom Noble, whom I was referred to as a well read editor. We had a great conversation from the start and both were excited to look into working together. He had read The Divine Comedy and I was excited to say the least, I had found my man. Mr. Noble won an Oscar for the feature film Witness and was also the editor on the widely successful fimls Thelma and Louise, Mask of Zorro and many other great movies. I could not get a better choice to edit Dante's Inferno and its sequels!

Inferno Movie Vision

2006-06-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

The Director

2006-05-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

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. "

The Artists

2006-03-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

Great artists are crucial for the success of any movie. This goes, not just for actors and actresses but also, and quite important, the director and cinematographer/s. My first quest was for the cinematographer since movies are visual and an acute eye behind the camera is of paramount importance. I will say more about this on a different post. My second quest was for the actors and actresses since presenting a great cinematographer and great cast to a possible director will make the project more appealing. I will say more about the director on a different post.

The first artist that came to my mind was, off course, someone to portrait Dante, then Beatrice and Virgil. I came up with an A-list of actors and actresses, whom I contacted through their respective agents. However, since there are so many great artists in Hollywood and worldwide, I thought, that perhaps, we didn't need expensive A-list artists since the story of The Divine Comedy is the greatest ever, only after the Gospel. Although the story itself sells big time, I thought it was important to get a few B-list artists to put more weight on the marketing of the trilogy all the way to the box office. The most important fact is having great character actors and actresses, so my search began.

Considering the fact that Dante and his Divine Comedy are world known and the book is mandatory in schools worldwide, I thought of having as wide of an international cast as possible. My first thought was Nina Hagen, from Germany, a superb singer/composer, and actress, whom I had followed since 1982. Why her, when she didn't have a proven record as an actress? Well, she is quite an actress onstage when performing as a singer, so I felt she had what Inferno needs for a particular part. I contacted her and she was thrilled about her part and the project itself. After she sent me a copy of her successful European movie "The 7 Dwarfs", I had no doubt whatsoever that my feelings about her as an actress were right. She stole that movie, nobody came close to her acting. Nina is an absolute complete artist throughout. Then, I looked at other artists and the list of interested ones grew. In order to mention a few and not in any particular order: Silvia Colloca (Italy), Vincent Spano, Mike Starr, Robert Easton, Jeff Conaway, Dianne Salinger, Jenn Gotzon (USA), Fabiana Udenio (Argentina), Nina Hagen and Axel Neumann (Germany), Antonio Cupo (Canada), Yeniffer Behrens (Venezuela), Nevin Millan (Croatia), etc.

Today, I feel quite confident that the selection of actors and actresses we have listed is of first class and well deserving of Dante's work. More to come...

The Audience

2006-02-27T19:40:00.000-08:00

After the first table read and a few feedbacks came in, one of the readers brought to my attention who I wanted my audience to be. This point was raised because of the different changes that were suggested and my concern of keeping Dante's work as intact as possible. So, as Dante himself, I want to reach as wide of an audience as possible in order to make the biggest difference in the world for humanity's sake. Dante realized that he had to do something different to reach a wider audience than his previous work and his predecessors did, so he chose to write the first book in Italian instead of Latin. A book for the masses. This way he not only conquered Italy, but also the world later on.

I'm facing the same dilema, make the movies as close to Dante's writings as possible or cut many of the names and dialogs mentioned in the book that do not mean anything to most people in the world. In other words, reach a smaller educated audience or a larger one that has yet to learn about Dante himself and God's messages.

Dante chose the latter and I feel I must follow his steps. The only question now is who in reality the new audience will be.

The Divine Comedy scripts

2006-02-13T12:29:00.000-08:00

One of the main things that I thought regarding the task of writing the scripts, was about keeping Dante's integrity while trying to make movies that entertain and make a difference in the world at the same time. So, using this formula, Dino Di Durante, the screenwriter, embarked on a hard mission that, like Dante himself, has been guided by God every step of the way. As of today, Inferno is on a 14th version and starting a new one soon.

Yesterday, we had a great table read of Inferno which was held at a beautiful Golf and Country Club in Temecula, California. Temecula is known as Southern California wine country for the great wine that is produced along California Rancho Road.

The Inferno table read was longer than expected due to the lenghty scene descriptions but after an initial prayer we went on to video tape the event for future study. We had a great group of actors and actress reading for more than one part of the script. These great artists were John Miailovich (Dante), Jenn Gotzon (Beatrice and others), Ed Vizenor (Virgil and others), Yenniffer Behrens (First narrator and several parts), Linda Burden-Williams (Second narrator and several parts), Jerod Edington (several parts), Austin Brooks (several parts), Charlene Amoia (several parts), Angela Landis (several parts), Jennifer Brooks (several parts). As listeners, were myself and Cinematographer/Director James O'Keeffe.

I deeply thank all for coming!

The Start

2006-02-03T20:30:00.000-08:00

Thank you for reading my personal blog about The Divine Comedy project!

When I was first approached about The Divine Comedy feature films, it was as "Have they done it before? If so, when? Why hasn't been done lately?". So, I decided to investigate and started by buying a VHS tape online that seemed to be something done for TV. However, after I saw it I was dissappointed because it was simply a documentary and on top of that poorly made. So, I investigated further and I ended up with this information: click here.

Then, I realized that the only time in the history of film that there was a serious attempt to adapt Dante's masterpiece to the screen was done in 1911. It was the first movie production in Italian film history called "L'Inferno". This was the first part of The Divine Comedy since Purgatorio and Paradiso were never made. I then, wanted to see what they had done in 1911 and talked to the Library of Congress about obtaining a copy, yes right. Well, I was referred to a website where I learnt that "L'Inferno" had been restored and available on DVD. What a joy! I immediately obtained a copy and was delighed to see the great endeavour that filmakers of that time went through to accomplish a respectful interpretation of Inferno.

I was later encouraged to pursue the production of a full trilogy of The Divine Comedy - Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. I prayed a lot and asked God for enlightment and guidance to make a decision. Then I realized that a had made this decision before I was born.

Boris Acosta