Italian lawmakers approve bill making anti-LGBTQ violence a hate crime

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.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentIn 1968, idealistic Italian engineer Giorgio Rosa founded an independent micro nation on a tiny island he built on a platform supported by steel pylons off the coast of Rimini, Italy, outside Italian territorial waters.

Warner Bros To Sell BBC One Format ‘The Wheel’Warner Bros International Television Production is to represent BBC One’s ambitious new entertainment show The Wheel on the global stage after striking a deal with producer Hungry McBear Media. Hosted by comedian Michael McIntyre, the show revolves around a spinning wheel of celebrity guests who help a contestant win jackpot prizes.

Dave McNary Film ReporterHanWay Films has closed multiple international sales for Phillip Noyce’s “Peggy Jo,” with Lily James attached to star as Peggy Jo Tallas, who robbed Texas banks in the early 1990s while posing as a man.A deal with Universal Pictures Content Group includes Benelux, German speaking Europe, Italy, Portugal, Scandinavia, and the UK.

Peggy Jo, the upcoming true-crime love story starring Lily James, has sold out internationally for HanWay Films.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterValentina Pedicini, the Italian director whose credits include the 2019 award-winning documentary Faith, has died at the age of 42.Italian media is widely reporting that she had been ill for some time and her condition worsened in recent days.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItalian director Valentina Pedicini, known on the festival circuit for observational 2019 doc “Faith,” about power dynamics within a reclusive spiritual sect of kung fu practitioners, as well as other female-centric works, died on Friday of liver cancer, her publicist said.

Justin Bieber can literally sing about anything and Alison Brie proved that during an interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Tuesday.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentNBCUniversal Global Distribution has closed a deal for all international rights outside Italy, Germany and the U.K. on Italian soccer icon doc “My Name Is Francesco Totti,” an intimate look at the life and career of long-time A.S.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentShooting is underway in Rome on romancer “Time Is Up,” pairing Bella Thorne with Italian popstar Benjamin Mascolo and being directed by Italy’s Elisa Amoruso (“Chiara Ferragni – Unposted”).The English-language teen pic turns on two high-school seniors, Vivien (Thorne), who is an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy (Mascolo), a troubled young man.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentEmmy-winning U.S. director and producer John Maggio is shooting “Milano,” a high-profile doc on the rise of the Italian fashion industry that is expected to feature many of Italy’s most iconic fashion designers.Maggio, who most recently directed HBO doc “The Perfect Weapon,” based on the best-selling book by David E.