How Filmmaker Anita Rivaroli Lured Foo Fighters to a Small Town in Italy
Marta Balaga In 2015, desperate to get his favorite band, Foo Fighters, to play in Cesena, a small town near Rimini, Italian marine geologist Fabio Zaffagnini came up with a rather unorthodox solution. Reportedly inspired by the prank pulled by the team of “School of Rock,” which saw Jack Black and Richard Linklater asking Led Zeppelin to let them use “Immigrant Song” in a video recorded on set, he decided to invite “The Rockin’1000”—1,000 guitarists, drummers and singers —to play their song “Learn to Fly.” Simultaneously.Raising $50,000 through a crowdfunding site, Zaffagnini started recruiting potential allies and musicians with the help of his friends, including director Anita Rivaroli.