When Edoardo Ponti cast his movie “The Life Ahead,” he didn’t have to press his mom, Sophia Loren, to take the lead role. “I wanted with everything in my heart to be able to be the actress of this film,” she says. (Watch above.)
“I was completely taken by this great personage” she portrays: a tough ex-prostitute and Holocaust survivor who now runs an impromptu daycare for the abandoned kids of hookers. Reluctantly, she takes in one more vagabond – a defiant, 13-year-old immigrant from Senegal who’d previously tried to rob her on the street. Madame Rosa doesn’t really want him in her home and Momo doesn’t want to be there. Stand-off ensues and what happens thereafter is the central conflict and the throbbing heart of this expertly made, deeply felt film.
“It’s a story of two survivors who find each other and who complete each other,...
“I was completely taken by this great personage” she portrays: a tough ex-prostitute and Holocaust survivor who now runs an impromptu daycare for the abandoned kids of hookers. Reluctantly, she takes in one more vagabond – a defiant, 13-year-old immigrant from Senegal who’d previously tried to rob her on the street. Madame Rosa doesn’t really want him in her home and Momo doesn’t want to be there. Stand-off ensues and what happens thereafter is the central conflict and the throbbing heart of this expertly made, deeply felt film.
“It’s a story of two survivors who find each other and who complete each other,...
- 1/29/2021
- by Tom O'Neil
- Gold Derby
Honorary fellowship comes in the wake of Loren’s return to the big screen in The Life Ahead.
The Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School is set to fete Italian actress Sophia Loren with its 2021 honorary fellowship at its annual graduation ceremony in February, which has moved online this year.
The school selected Loren for a wide-ranging cinema career that has spanned both Europe and Hollywood. “She has left an indelible mark of talent, beauty and powerful femininity; for her portrayal of moving characters which have earned her awards and high praise,” they said.
Past recipients of the fellowship have included David Lynch,...
The Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School is set to fete Italian actress Sophia Loren with its 2021 honorary fellowship at its annual graduation ceremony in February, which has moved online this year.
The school selected Loren for a wide-ranging cinema career that has spanned both Europe and Hollywood. “She has left an indelible mark of talent, beauty and powerful femininity; for her portrayal of moving characters which have earned her awards and high praise,” they said.
Past recipients of the fellowship have included David Lynch,...
- 1/27/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
In the 92-year history of the Academy Awards, a dozen of the 44 performers nominated for their work in languages other than English have won. The first to be nominated was “Johnny Belinda” star Jane Wyman who delivered her heartbreaking performance in American Sign Language. She won Best Actress in 1949. Thirteen years later, Sophia Loren won this same award for her work in Italian in “Two Women.”
That screen legend is in contention again this year for her searing portrayal in Italian of a Holocaust survivor who takes care of the children of streetwalkers in “The Life Ahead.” This Netflix drama was directed by her son Edoardo Ponti. He and Ugo Chiti adapted Romain Gary’s 1975 novel “The Life Before Us,” which was also the source of the Oscar-winning 1978 French drama “Madame Rosa,” starring Simone Signoret.
After Loren made Oscar history, there have been two more winners for performances in Italian:...
That screen legend is in contention again this year for her searing portrayal in Italian of a Holocaust survivor who takes care of the children of streetwalkers in “The Life Ahead.” This Netflix drama was directed by her son Edoardo Ponti. He and Ugo Chiti adapted Romain Gary’s 1975 novel “The Life Before Us,” which was also the source of the Oscar-winning 1978 French drama “Madame Rosa,” starring Simone Signoret.
After Loren made Oscar history, there have been two more winners for performances in Italian:...
- 1/25/2021
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Sophia Loren is generating red-hot Oscar buzz for her performance in Netflix’s Italian-language drama “The Life Ahead.” The screen legend has earned some of the best reviews of her seven-decade career for her heartbreaking performance as a former prostitute and Holocaust survivor who takes care of children of streetwalkers.
Loren made Oscar history 59 years ago when she became the first performer to receive an Academy Award for a foreign-language film. She took home Best Actress for Vittorio DeSica’s harrowing World War II drama “Two Women,” which was also in Italian. Loren, who also starred with Charlton Heston that year in the lavish epic “El Cid,” had very strong competition when the Oscar nominations were announced in the winter of 1962.
Natalie Wood, who had received a Supporting Actress nomination as a teenager for 1955’s “Rebel Without a Cause,” gave an extraordinary performance as a sensitive teenager living in Kansas...
Loren made Oscar history 59 years ago when she became the first performer to receive an Academy Award for a foreign-language film. She took home Best Actress for Vittorio DeSica’s harrowing World War II drama “Two Women,” which was also in Italian. Loren, who also starred with Charlton Heston that year in the lavish epic “El Cid,” had very strong competition when the Oscar nominations were announced in the winter of 1962.
Natalie Wood, who had received a Supporting Actress nomination as a teenager for 1955’s “Rebel Without a Cause,” gave an extraordinary performance as a sensitive teenager living in Kansas...
- 1/17/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Sophia Loren, the Oscar winner who has returned to the screen starring in this year’s Netflix move The Life Ahead directed by her son Edoardo Ponti, will receive this year’s Kcet Cinema Series Lumière Award. The honor, which recognizes excellence, artistry and innovation and outstanding contribution to film, will be bestowed during a special screening of the film January 28.
Loren and Ponti will join the screening, hosted by Deadline’s Pete Hammond, for a conversation about the movie, her life and career (check out a bit of the conversation in the video below). Tickets to the virtual event are available here.
In The Life Ahead, Loren plays Madame Rosa, a Jewish Holocaust survivor and former sex worker, who is brought together in unlikely circumstances with Momo (Ibrahima Gueye), a Senegalese street kid. After a contentious start they begin to find a deeper connection to each other that...
Loren and Ponti will join the screening, hosted by Deadline’s Pete Hammond, for a conversation about the movie, her life and career (check out a bit of the conversation in the video below). Tickets to the virtual event are available here.
In The Life Ahead, Loren plays Madame Rosa, a Jewish Holocaust survivor and former sex worker, who is brought together in unlikely circumstances with Momo (Ibrahima Gueye), a Senegalese street kid. After a contentious start they begin to find a deeper connection to each other that...
- 1/12/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Ellen Burstyn racked up five Oscars nominations in less than a decade between 1972 and 1981. She took home the Best Actress Oscar in 1975 for playing the titular role in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” But she was unable to accept the award in person as she was appearing on Broadway in “Same Time, Next Year,” for which she won a Tony. It would be 20 years after that hot streak before Burstyn was nominated again for “Requiem For a Dream” in 2001. Now, another 20 years later, she is back in the race for the Netflix flick “Pieces of a Woman,” with a whole lot of Oscar history on the line.
At 88 years old, Burstyn would be the oldest actor ever nominated for an Academy Award. She would also become the first actor to be nominated after a 20 year gap — twice! Christopher Plummer was 88 years old when he was nominated for “All the Money in the World,...
At 88 years old, Burstyn would be the oldest actor ever nominated for an Academy Award. She would also become the first actor to be nominated after a 20 year gap — twice! Christopher Plummer was 88 years old when he was nominated for “All the Money in the World,...
- 1/7/2021
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
It is staggering to think that Sophia Loren has been making movies for 70 years, initially appearing uncredited in such films as 1950’s “Tototarzan” and “Quo Vadis” before becoming a full-fledged star in mentor Vittorio De Sica’s 1954 comedy anthology “The Gold of Naples.” And she became the first performer to win an Oscar for a foreign language film for De Sica’s harrowing World War II drama “Two Women,” which opened in the U.S. in 1961. She received two more Oscar nominations for Italian productions: DeSica’s “Marriage Italian Style” and Ettore Scala’s 1977 “A Special Day.”
After a decade’s hiatus from features, Loren has made a triumphant return to film in her son Edoardo Ponti’s poignant “The Life Ahead,” currently streaming on Netflix. The 86-year-old actress has received some of the strongest reviews of her career and loud Oscar buzz for her performance as an aged prostitute...
After a decade’s hiatus from features, Loren has made a triumphant return to film in her son Edoardo Ponti’s poignant “The Life Ahead,” currently streaming on Netflix. The 86-year-old actress has received some of the strongest reviews of her career and loud Oscar buzz for her performance as an aged prostitute...
- 12/4/2020
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
John Huston directed his father Walter to an Oscar in 1948 for “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” and his daughter Anjelica to one in 1985 for “Prizzi’s Honor.” Edoardo Ponti, 47, could well do the same for his mother, Sophia Loren, who shines in the acclaimed new Netflix drama “The Life Ahead.”
Ponti, the youngest of Loren’s two sons with her late husband, producer Carlo Ponti, is a graduate for USC School of Cinematic Arts and worked as an assistant with such directors as Michelangelo Antonioni and Robert Altman. He first directed his mother in his 2002 debut “Between Strangers.” Loren won the David di Donatello Award for their 2014 collaboration on “The Human Voice” based Jean Cocteau’s 1930 one-act play “The Human Voice.”
For “The Life Ahead,” Ponti and Ugo Chiti adapted Romain Gary’s 1975 novel “The Life Before Us,” which was also the source of the Oscar-winning 1977 French drama “Madame Rosa,...
Ponti, the youngest of Loren’s two sons with her late husband, producer Carlo Ponti, is a graduate for USC School of Cinematic Arts and worked as an assistant with such directors as Michelangelo Antonioni and Robert Altman. He first directed his mother in his 2002 debut “Between Strangers.” Loren won the David di Donatello Award for their 2014 collaboration on “The Human Voice” based Jean Cocteau’s 1930 one-act play “The Human Voice.”
For “The Life Ahead,” Ponti and Ugo Chiti adapted Romain Gary’s 1975 novel “The Life Before Us,” which was also the source of the Oscar-winning 1977 French drama “Madame Rosa,...
- 11/24/2020
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Theatres may be closing again at a rapid pace, but the power of being on Netflix during this worldwide pandemic certainly appears to be good news for those whose awards hopeful films have been debuting on the streaming service at virtually a weekly pace.
For cinema legend Sophia Loren that means the biggest opening of her seven decade career. Returning to feature films for the first time since a supporting turn in Nine a decade ago, and her first leading role in much longer than that, her new movie The Life Ahead directed by her son Edoardo Ponti has hit the top ten of all Netflix offerings over its first week in 37 countries including the U.S. , Italy, Spain, Romania, Portugal, Mexico, Colombia, Poland, Greece, France, and Brazil among others. The Italian language film has won critical acclaim for both it and its star and currently stands at 94% fresh...
For cinema legend Sophia Loren that means the biggest opening of her seven decade career. Returning to feature films for the first time since a supporting turn in Nine a decade ago, and her first leading role in much longer than that, her new movie The Life Ahead directed by her son Edoardo Ponti has hit the top ten of all Netflix offerings over its first week in 37 countries including the U.S. , Italy, Spain, Romania, Portugal, Mexico, Colombia, Poland, Greece, France, and Brazil among others. The Italian language film has won critical acclaim for both it and its star and currently stands at 94% fresh...
- 11/23/2020
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
When the Italian selection committee meets early this week to determine which film it will submit to the Oscar race for Best International Feature Film, it might well be the most consequential decision any country in the race will have made this year — and probably the only one that has the potential to give the category a genuine frontrunner.
That possibility exists because one of the 25 (!) films that the committee has said are in contention is Edoardo Ponti’s “The Life Ahead,” a drama that contains the first screen performance in a decade from Ponti’s mother, Sophia Loren. Not only was Loren the first actor to win an Oscar for a performance not in English, which she did in 1961 for “Two Women,” she’s considered a strong contender in this year’s Best Actress category for her affecting role as a retired prostitute who cares for the children of...
That possibility exists because one of the 25 (!) films that the committee has said are in contention is Edoardo Ponti’s “The Life Ahead,” a drama that contains the first screen performance in a decade from Ponti’s mother, Sophia Loren. Not only was Loren the first actor to win an Oscar for a performance not in English, which she did in 1961 for “Two Women,” she’s considered a strong contender in this year’s Best Actress category for her affecting role as a retired prostitute who cares for the children of...
- 11/22/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Time has not diminished the beauty and talent of Sophia Loren, who is garnering Oscar buzz for her acclaimed performance in the Netflix drama “The Life Ahead,” directed and co-adapted by her son Edoardo Ponti from Romain Gary’s 1975 bestseller “The Life Before Us.” The 86-year-old Oscar-winner (“Two Women”) plays Madame Rosa, a former prostitute and Holocaust survivor who lives in Naples where she takes care of children of streetwalkers including the rebellious Momo.
Loren has been a star for over 65 years, but her early life was anything but idyllic. She was born in a charity ward in a hospital in Rome. Her parents never married, and her father left her, her mother and younger sister Romida-who married Mussolini’s son. Loren and her family grew up poor as church mice in Pozzuoli, a small town outside of Naples.
Stunningly beautiful at an early age and at 14, Loren came in...
Loren has been a star for over 65 years, but her early life was anything but idyllic. She was born in a charity ward in a hospital in Rome. Her parents never married, and her father left her, her mother and younger sister Romida-who married Mussolini’s son. Loren and her family grew up poor as church mice in Pozzuoli, a small town outside of Naples.
Stunningly beautiful at an early age and at 14, Loren came in...
- 11/20/2020
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
What becomes a legend most?
Well, in the case of the Oscar-winning 86-year-old Sophia Loren, a terrific role in the new Netflix movie “The Life Ahead,” which premiered on Nov. 13 to rave reviews. The film is also a valentine from her youngest son Edoardo Ponti who co-adapted and directed the drama based on Romain Gary’s 1975 novel “The Life Before Us.”
Loren plays Madame Rosa, a former prostitute and Holocaust survivor living in Naples who now takes care of children of prostitutes. But she has her hands full with her latest charge, a 12-year-old Senegalese immigrant named Momo (Ibrahim Gueye). Rosa may seem like the ultimate earth foster mother, but she is haunted by fevered memories of her time at Auschwitz and more and more frequently drifts away from reality.
If the plotline of “The Life Ahead” sounds familiar, the Gary novel was originally adapted as “Madame Rosa,” an Oscar-winning...
Well, in the case of the Oscar-winning 86-year-old Sophia Loren, a terrific role in the new Netflix movie “The Life Ahead,” which premiered on Nov. 13 to rave reviews. The film is also a valentine from her youngest son Edoardo Ponti who co-adapted and directed the drama based on Romain Gary’s 1975 novel “The Life Before Us.”
Loren plays Madame Rosa, a former prostitute and Holocaust survivor living in Naples who now takes care of children of prostitutes. But she has her hands full with her latest charge, a 12-year-old Senegalese immigrant named Momo (Ibrahim Gueye). Rosa may seem like the ultimate earth foster mother, but she is haunted by fevered memories of her time at Auschwitz and more and more frequently drifts away from reality.
If the plotline of “The Life Ahead” sounds familiar, the Gary novel was originally adapted as “Madame Rosa,” an Oscar-winning...
- 11/17/2020
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
The Wonders of Aladdin
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1961 / 93 Min. / 2:35.1
Starring Donald O’Connor, Vittorio De Sica
Cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli
Directed by Henry Levin
Henry Levin was a more than reliable director of Hollywood entertainments, most notably the unassailable widescreen thrills of Journey to the Center of the Earth. Donald O’Connor was a first-class, multi-faceted actor. Mario Bava was a visionary genre trickster. And Vittorio De Sica was one of world cinema’s greatest artists. Shocking, then, that their 1960 collaboration, The Wonders of Aladdin is just another movie… a non-event, a Saturday matinee misfire.
O’Connor promoted the fantasy with a bit of brazen ballyhoo: “The story of Aladdin has been done by everyone but this is its first time around as a comedy.” Dave and Max Fleischer would beg to differ—their 1939 Popeye cartoon, Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, serves up more laughs, not to mention more magic,...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1961 / 93 Min. / 2:35.1
Starring Donald O’Connor, Vittorio De Sica
Cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli
Directed by Henry Levin
Henry Levin was a more than reliable director of Hollywood entertainments, most notably the unassailable widescreen thrills of Journey to the Center of the Earth. Donald O’Connor was a first-class, multi-faceted actor. Mario Bava was a visionary genre trickster. And Vittorio De Sica was one of world cinema’s greatest artists. Shocking, then, that their 1960 collaboration, The Wonders of Aladdin is just another movie… a non-event, a Saturday matinee misfire.
O’Connor promoted the fantasy with a bit of brazen ballyhoo: “The story of Aladdin has been done by everyone but this is its first time around as a comedy.” Dave and Max Fleischer would beg to differ—their 1939 Popeye cartoon, Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, serves up more laughs, not to mention more magic,...
- 11/17/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
The 86-year-old star’s expressive performance as a former sex worker caring for an orphaned child is the main draw in this sometimes formulaic tale directed by her son
In 1962, Sophia Loren won an Academy Award for her starring role in Vittorio De Sica’s Two Women (La ciociara), the first actor to triumph at the Oscars in a foreign language film. In 1965 she was nominated again, for De Sica’s Marriage Italian Style (Matrimonio all’italiana), before receiving an honorary award in 1991 for “a career rich with memorable performances that has added permanent lustre to our art form”. Now, Loren is reportedly in the running once more, this time for a standout late-career turn in The Life Ahead (La vita davanti a sé), adapted from the novel by Romain Gary, and directed by her son Edoardo Ponti. Recently tipped by Variety as a contender for the 2021 awards, the 86-year-old...
In 1962, Sophia Loren won an Academy Award for her starring role in Vittorio De Sica’s Two Women (La ciociara), the first actor to triumph at the Oscars in a foreign language film. In 1965 she was nominated again, for De Sica’s Marriage Italian Style (Matrimonio all’italiana), before receiving an honorary award in 1991 for “a career rich with memorable performances that has added permanent lustre to our art form”. Now, Loren is reportedly in the running once more, this time for a standout late-career turn in The Life Ahead (La vita davanti a sé), adapted from the novel by Romain Gary, and directed by her son Edoardo Ponti. Recently tipped by Variety as a contender for the 2021 awards, the 86-year-old...
- 11/15/2020
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
Photo: 'The Life Ahead'/Netflix If there’s an actress right now worthy of the title “living legend”, it’s Sophia Loren. An icon of Italian cinema and the Golden Age of classic Hollywood, Sophia Loren started her career 70 years ago in 1950 at the age of 16. In 1956 she signed a five-picture contract with Paramount Pictures, launching her international career acting opposite such names as Cary Grant, Anthony Perkins, and Clark Gable. Five years later, she made history as the first actor to win an Academy Award for a foreign-language performance in the movie Two Women. And throughout the 1960s, Loren—now known for both her dramatic talents and sultry good looks—was one of the most popular actresses in the world, appearing in both American and European films with prominent leading men like Charlton Heston, Paul Newman, Gregory Peck, and Marlon Brando. Related article: Fact-checked Series: Rock Hudson...
- 11/14/2020
- by Mario Yuwono
- Hollywood Insider - Substance & Meaningful Entertainment
Sophia Loren earned her status as a cinema legend through her portrayals of women who were larger than life, yet specific enough, that we felt we might encounter them walking down the street. Her Filumena in Marriage Italian Style conveyed decades of suffering and dedication with a heartbreaking glance; her Giovanna from Sunflower seemed to have created the concept of longing and how to overcome it. And her ferociousness as Cesira — the mother devoted to protecting her daughter at all costs in Two Women — made one believe she could dive into a volcano, and come out unscathed.
The Madame Rosa she plays in The Life Ahead almost belongs in that pantheon of neorealist heroines – Loren favored raw emotion over stylization even in high melodrama. Rosa, a former prostitute turned reluctant caretaker to abandoned children, retains that indomitable essence and feels specific enough because of the way she moves in the world.
The Madame Rosa she plays in The Life Ahead almost belongs in that pantheon of neorealist heroines – Loren favored raw emotion over stylization even in high melodrama. Rosa, a former prostitute turned reluctant caretaker to abandoned children, retains that indomitable essence and feels specific enough because of the way she moves in the world.
- 11/14/2020
- by Jose Solís
- The Film Stage
by Juan Carlos Ojano
Cinema legend Sophia Loren makes a potential comeback with this year’s The Life Ahead this Friday on Netflix after more than a decade of career hiatus. Loren made history as the first Oscar winner for a performance not in the English language for 1961’s Italian film Two Women. Her second Best Actress nomination came with 1964’s Marriage Italian Style. If nominated for The Life Ahead, Loren would break the record for the longest gap between nominations with 56 years (though she'd only tie the record for most nominations for subtitled performances since her frequent co-star Marcello Mastroianni holds that record with three).
Loren is part of the longstanding tradition of Best Actress nominations for performances not in the English language (it happens far more often there than in other acting categories). Whether through sheer talent, strategic campaigning, and/or the dearth of quality roles for actresses in Hollywood,...
Cinema legend Sophia Loren makes a potential comeback with this year’s The Life Ahead this Friday on Netflix after more than a decade of career hiatus. Loren made history as the first Oscar winner for a performance not in the English language for 1961’s Italian film Two Women. Her second Best Actress nomination came with 1964’s Marriage Italian Style. If nominated for The Life Ahead, Loren would break the record for the longest gap between nominations with 56 years (though she'd only tie the record for most nominations for subtitled performances since her frequent co-star Marcello Mastroianni holds that record with three).
Loren is part of the longstanding tradition of Best Actress nominations for performances not in the English language (it happens far more often there than in other acting categories). Whether through sheer talent, strategic campaigning, and/or the dearth of quality roles for actresses in Hollywood,...
- 11/11/2020
- by Juan Carlos Ojano
- FilmExperience
The best actress race is full of veterans this year, with the likes of Meryl Streep, Michelle Pfeiffer and Ellen Burstyn all vying for Oscar attention. Joining the list is Sophia Loren, one of the most prolific actresses of Hollywood’s Golden Age, in Edoardo Ponti’s “The Life Ahead.”
The Oscar-winning Italian actor landed her gold statuette for “Two Women” (“La ciociara”) in 1962, which made her the first actor to win an Academy Award for a foreign-language film. She put up one more nomination in 1965 for “Marriage Italian Style” (“Matrimonio all’italiana”) and if she manages a nomination for “The Life Ahead,” a new record could emerge. In 2021, it will mark 56 years since her last nomination, and if nominated, she will break the record currently held by Henry Fonda as the longest gap between acting nominations. Fonda was nominated in 1941 for “The Grapes of Wrath” and he won the Oscar in 1982 for “On Golden Pond,...
The Oscar-winning Italian actor landed her gold statuette for “Two Women” (“La ciociara”) in 1962, which made her the first actor to win an Academy Award for a foreign-language film. She put up one more nomination in 1965 for “Marriage Italian Style” (“Matrimonio all’italiana”) and if she manages a nomination for “The Life Ahead,” a new record could emerge. In 2021, it will mark 56 years since her last nomination, and if nominated, she will break the record currently held by Henry Fonda as the longest gap between acting nominations. Fonda was nominated in 1941 for “The Grapes of Wrath” and he won the Oscar in 1982 for “On Golden Pond,...
- 10/30/2020
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Sophia Loren on Thursday during an online press conference to promote her new film “The Life Ahead” – in which she plays a Holocaust survivor who forges a bond with a 12-year-old Senegalese immigrant boy – called the drama “a message of tolerance, forgiveness, and love.”
“We all have a right to be seen and listened too, otherwise it’s impossible to live,” Loren said. “We have a right to be loved, and to pursue our dreams,” the iconic Italian actor added.
In “The Life Ahead,” which marks Loren’s return in front of the camera for a feature film after a decade, Loren plays Madame Rosa, a tough Auschwitz survivor and former prostitute who cares for children of streetwalkers. Her doctor asks her to take in 12-year-old orphan Senegalese kid named Momo, who recently robbed her, and the pair become each other’s protectors.
Loren said that to play Madame Rosa...
“We all have a right to be seen and listened too, otherwise it’s impossible to live,” Loren said. “We have a right to be loved, and to pursue our dreams,” the iconic Italian actor added.
In “The Life Ahead,” which marks Loren’s return in front of the camera for a feature film after a decade, Loren plays Madame Rosa, a tough Auschwitz survivor and former prostitute who cares for children of streetwalkers. Her doctor asks her to take in 12-year-old orphan Senegalese kid named Momo, who recently robbed her, and the pair become each other’s protectors.
Loren said that to play Madame Rosa...
- 10/29/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Eight months ago, Netflix scooped up “The Life Ahead,” Italian USC grad Edoardo Ponti’s third collaboration with his mother, two-time Oscar-winner Sophia Loren, returning to the screen at age 86 for the first time in almost a decade. It’s easy to see why the streamer wanted to buy the Italian movie. Like the 1977 foreign-language Oscar-winner “Madame Rosa” starring Simone Signoret, Ponti’s film is adapted from Romain Gary’s 1975 French novel “The Life Before Us.” He moved the setting from France in the ‘70s to a contemporary Italian seaside town, but the story is much the same.
Madame Rosa is a tough Auschwitz survivor and former prostitute who cares for the children of streetwalkers. Her doctor asks her to look after a sullen 12-year orphan Muslim who reluctantly returns her filched purse. At first, the Sudanese boy seems intractable, getting into fights with her other kids and selling drugs...
Madame Rosa is a tough Auschwitz survivor and former prostitute who cares for the children of streetwalkers. Her doctor asks her to look after a sullen 12-year orphan Muslim who reluctantly returns her filched purse. At first, the Sudanese boy seems intractable, getting into fights with her other kids and selling drugs...
- 10/26/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Eight months ago, Netflix scooped up “The Life Ahead,” Italian USC grad Edoardo Ponti’s third collaboration with his mother, two-time Oscar-winner Sophia Loren, returning to the screen at age 86 for the first time in almost a decade. It’s easy to see why the streamer wanted to buy the Italian movie. Like the 1977 foreign-language Oscar-winner “Madame Rosa” starring Simone Signoret, Ponti’s film is adapted from Romain Gary’s 1975 French novel “The Life Before Us.” He moved the setting from France in the ‘70s to a contemporary Italian seaside town, but the story is much the same.
Madame Rosa is a tough Auschwitz survivor and former prostitute who cares for the children of streetwalkers. Her doctor asks her to look after a sullen 12-year orphan Muslim who reluctantly returns her filched purse. At first, the Sudanese boy seems intractable, getting into fights with her other kids and selling drugs...
Madame Rosa is a tough Auschwitz survivor and former prostitute who cares for the children of streetwalkers. Her doctor asks her to look after a sullen 12-year orphan Muslim who reluctantly returns her filched purse. At first, the Sudanese boy seems intractable, getting into fights with her other kids and selling drugs...
- 10/26/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Nearly 60 years ago, Sophia Loren starred as a mother trying to protect her daughter from the horrors of war in World War II Rome in 1961’s Two Women, a film produced by her late husband Carlo Ponti, and a role that would win her the Oscar for Best Actress. Now the legendary actress is returning to […]
The post ‘The Life Ahead’ Trailer: Sophia Loren Returns After a Decade-Long Acting Hiatus appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘The Life Ahead’ Trailer: Sophia Loren Returns After a Decade-Long Acting Hiatus appeared first on /Film.
- 10/25/2020
- by Hoai-Tran Bui
- Slash Film
Italian acting icon Sophia Loren is returning to Oscar season this fall with the Netflix foreign drama “The Life Ahead,” directed and co-written by Loren’s son Edoardo Ponti. The film is based on Romain Gary’s bestselling novel “The Life Before Us” and stars Loren as a Holocaust survivor who becomes a maternal figure for a 12-year-old street kid named Momo who robs her. Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress with her 1961 drama “Two Women,” and now Netflix is mounting a Best Actress campaign for her with “The Life Ahead.” Watch the official trailer for the movie in the video below.
Netflix’s synopsis for “The Life Ahead” reads: “In the colorful Italian port city of Bari, the streetwise 12-year-old Senegalese orphan Momo (Ibrahima Gueye) has ambitions to make his fortune in the underworld of the town’s shady alleyways. One day, he steals a bag of...
Netflix’s synopsis for “The Life Ahead” reads: “In the colorful Italian port city of Bari, the streetwise 12-year-old Senegalese orphan Momo (Ibrahima Gueye) has ambitions to make his fortune in the underworld of the town’s shady alleyways. One day, he steals a bag of...
- 10/22/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
In 1984, the Oscar-winning actress Sophia Loren (“Two Women”) and her then-11-year-old son Edoardo Ponti starred in the TV movie “Aurora.” That little-remembered film began a lovely collaboration between the legendary actress and Ponti, Loren’s younger son by her late husband, producer Carlo Ponti.
Edoardo Ponti gave up acting and switched to directing after earning a fine arts degree in 1998 from USC in film directing in production. And he directed Loren for the first time in the 2002 drama “Between Strangers.” Mother and son both earned acclaimed for their 2014 short, “The Human Voice,” based on Jean Cocteau’s one-act 1930 play.
Their latest collaboration-and Loren’s first film since “The Human Voice”- is the Italian drama “The Life Ahead,” a contemporary adaptation of Romain Gary’s 1975 best-seller “The Life Before Us.” The still-stunning 86-year-old Loren plays a Holocaust survivor named Madame Rosa who becomes unlikely friends with a rebellious 12-year-old...
Edoardo Ponti gave up acting and switched to directing after earning a fine arts degree in 1998 from USC in film directing in production. And he directed Loren for the first time in the 2002 drama “Between Strangers.” Mother and son both earned acclaimed for their 2014 short, “The Human Voice,” based on Jean Cocteau’s one-act 1930 play.
Their latest collaboration-and Loren’s first film since “The Human Voice”- is the Italian drama “The Life Ahead,” a contemporary adaptation of Romain Gary’s 1975 best-seller “The Life Before Us.” The still-stunning 86-year-old Loren plays a Holocaust survivor named Madame Rosa who becomes unlikely friends with a rebellious 12-year-old...
- 10/21/2020
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
After spending a decade away from movies, Sophia Loren is back in the Italian feature, “The Life Ahead.”
The film, arriving on Netflix Nov. 13, tells the story of Madame Rosa (Loren), who takes in a 12-year-old street kid named Momo (Ibrahima Gueye) — the same child who had recently robbed her. The strangers eventually become each other’s protectors and form an unlikely bond and friendship.
In the trailer, Momo at first dreams of making his living by working as a drug dealer in the underworld of backstreets and alleyways in Bari, Italy. At first, Rosa tells her friend that Momo is “rotten to the core,” but as dynamics change between them and they start bonding, Rosa tells him, “It’s precisely when you give up hope that good things happen.”
The trailer also features original song contender “lo Si (Seen)” written by Diane Warren and performed by Italian superstar Laura Pausini.
The film, arriving on Netflix Nov. 13, tells the story of Madame Rosa (Loren), who takes in a 12-year-old street kid named Momo (Ibrahima Gueye) — the same child who had recently robbed her. The strangers eventually become each other’s protectors and form an unlikely bond and friendship.
In the trailer, Momo at first dreams of making his living by working as a drug dealer in the underworld of backstreets and alleyways in Bari, Italy. At first, Rosa tells her friend that Momo is “rotten to the core,” but as dynamics change between them and they start bonding, Rosa tells him, “It’s precisely when you give up hope that good things happen.”
The trailer also features original song contender “lo Si (Seen)” written by Diane Warren and performed by Italian superstar Laura Pausini.
- 10/21/2020
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
As theaters struggle and studios push release dates, Netflix is unruffled: The streamer never has been in the exhibition business beyond whatever’s necessary to promote and brand their films. But when it comes to awards campaigning, the brief theatrical run is a Netflix tradition.
The Netflix Oscar paradigm launched in 2018, the year “Roma” made its run for the 2019 Best Picture, collecting three statues for Alfonso Cuarón (losing the big prize to “Green Book”), and continued last year with 24 nominations, including 10 for Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” (it whiffed on Oscar night), and six for Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” (Best Supporting Actress for Laura Dern) along with Best Documentary winner “American Factory.” Awards aside, the end goal is to convince filmmakers to bring their projects to Netflix.
Already playing on the site (as well as the Academy screening portal) are Spike Lee’s Best Picture contender “Da 5 Bloods,...
The Netflix Oscar paradigm launched in 2018, the year “Roma” made its run for the 2019 Best Picture, collecting three statues for Alfonso Cuarón (losing the big prize to “Green Book”), and continued last year with 24 nominations, including 10 for Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” (it whiffed on Oscar night), and six for Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” (Best Supporting Actress for Laura Dern) along with Best Documentary winner “American Factory.” Awards aside, the end goal is to convince filmmakers to bring their projects to Netflix.
Already playing on the site (as well as the Academy screening portal) are Spike Lee’s Best Picture contender “Da 5 Bloods,...
- 10/9/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
As theaters struggle and studios push release dates, Netflix is unruffled: The streamer never has been in the exhibition business beyond whatever’s necessary to promote and brand their films. But when it comes to awards campaigning, the brief theatrical run is a Netflix tradition.
The Netflix Oscar paradigm launched in 2018, the year “Roma” made its run for the 2019 Best Picture, collecting three statues for Alfonso Cuarón (losing the big prize to “Green Book”), and continued last year with 24 nominations, including 10 for Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” (it whiffed on Oscar night), and six for Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” (Best Supporting Actress for Laura Dern) along with Best Documentary winner “American Factory.” Awards aside, the end goal is to convince filmmakers to bring their projects to Netflix.
Already playing on the site (as well as the Academy screening portal) are Spike Lee’s Best Picture contender “Da 5 Bloods,...
The Netflix Oscar paradigm launched in 2018, the year “Roma” made its run for the 2019 Best Picture, collecting three statues for Alfonso Cuarón (losing the big prize to “Green Book”), and continued last year with 24 nominations, including 10 for Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” (it whiffed on Oscar night), and six for Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” (Best Supporting Actress for Laura Dern) along with Best Documentary winner “American Factory.” Awards aside, the end goal is to convince filmmakers to bring their projects to Netflix.
Already playing on the site (as well as the Academy screening portal) are Spike Lee’s Best Picture contender “Da 5 Bloods,...
- 10/9/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Spain’s master filmmaker Pedro Almodovar’s first English-language film, “The Human Voice,” is akin to a Douglas Sirk fevered-dream. An unnamed woman (Oscar-winner Tilda Swinton) has been waiting for three days for a phone call from her long-time love who has left her for another so he would arrange a time for him to pick up his luggage and his dog. And then the phone rings. In less than 30 minutes, Swinton emotes every passion from joy to anger to suicidal despair during her photo call.
Critics were effusive in their praise at the Venice International Film Festival and New York Film Festival with Sony Pictures Classic picking up the live-action short film. “Despite its origins as a play. “The Human Voice” is well-suited to being filmed,” said Gary M. Kramer in Salon. “Swinton’s expressions, from a silent sigh in the opening moments, to her look of shock enhanced by her unkempt,...
Critics were effusive in their praise at the Venice International Film Festival and New York Film Festival with Sony Pictures Classic picking up the live-action short film. “Despite its origins as a play. “The Human Voice” is well-suited to being filmed,” said Gary M. Kramer in Salon. “Swinton’s expressions, from a silent sigh in the opening moments, to her look of shock enhanced by her unkempt,...
- 10/1/2020
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Add Sophia Loren to the growing list of those whose names we are likely to hear come this Oscar awards season.
The legendary star and 1961 Best Actress Academy Award winner for Two Women, as well as the recipient of an Honorary Oscar in 1991 inscribed “for a career rich with memorable performances that has added permanent luster to our art form,” is returning to movies in The Life Ahead. She stars as Madame Rosa, a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust who now makes a meager living raising a number of children of prostitutes with whom she once walked the streets. Among those she takes in is Momo, a 12-year-old Senegalese orphan who steals her candlesticks. After he is forced to apologize, they form a relationship audiences around the world are not likely to soon forget when the previously undated film premieres worldwide on Netflix on November 13.
I would call this vintage Loren,...
The legendary star and 1961 Best Actress Academy Award winner for Two Women, as well as the recipient of an Honorary Oscar in 1991 inscribed “for a career rich with memorable performances that has added permanent luster to our art form,” is returning to movies in The Life Ahead. She stars as Madame Rosa, a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust who now makes a meager living raising a number of children of prostitutes with whom she once walked the streets. Among those she takes in is Momo, a 12-year-old Senegalese orphan who steals her candlesticks. After he is forced to apologize, they form a relationship audiences around the world are not likely to soon forget when the previously undated film premieres worldwide on Netflix on November 13.
I would call this vintage Loren,...
- 9/22/2020
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
While the coronavirus has upended the Oscar season by reducing the importance of fall film festivals that will likely do more virtual screening rather than physical and causing studios to push some major titles into next year, the delayed 93rd Academy Awards will take place on April 23, 2021.
Matters might be up in the air about what films will be eligible and how many will actually be seen on a big screen. More and more, the options are more likely to be drive-ins, streaming sites, protected links for voters and VOD titles.
But on the side of optimism, we asked our readers to pick which likely Best Actress Oscar winner from the past might be able to join the two-fer club of leading ladies who possess two lead honors in the 2021 race. The 13 are Meryl Streep, Bette Davis, Ingrid Bergman, Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Taylor, Olivia de Havilland, Glenda Jackson, Jodie Foster,...
Matters might be up in the air about what films will be eligible and how many will actually be seen on a big screen. More and more, the options are more likely to be drive-ins, streaming sites, protected links for voters and VOD titles.
But on the side of optimism, we asked our readers to pick which likely Best Actress Oscar winner from the past might be able to join the two-fer club of leading ladies who possess two lead honors in the 2021 race. The 13 are Meryl Streep, Bette Davis, Ingrid Bergman, Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Taylor, Olivia de Havilland, Glenda Jackson, Jodie Foster,...
- 7/15/2020
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
The number of actresses who have won a Best Actress Oscar twice is as impressive as it is elite. The lucky 13 are Meryl Streep, Bette Davis, Ingrid Bergman, Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Taylor, Olivia de Havilland, Glenda Jackson, Jodie Foster, Sally Field, Vivien Leigh, Frances McDormand, Luise Rainer and Hilary Swank.
Who might join the two-timer club at the 93rd Academy Awards? While the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has made theater screenings a dicey proposition for the time being, there is been a revival of drive-ins, a surge of VOD titles and streaming sites taking up the slack. Presuming that the five ladies below qualify as leads, here are the actresses who could claim a second Best Actress trophy on April 25.
SEEKate Winslet movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best
Olivia Colman, (“The Father”): This Brit won her first Oscar for her role as the amusingly addled 18th-century ruler Queen Anne...
Who might join the two-timer club at the 93rd Academy Awards? While the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has made theater screenings a dicey proposition for the time being, there is been a revival of drive-ins, a surge of VOD titles and streaming sites taking up the slack. Presuming that the five ladies below qualify as leads, here are the actresses who could claim a second Best Actress trophy on April 25.
SEEKate Winslet movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best
Olivia Colman, (“The Father”): This Brit won her first Oscar for her role as the amusingly addled 18th-century ruler Queen Anne...
- 7/6/2020
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
The David di Donatello Awards, which are modeled on the Oscars, were established in the 1950s as Italy’s film industry started thriving amid the country’s postwar reconstruction effort.
Below are some milestones that provide a partial mini-history of postwar Italian cinema.
1956: The first David di Donatello awards ceremony takes place at Rome’s Cinema Fiamma. The gold statuette, which is a replica of Michelangelo’s David, is made by Bulgari. Vittorio De Sica, Walt Disney, and Gina Lollobrigida are among the year’s prizewinners.
1957: The Davids ceremony moves to Taormina’s Ancient Greek Theater, which will host the ceremony for many more years to come. Federico Fellini wins the best director prize for “Nights of Cabiria.”
1958: Anna Magnani wins best actress for George Cukor’s “Wild Is the Wind.” Marilyn Monroe is feted for her role in “The Prince and the Showgirl,” directed by Laurence Olivier.
Below are some milestones that provide a partial mini-history of postwar Italian cinema.
1956: The first David di Donatello awards ceremony takes place at Rome’s Cinema Fiamma. The gold statuette, which is a replica of Michelangelo’s David, is made by Bulgari. Vittorio De Sica, Walt Disney, and Gina Lollobrigida are among the year’s prizewinners.
1957: The Davids ceremony moves to Taormina’s Ancient Greek Theater, which will host the ceremony for many more years to come. Federico Fellini wins the best director prize for “Nights of Cabiria.”
1958: Anna Magnani wins best actress for George Cukor’s “Wild Is the Wind.” Marilyn Monroe is feted for her role in “The Prince and the Showgirl,” directed by Laurence Olivier.
- 5/8/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Our 75th guest! The legendary filmmaker John Sayles joins Josh and Joe to explore some of his favorite movies.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Ulzana’s Raid (1972)
Django (1966)
The Birth Of A Nation (1915)
City Of Hope (1991)
Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980)
The Challenge (1982)
Avalanche (1978)
Eight Men Out (1988)
Piranha (1978)
The Howling (1981)
The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
The Killers (1964)
The King And I (1956)
Time Without Pity (1957)
The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964)
Ben-Hur (1957)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Two Women (1960)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Spartacus (1960)
Fixed Bayonets! (1951)
The Steel Helmet (1951)
Merrill’s Marauders (1962)
Targets (1968)
Touch Of Evil (1958)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Woodstock (1970)
Crime In The Streets (1956)
The Bad Seed (1956)
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
Fedora (1978)
Dune (1984)
The Cotton Club (1984)
Choose Me (1984)
Raising Arizona (1987)
El Norte (1983)
Yellow Sky (1948)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Irishman (2019)
A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood (2019)
The Thing (1982)
Chinatown (1974)
Manhattan (1979)
Duck Amuck (1953)
Goodfellas (1990)
Humanoids Of The Deep (1980)
Cockfighter (1974)
Dynamite Women a.k.a. The Great Texas Dynamite Chase...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Ulzana’s Raid (1972)
Django (1966)
The Birth Of A Nation (1915)
City Of Hope (1991)
Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980)
The Challenge (1982)
Avalanche (1978)
Eight Men Out (1988)
Piranha (1978)
The Howling (1981)
The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
The Killers (1964)
The King And I (1956)
Time Without Pity (1957)
The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964)
Ben-Hur (1957)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Two Women (1960)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Spartacus (1960)
Fixed Bayonets! (1951)
The Steel Helmet (1951)
Merrill’s Marauders (1962)
Targets (1968)
Touch Of Evil (1958)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Woodstock (1970)
Crime In The Streets (1956)
The Bad Seed (1956)
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
Fedora (1978)
Dune (1984)
The Cotton Club (1984)
Choose Me (1984)
Raising Arizona (1987)
El Norte (1983)
Yellow Sky (1948)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Irishman (2019)
A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood (2019)
The Thing (1982)
Chinatown (1974)
Manhattan (1979)
Duck Amuck (1953)
Goodfellas (1990)
Humanoids Of The Deep (1980)
Cockfighter (1974)
Dynamite Women a.k.a. The Great Texas Dynamite Chase...
- 4/7/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
by Cláudio Alves
Throughout the years, the Oscars' most polyglot acting category has been Best Actress, amassing twenty nominations and two victories for performances in non-English languages. Those winners, Sophia Loren and Marion Cotillard, are also the only women to nab more than one nod for acting in their native non-English tongue. That's not the only factor that makes Cotillard's awards history a strange affair. She's also one the very few actors to get attention from the four major precursors for her work in "foreign language" films, a feat she accomplished twice. Strangely enough, it wasn't for the same two productions that got her the Academy's attention!
Marion Cotillard's take on Edith Piaf got nominated for everything and, in the end, conquered her a little golden man. Still, five years later she was royally snubbed, becoming only the second person to get those four precursor nominations and fail to enter the Oscar line-up.
Throughout the years, the Oscars' most polyglot acting category has been Best Actress, amassing twenty nominations and two victories for performances in non-English languages. Those winners, Sophia Loren and Marion Cotillard, are also the only women to nab more than one nod for acting in their native non-English tongue. That's not the only factor that makes Cotillard's awards history a strange affair. She's also one the very few actors to get attention from the four major precursors for her work in "foreign language" films, a feat she accomplished twice. Strangely enough, it wasn't for the same two productions that got her the Academy's attention!
Marion Cotillard's take on Edith Piaf got nominated for everything and, in the end, conquered her a little golden man. Still, five years later she was royally snubbed, becoming only the second person to get those four precursor nominations and fail to enter the Oscar line-up.
- 2/24/2020
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights to Sophia Loren’s return to the screen and her first feature film in over a decade, a drama called “The Life Ahead,” the streaming service announced Monday.
Edoardo Ponti directed Loren in the film, and Netflix will debut it later this year.
Loren plays a Holocaust survivor named Madame Rosa who runs a daycare business living in seaside Italy and takes in a 12-year-old street kid named Momo after he robs her. The two loners become each other’s protectors, anchoring an unconventional family.
Ponti and Ugo Chiti adapted the screenplay from the book “The Life Before Us” by Romain Gary. “The Life Ahead” also stars Ibrahima Gueye, Renato Carpentieri and Massimiliano Rossi alongside Loren.
“I couldn’t be more pleased to be working with Netflix on such a special film. In my career, I...
Edoardo Ponti directed Loren in the film, and Netflix will debut it later this year.
Loren plays a Holocaust survivor named Madame Rosa who runs a daycare business living in seaside Italy and takes in a 12-year-old street kid named Momo after he robs her. The two loners become each other’s protectors, anchoring an unconventional family.
Ponti and Ugo Chiti adapted the screenplay from the book “The Life Before Us” by Romain Gary. “The Life Ahead” also stars Ibrahima Gueye, Renato Carpentieri and Massimiliano Rossi alongside Loren.
“I couldn’t be more pleased to be working with Netflix on such a special film. In my career, I...
- 2/17/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Sophia Loren will be feted by the Capri-Hollywood film festival with a lifetime achievement award presented to her by trailblazing director Lina Wertmüller, her old friend and recent recipient of an honorary Oscar.
Loren, Italy’s most iconic living movie star, will receive the Capri Legend Award on Dec. 30 from Wertmüller during the event dedicated to establishing a bridge between Hollywood and Italy’s film and showbiz communities.
Loren, who started her career in the 1950s, has appeared in more than 80 feature films, including Vittorio De Sica’s “Two Women,” for which she won an Oscar, and “Marriage Italian Style” and “A Special Day,” both alongside Marcello Mastroianni. She more recently appeared in the 2009 musical “Nine” alongside Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz.
Loren went back in front of the cameras this year, at 84, for “The Life Ahead,” her first feature in a decade. The film is directed by...
Loren, Italy’s most iconic living movie star, will receive the Capri Legend Award on Dec. 30 from Wertmüller during the event dedicated to establishing a bridge between Hollywood and Italy’s film and showbiz communities.
Loren, who started her career in the 1950s, has appeared in more than 80 feature films, including Vittorio De Sica’s “Two Women,” for which she won an Oscar, and “Marriage Italian Style” and “A Special Day,” both alongside Marcello Mastroianni. She more recently appeared in the 2009 musical “Nine” alongside Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz.
Loren went back in front of the cameras this year, at 84, for “The Life Ahead,” her first feature in a decade. The film is directed by...
- 12/16/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Sophia Loren celebrates her 85th birthday on September 20, 2019. Though she rose to fame thanks largely to her looks, the Italian superstar more than proved her acting chops with a series of international hits and an Oscar win for Best Actress. But how many of her titles remain classics? In honor of her birthday, let’s take a look back at 15 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
SEEOscar Best Actress Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
Born in 1934 in Rome, Loren began appearing in films both in her native Italy and in Hollywood, popping up in several titles that played more to her incredible beauty than her acting chops. That all changed with “Two Women” (1961), a stirring drama from Italian neorealist Vittoria De Sica that cast her as a mother protecting her daughter from the horrors of World War II. The role brought her international acclaim and Oscar,...
SEEOscar Best Actress Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
Born in 1934 in Rome, Loren began appearing in films both in her native Italy and in Hollywood, popping up in several titles that played more to her incredible beauty than her acting chops. That all changed with “Two Women” (1961), a stirring drama from Italian neorealist Vittoria De Sica that cast her as a mother protecting her daughter from the horrors of World War II. The role brought her international acclaim and Oscar,...
- 9/20/2019
- by Chris Beachum and Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
For an actor, being the only Oscar nominee from your film is a pretty lonely business and a sign that you probably won’t need to have an acceptance speech ready when your ballot’s envelope is opened.
Only nine times in the last 80 years of Academy Awards history have Oscars for lead performances gone to actors who had the only nominations from their films. The odds aren’t much better for supporting roles; only 12 of those singular nominations led to Oscars.
So, it will be a small club that “The Wife’s” Glenn Close or “At Eternity’s Gate’s” Willem Dafoe will join if either one wins for their lead performances on Feb. 24. And, really, only Close needs to have an idea what she’d like to say when she gets to the stage.
She’s had plenty of practice before nationally televised audiences, having already won the...
Only nine times in the last 80 years of Academy Awards history have Oscars for lead performances gone to actors who had the only nominations from their films. The odds aren’t much better for supporting roles; only 12 of those singular nominations led to Oscars.
So, it will be a small club that “The Wife’s” Glenn Close or “At Eternity’s Gate’s” Willem Dafoe will join if either one wins for their lead performances on Feb. 24. And, really, only Close needs to have an idea what she’d like to say when she gets to the stage.
She’s had plenty of practice before nationally televised audiences, having already won the...
- 2/7/2019
- by Jack Mathews
- Gold Derby
It could be lucky No. 7 and 13 for Glenn Close. She picked up her seventh Oscar nomination on Tuesday, for Best Actress for “The Wife,” which did not get any other nominations. If Close’s name is finally in the envelope on Oscar day, she’d be the 13th winner in the category as the only nominee for her film.
The first 12 were:
1. Mary Pickford, “Coquette” (1928/29)
2. Marie Dressler, “Min and Bill” (1930/31)
3. Helen Hayes, “The Sin of Madelon Claudet” (1931/32)
4. Katharine Hepburn, “Morning Glory” (1932/33)
5. Bette Davis, “Dangerous” (1935)
6. Joanne Woodward, “The Three Faces of Eve” (1957)
7. Sophia Loren, “Two Women” (1961)
8. Jodie Foster, “The Accused” (1988)
9. Kathy Bates, “Misery” (1990)
10. Jessica Lange, “Blue Sky” (1994)
11. Charlize Theron, “Monster” (2003)
12. Julianne Moore, “Still Alice” (2014)
Twelve times in the Oscars’ 90-year history doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is when you look at Best Actor, which only has five solo nominee winners: Emil Jannings, Jose Ferrer, Cliff Robertson, Michael Douglas and Forest Whitaker.
The first 12 were:
1. Mary Pickford, “Coquette” (1928/29)
2. Marie Dressler, “Min and Bill” (1930/31)
3. Helen Hayes, “The Sin of Madelon Claudet” (1931/32)
4. Katharine Hepburn, “Morning Glory” (1932/33)
5. Bette Davis, “Dangerous” (1935)
6. Joanne Woodward, “The Three Faces of Eve” (1957)
7. Sophia Loren, “Two Women” (1961)
8. Jodie Foster, “The Accused” (1988)
9. Kathy Bates, “Misery” (1990)
10. Jessica Lange, “Blue Sky” (1994)
11. Charlize Theron, “Monster” (2003)
12. Julianne Moore, “Still Alice” (2014)
Twelve times in the Oscars’ 90-year history doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is when you look at Best Actor, which only has five solo nominee winners: Emil Jannings, Jose Ferrer, Cliff Robertson, Michael Douglas and Forest Whitaker.
- 1/24/2019
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
We don’t yet know how much the academy will love “A Star Is Born,” but we do know the academy loves when a star is born. It is, after all, the literal plot of “A Star Is Born,” specifically the first two versions, when Vicki Lester (Janet Gaynor [1937] and Judy Garland [1954]) wins the Best Actress Oscar. Oscar loves a new talent, a “Where the hell did you come from?” discovery, and has nominated and awarded a slew of newcomers over the years. That could continue this year if “Roma” star Yalitza Aparicio finds herself in the Best Actress lineup for her feature film debut.
Only four people have won Best Actress for their film debuts — Shirley Booth, Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand and Marlee Matlin — but 11 more have been nominated, including four this century. They are Keisha Castle-Hughes, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Gabourey Sidibe and Quvenzhane Wallis. Two of them, Castle-Hughes and Wallis,...
Only four people have won Best Actress for their film debuts — Shirley Booth, Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand and Marlee Matlin — but 11 more have been nominated, including four this century. They are Keisha Castle-Hughes, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Gabourey Sidibe and Quvenzhane Wallis. Two of them, Castle-Hughes and Wallis,...
- 10/31/2018
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
This article marks Part 1 of the Gold Derby series reflecting on films that contended for the Big Five Oscars – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted). With “A Star Is Born” this year on the cusp of joining this exclusive group of Oscar favorites, join us as we look back at the 43 extraordinary pictures that earned Academy Awards nominations in each of the Big Five categories beginning with the eight that were shut out of these top races.
At the 31st Academy Awards ceremony, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958) was well-positioned for Oscar glory. Critically acclaimed and commercially successful, the film adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ play was up in six categories, including the Big Five, plus Best Cinematography.
Instead of emerging victorious, however, the film found itself steamrolled over. It would lose Best Picture and Best Director (Richard Brooks) to the musical “Gigi” and its filmmaker,...
At the 31st Academy Awards ceremony, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958) was well-positioned for Oscar glory. Critically acclaimed and commercially successful, the film adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ play was up in six categories, including the Big Five, plus Best Cinematography.
Instead of emerging victorious, however, the film found itself steamrolled over. It would lose Best Picture and Best Director (Richard Brooks) to the musical “Gigi” and its filmmaker,...
- 10/4/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
This year’s quartet of Oscar acting winners is one for the ages. With an average age of 56.5, 59-year-old Gary Oldman (“Darkest Hour”), 60-year-old Frances McDormand (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”), 49-year-old Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards”) and 58-year-old Allison Janney (“I, Tonya”) are the second oldest foursome to take home Oscars.
They only trail the Class of 1981, which featured three septuagenarians — 76-year-old Best Actor Henry Fonda (“On Golden Pond”), 74-year-old Best Actress Katharine Hepburn (“On Golden Pond”) and 77-year-old Best Supporting Actor John Gielgud (“Arthur”) — and 56-year-old Maureen Stapleton (“Reds”) for an average age of 70.75, which may never be surpassed. Since the supporting races weren’t added until the ninth ceremony, Oldman, McDormand, Rockwell and Janney aren’t the second oldest set of winners overall; that belongs to then-53-year-old Lionel Barrymore (“A Free Soul”) and then-63-year-old Marie Dressler (“Min and Bill”), whose average age was 58 at the fourth Oscars.
They only trail the Class of 1981, which featured three septuagenarians — 76-year-old Best Actor Henry Fonda (“On Golden Pond”), 74-year-old Best Actress Katharine Hepburn (“On Golden Pond”) and 77-year-old Best Supporting Actor John Gielgud (“Arthur”) — and 56-year-old Maureen Stapleton (“Reds”) for an average age of 70.75, which may never be surpassed. Since the supporting races weren’t added until the ninth ceremony, Oldman, McDormand, Rockwell and Janney aren’t the second oldest set of winners overall; that belongs to then-53-year-old Lionel Barrymore (“A Free Soul”) and then-63-year-old Marie Dressler (“Min and Bill”), whose average age was 58 at the fourth Oscars.
- 3/5/2018
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
By Dawn Dabell
Fans of Sophia Loren will be ecstatic to learn new independent label CultFilms is in the process of releasing a collection of her award-winning movies. Launching this fine set is the wonderful Two Women aka La Ciociara (previously reviewed in Issue #34 of Cinema Retro), followed by A Special Day aka Una Giornata Particolare (which is reviewed here). Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Marriage Italian Style and Boccaccio 70’ are to follow. This collection showcases Loren at the top of her acting game and will be warmly welcomed by her fans and fans of Italian cinema generally.
Fascist housewife and mother of six Antoinetta (Sophia Loren) is busy trying to ready her family so they can attend a parade to celebrate Hitler’s state visit with Mussolini. Rushed off her feet, it becomes apparent she won’t be able to attend the momentous occasion as she has too much housework...
Fans of Sophia Loren will be ecstatic to learn new independent label CultFilms is in the process of releasing a collection of her award-winning movies. Launching this fine set is the wonderful Two Women aka La Ciociara (previously reviewed in Issue #34 of Cinema Retro), followed by A Special Day aka Una Giornata Particolare (which is reviewed here). Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Marriage Italian Style and Boccaccio 70’ are to follow. This collection showcases Loren at the top of her acting game and will be warmly welcomed by her fans and fans of Italian cinema generally.
Fascist housewife and mother of six Antoinetta (Sophia Loren) is busy trying to ready her family so they can attend a parade to celebrate Hitler’s state visit with Mussolini. Rushed off her feet, it becomes apparent she won’t be able to attend the momentous occasion as she has too much housework...
- 11/1/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
The festival will celebrate the iconic Italian actress with a Hollywood tribute on November 12.
Throughout the eight-day festival that runs in Hollywood from November 6-13, Loren will be celebrated in the form of special festival branding (pictured) unveiled by AFI Fest top brass on Wednesday (August 27).
The tribute evening will be open to the public and culminate in the 50th anniversary screening of Marriage Italian Style (Matrimonio All’Italiana), Vittorio De Sica’s 1964 film that earned Loren an Oscar nomination.
The film was restored by Cineteca di Bologna, the Technicolor Foundation for Cinema Heritage and Memory Cinéma, in collaboration with Surf Film.
The Tribute will also include a conversation with Loren about her career, when attendees will be able to watch The Human Voice (La Voce Umana), a 2014 short film starring Loren directed by her son Edoardo Ponti.
Loren became the first actress to win a best actress Academy Award for a foreign-language film for Two Women...
Throughout the eight-day festival that runs in Hollywood from November 6-13, Loren will be celebrated in the form of special festival branding (pictured) unveiled by AFI Fest top brass on Wednesday (August 27).
The tribute evening will be open to the public and culminate in the 50th anniversary screening of Marriage Italian Style (Matrimonio All’Italiana), Vittorio De Sica’s 1964 film that earned Loren an Oscar nomination.
The film was restored by Cineteca di Bologna, the Technicolor Foundation for Cinema Heritage and Memory Cinéma, in collaboration with Surf Film.
The Tribute will also include a conversation with Loren about her career, when attendees will be able to watch The Human Voice (La Voce Umana), a 2014 short film starring Loren directed by her son Edoardo Ponti.
Loren became the first actress to win a best actress Academy Award for a foreign-language film for Two Women...
- 8/27/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Sophia Loren wowed the crowds and entertained photographers as she presented Cannes Classics at the annual 67th Film Festival yesterday (May 21).
The iconic Italian actress, who is set to turn 80 this year, wore a bright red ensemble and matching shawl as she posed for the cameras while being honoured at the festival's special selection, which was celebrating restored masterpieces and the heritage of film.
Loren won the Best Actress award for Two Women at Cannes in 1961, and went on to be a president of the jury in '66.
Fellow movie icons Jane Fonda and Catherine Deneuve have also returned to Cannes this year, so we take a look at classic pictures of the glamorous stars then and now below:
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren wears a white ballgown as she attends a screening at the festival back in 1955.
The actress wears a sleeveless green dress as she waves to photographers on...
The iconic Italian actress, who is set to turn 80 this year, wore a bright red ensemble and matching shawl as she posed for the cameras while being honoured at the festival's special selection, which was celebrating restored masterpieces and the heritage of film.
Loren won the Best Actress award for Two Women at Cannes in 1961, and went on to be a president of the jury in '66.
Fellow movie icons Jane Fonda and Catherine Deneuve have also returned to Cannes this year, so we take a look at classic pictures of the glamorous stars then and now below:
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren wears a white ballgown as she attends a screening at the festival back in 1955.
The actress wears a sleeveless green dress as she waves to photographers on...
- 5/22/2014
- Digital Spy
Actor finally declared in the right after four-decade wrangle over whether 60% or 70% of her 1974 earnings were taxable
It was 1974, the year Sophia Loren starred alongside Richard Burton in Vittorio de Sica's final film, The Voyage (Il Viaggio). It was also the year that marked the start of an almost four-decade battle with the Italian tax authorities – a battle that has finally ended.
In a verdict she described as "a miracle", Loren, 79 and living in Geneva, was declared by Italy's supreme court to have been in the right over calculation of tax paid on her 1974 earnings. Her accountants said she should pay 60% while the authorities said 70% was due.
"I am happy. A saga that has been going on for almost 40 years has finally ended," Loren, who remains one of Italy's most legendary and beloved actors, was quoted as telling La Stampa on Wednesday after the court of cassation's ruling. She...
It was 1974, the year Sophia Loren starred alongside Richard Burton in Vittorio de Sica's final film, The Voyage (Il Viaggio). It was also the year that marked the start of an almost four-decade battle with the Italian tax authorities – a battle that has finally ended.
In a verdict she described as "a miracle", Loren, 79 and living in Geneva, was declared by Italy's supreme court to have been in the right over calculation of tax paid on her 1974 earnings. Her accountants said she should pay 60% while the authorities said 70% was due.
"I am happy. A saga that has been going on for almost 40 years has finally ended," Loren, who remains one of Italy's most legendary and beloved actors, was quoted as telling La Stampa on Wednesday after the court of cassation's ruling. She...
- 10/24/2013
- by Lizzy Davies
- The Guardian - Film News
Get to know the Film Experience community! Today we're talking to Riccardo who is very succinct in his answers!
Tfe: What's your first movie memory?
Riccardo: Bambi in the late 70s in an afternoon show with mum and sister.
Your three favorite actresses?
Nicole Kidman in The Hours. The scene at the station for me is very emotional and I love listening to her original voice and she was absolutely perfect. Michelle Pfeiffer is an absolutely underrated and talented actress even in a thriller like What Lies Beneath. And I can't explain exactly why I like Marilyn Monroe so much -maybe the mix of weakness and sensuality, that will never be found again. I could watch Some Like It Hot a ton of times without ever being bored.
Take one oscar away from someone. Regift it.
From Meryl Streep of The Iron Lady. To Viola Davis for The Help.
If...
Tfe: What's your first movie memory?
Riccardo: Bambi in the late 70s in an afternoon show with mum and sister.
Your three favorite actresses?
Nicole Kidman in The Hours. The scene at the station for me is very emotional and I love listening to her original voice and she was absolutely perfect. Michelle Pfeiffer is an absolutely underrated and talented actress even in a thriller like What Lies Beneath. And I can't explain exactly why I like Marilyn Monroe so much -maybe the mix of weakness and sensuality, that will never be found again. I could watch Some Like It Hot a ton of times without ever being bored.
Take one oscar away from someone. Regift it.
From Meryl Streep of The Iron Lady. To Viola Davis for The Help.
If...
- 8/2/2013
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Italian composer of film scores and musicals
Armando Trovajoli, who has died aged 95, was a prolific composer for Italian films and stage musicals. He worked with many of Italy's leading directors, including Mario Monicelli, Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Vittorio De Sica, for whom he composed music for La Ciociara (Two Women, 1960) and Matrimonio all'Italiana (Marriage Italian Style, 1964), both of which starred Sophia Loren, who became a friend. When Loren was going to Hollywood for the first time in the mid-1950s, Trovajoli composed and recorded with his orchestra a song in Neapolitan for her, Che M'è Mparato a Ffà (What Did You Teach Me to Do?), which did much to launch her in the Us.
Trovajoli was born into an upper-middle-class family in Rome. He learned to play the violin as a boy and, in the 1930s, studied piano at the Santa Cecilia conservatory. By 1939 he was playing with a leading jazz band.
Armando Trovajoli, who has died aged 95, was a prolific composer for Italian films and stage musicals. He worked with many of Italy's leading directors, including Mario Monicelli, Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Vittorio De Sica, for whom he composed music for La Ciociara (Two Women, 1960) and Matrimonio all'Italiana (Marriage Italian Style, 1964), both of which starred Sophia Loren, who became a friend. When Loren was going to Hollywood for the first time in the mid-1950s, Trovajoli composed and recorded with his orchestra a song in Neapolitan for her, Che M'è Mparato a Ffà (What Did You Teach Me to Do?), which did much to launch her in the Us.
Trovajoli was born into an upper-middle-class family in Rome. He learned to play the violin as a boy and, in the 1930s, studied piano at the Santa Cecilia conservatory. By 1939 he was playing with a leading jazz band.
- 3/10/2013
- by John Francis Lane
- The Guardian - Film News
San Francisco — The San Francisco Opera will present the world premiere of Tobias Picker's "Dolores Claiborne" on Sept. 18 next year.
The company said Monday that the opera, with a libretto by J.D. McClatchy, will be based on Stephen King's 1992 novel about a character who denies killing her employer but admits murdering her husband almost three decades earlier after learning he sexually molested their 14-year-old daughter.
Mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick will sing the title character, soprano Elizabeth Futral will perform the elderly employer Vera Donovan, Susannah Biller the daughter Selena St. George, Wayne Tigges the husband Joe St. George, and Greg Fedderly will be Detective Thibodeau.
George Manahan conducts and James Robinson directs. There will be six performances through Oct. 4 of the staging, a co-production with the Opera Company of St. Louis.
This will be the fifth opera for Picker following "Emmeline" (1996), "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (1998), "Therese Raquin" (2001) and "An American Tragedy...
The company said Monday that the opera, with a libretto by J.D. McClatchy, will be based on Stephen King's 1992 novel about a character who denies killing her employer but admits murdering her husband almost three decades earlier after learning he sexually molested their 14-year-old daughter.
Mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick will sing the title character, soprano Elizabeth Futral will perform the elderly employer Vera Donovan, Susannah Biller the daughter Selena St. George, Wayne Tigges the husband Joe St. George, and Greg Fedderly will be Detective Thibodeau.
George Manahan conducts and James Robinson directs. There will be six performances through Oct. 4 of the staging, a co-production with the Opera Company of St. Louis.
This will be the fifth opera for Picker following "Emmeline" (1996), "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (1998), "Therese Raquin" (2001) and "An American Tragedy...
- 12/4/2012
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Over my time authoring Top 10 Tuesdays (or Thursdays if your editor is slow!) for Owf, I’ve submitted a couple of articles chronicling the best full-length films available to watch online (Part I and Part II). My attention focused on YouTube’s offerings in these previous lists, but today I turn to the Internet Archive. This site is dedicated to offering the general public as much content as possible – whether it’s live concerts, television shows or indeed feature films – for free viewing/listening or download. As I’ve previously mentioned, this content is in the Public Domain, which means the reproduction and offers of free viewings or downloads is entirely legal.
As a relentless fan and tireless advocate for classical Hollywood fare, The Internet Archive is one of my favourite sites out in the stratosphere of the interweb! Read on to find 10 classic films that you really have no excuse not to watch…...
As a relentless fan and tireless advocate for classical Hollywood fare, The Internet Archive is one of my favourite sites out in the stratosphere of the interweb! Read on to find 10 classic films that you really have no excuse not to watch…...
- 4/21/2011
- by Stuart Cummins
- Obsessed with Film
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