Joe Wright on Making Benito Mussolini TV Series With a ‘Rave Culture’ Aesthetic and a Techno Score
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent British director Joe Wright, who helmed Winston Churchill drama “Darkest Hour” – which earned Gary Oldman an Oscar for his portrayal as the British prime minister – has now changed historical sides.
Wright is at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios shooting high-end TV drama “M. Son of the Century” which chronicles Benito Mussolini’s rise to power.
A timely tale because, as he puts it: “Populist leaders are sprouting up all over the world.” Aesthetically, the show will be “quite outlandish” with deeply saturated colors, punctuated by a “kind of techno score,” the director said during a recent set visit.
Though “It’s not told in a vérité style,” Wright pointed out that “All the facts of what happened, they’re all there.” Luca Marinelli (“The Eight Mountains,” “Martin Eden”) plays Mussolini during the period between 1919, when he founded the fascist party in Italy, and 1925 when – having gained power with the 1922 March on Rome – Mussolini made an infamous speech in the Italian Chamber of Deputies declaring himself a dictator. “M” is based on Antonio Scurati’s eponymous Premio Strega-winning and international bestselling novel which traces the birth of Fascism in Italy and Mussolini’s ascent with an innovative approach.
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