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. "
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. "
posted by Boris at 1:03 PM
3 Comments:
Congratulations! I loved Touched by an Angel , and it sounds like his heart for the project is fully-dedicated. Look forward to reading more!
Armand Mastroianni looks like a good choice for the Divine Comedy movies. While Dante created a work with Christian roots, there is something purely spiritual or mystical about the poem. I viewed the trailors for the Celectine Prophecy movie. If Mr. Mastroianni directed this, he should do well with Dante too. Dante would have appreciated the emphasis on coincidence in the Celestine Prophecy.
Boris,
You are working very hard to preserve the spirit of Dante's poem, and it is a poem that is deeply infused with a Christian world view even though purgatory does not normally occupy such a significant place in Church ideology comparable to that of heaven and hell. Having to place righteous non-Christians in hell is a consequence of accepting and promoting a Christian view. That was something that ate at Dante, but in the end he did it anyway. So, his is fundamentally a Christian poem, and you are preserving that. In that particular way you are also doing new work in the spirit of Dante.
As an artist in my own right working on a large spiritual project of my own, I am doing work in the spirit of Dante in two other ways. One is a manifestation of his desire to personally write an encyclopedia of all human knowledge. Such a thing is of course impossible, but for him this eventually took the form of the poem, which in a symbolic way tries to portray the whole of creation. In my own way I am doing the same thing, except my world view is broader, embracing all people and every religion. That includes an active "Western" way of looking at things and a more introverted "Eastern" way of looking at things, both at the same time. In trying to draw these two complementary halves together into an organic and complete whole I am being like Dante with his wish to write that encyclopedia, and also like him during his brief political career when he tried to bring peace between two opposing sides.
-David http://www.dreamart.us/
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