03/02/2020 - Co-produced with Spain, the Neapolitan director’s new film focuses on the great actor and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta, father to Eduardo De Filippo

(l-r) Alessandro Manna, Cristiana dell'Anna, Toni Servillo, Salvatore Battista and Marzia Onorato (© Mario Spada)

Filming kicked off last week on The King of Laughter [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Mario Martone
film profile], Mario Martone’s new work on the king of Neapolitan comedy, the great actor and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta, who will be played by Toni Servillo.

Scarpetta, who fathered Titina, Eduardo and Peppino De Filippo (who were born out of an incestuous relationship with his wife Rosa’s niece), dedicated his entire life to the theatre world, producing works which would go on to become timeless classics, such as Miseria e nobiltà, which was transposed to the big screen in the famous film starring Totò in 1954. He achieved extraordinary success during his long career, which spanned the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, and was a protagonist in the renowned dispute with Gabriele D'Annunzio over Il figlio di Iorio, a parody of the poet’s work La figlia di Iorio, which formed the focus of an unforgettable lawsuit, at the end of which Scarpetta retired from the stage.

Martone, who competed at the Venice Film Festival in 2019 with The Mayor of Rione Sanità [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mario Martone
film profile] and the previous year with Capri-Revolution [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mario Martone
film profile], is currently filming The King of Laughter at the Teatro Valle, the historic Roman theatre where, in 1889, Miseria e nobiltà first opened to the public. Following this initial film-shoot in Rome, the set will head south to Naples.

Written by Mario Martone and Ippolita di Majo, the film is an Italian-Spanish co-production by Indigo Film and Rai Cinema for Italy, and Tornasol for Spain. Photography comes courtesy of Renato Berta, editing Jacopo Quadri, set design Giancarlo Muselli and costumes Ursula Patzak.

Starring in the cast, alongside Toni Servillo, are Maria Nazionale, Cristiana Dell'Anna, Antonia Truppo, Eduardo Scarpetta, Paolo Pierobon, Lino Musella, Roberto De Francesco, Gianfelice Imparato and Iaia Forte.

(Translated from Italian)