Silvio Berlusconi Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentSilvio Berlusconi, the billionaire media-mogul-turned politician who defined a three-decade-long era in postwar Italy during which TV spin, tainting allegations of corruption and sex scandals were pervasive — but who also achieved unprecedented political stability in the country — has died. He was 86. Berlusconi died at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, according to Italian media reports. He had been suffering from leukaemia and had recently developed a lung infection.After building a fortune by launching Italian private TV with his Mediaset empire, Berlusconi entered politics in 1993, was elected prime minister in 1994, and went on to serve as the country’s premier three times, not consecutively, becoming the longest serving democratically elected Italian leader. He was ousted from parliament in 2013 following a tax fraud conviction.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Industry executives, creatives and international buyers came together to preview an exclusive selection of upcoming high-end German series at the Up Next: Germany showcase at the Berlinale Series Market, the dedicated serial content arm of the EFM running between Feb. 19-21. Four projects were selected for the showcase: Dystopian drama “A Better Place” imagines the aftermath of a revolutionary state-led program that eradicates all German prisons.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Oscar-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore’s vintage TV series “Il Camorrista,” starring Ben Gazzara as one of the fiercest bosses of the Neapolitan Camorra crime syndicate, is being unearthed from the vault 37 years after the mobster himself quashed the show before it aired. “Il Camorrista” was shot in 1985 as part of an innovative production mounted by Italy’s glorious Titanus shingle and Silvio Berlusconi’s ReteItalia. The production comprised both a Tornatore feature film by the same title and the five-episode TV show.

Béla Tarr Set For European Film Awards Honor

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent It’s no secret that it’s taken decades of twists and turns in Hollywood to get Michael Mann’s anticipated “Ferrari,” which makes its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival Aug. 31, to the big screen. But what’s less known is that the journey of this biopic about Italian sports car builder and racing pioneer Enzo Ferrari originated with Italy’s storied Cecchi Gori Group before the company went bust.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Those who were hoping for “Succession”-style infighting following Silvio Berlusconi’s death may be disappointed. The will of Italy’s media-mogul and former prime minister – who died on June 12 at age 86 – was partly made public on Thursday. What emerged is that his eldest children, Marina and Pier Silvio, will together continue to control his business empire estimated to be worth around $6.8 billion, according to Forbes. But, according to a statement issued by his five chilren, “No shareholder will exercise overall individual indirect control of Fininvest SpA previously exercised by their father.” Fininvest is the Berlusconi family holding company.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italians on Wednesday bid farewell to TV tycoon and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi with a national day of mourning and a state funeral in Milan’s Duomo cathedral attended by top local political and business leaders and some foreign dignitaries, aired live across all the country’s main media outlets. After the hearse with Berlusconi’s flower-draped casket drove slowly through Milan streets amid cheers, tens of thousands of people outside the Duomo erupted in applause as pallbearers solemnly carried the coffin through the crowd. Inside the cathedral his five children, Marina, Pier Silvio, Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi, and his 34-year-old girlfriend Marta Fascina, shed tears as the casket was placed in front of the altar and the Archbishop of Milan, Monsignor Mario Delpini, began the service.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent There are many reasons why Silvio Berlusconi’s death, at 86 due to complications from chronic leukemia, represents the end of an era. Berlusconi single-handedly created the concept of private national network television in Italy. He was part of that rare breed of Logan Roy-esque media moguls to emerge in Europe in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including Rupert Murdoch and Germany’s Leo Kirch. At a time when Italy’s airwaves were monopolized by state broadcaster RAI’s stodgy channels, his Mediaset TV platform imported Hollywood series such as “Dallas” and “Baywatch” and movies like “Rambo” and “Conan the Barbarian.” The locally produced topless quiz show “Colpo Grosso” also defined Berlusconi’s TV pioneer days. There was no turning back.

One of the biggest personalities in world media and politics is no more.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Reactions are pouring in across Italy and globally to the death on Monday of scandal-tainted media mogul and politician Silvio Berlusconi that marks the end of an Italian era and raises questions about the future of his empire which spans from TV, advertising, and sports to real estate and insurance. Berlusconi, who was 86, died Monday morning at Milan’s San Raffaele hospital from complications of a lung infection due to chronic leukemia. At his bedside where four of his five children Eleonora, Barbara, Marina and Pier Silvio and his brother Paolo. As former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi, a political rival and leader of Italy’s centrist Italia Viva party put it: “Silvio Berlusconi made the history of this country. Many loved him, many hated him: everyone must recognize that his impact on our political life, as well as on its economic, sports and television spheres, was unprecedented. Today Italy mourns together with his family, his loved ones, his party.”

Former Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi has died at the age of 86, according to Italian media reports.

Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian Prime Minister and media mogul, has died aged 86, according to Italian media reports. Local press said Berlusconi died at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan.

Media mogul and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was admitted to intensive care at a hospital in Milan on Wednesday and is in serious but stable condition according to local media. 

Mediaset CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi has given his verdict on an upcoming video appearance by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Italy’s iconic Sanremo song festival, adding fuel to an ongoing political debate around the operation.

French broadcaster M6 is no longer for sale.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent German media group Bertelsmann is expected to weigh in over the weekend on the offers it received for RTL Group’s 48.3% stake in M6 Group, France’s second largest commercial TV group. Bertelsmann put M6 Group back on the market a little over a week ago, after its planned merger with Bouygues-owned TF1 Group was abandoned due to a number of competition concerns raised by France’s anti-trust board. Bertelsmann’s chief executive Thomas Rabe asked to receive non-binding offers by Sept. 23 to test the market and received offers from three major bidders, according to Le Point.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy on Monday took a sharp turn towards the right as Giorgia Meloni and her Brothers of Italy party, which has neo-fascist roots, emerged as big winners in the country’s national elections. Final results on Monday showed Meloni and her party winning roughly 26% of the vote and the center-right coalition she leads scoring 44% of parliamentary preferences, while Matteo Salvini’s anti-immigrant League won nearly 9% and former prime minister and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia took 8%. Meloni’s closest challenger, with some 19.3% of the vote, is the center-left Democratic Party headed by Enrico Letta, who has announced his resignation. Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement — which had won the vote in Italy’s 2018 parliamentary elections — saw its support halved to some 15% this time around.

A consortium led by Banijay chairman Stéphane Courbit is leading the race to acquire French broadcaster M6, according to reports, with shares in the Bertelsmann-owned network spiking on news of several planned offers.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Giorgia Meloni is poised to become the next prime minister of Italy. With her victory will come the country’s most far-right government since Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party ruled during World War II. If exit polls are correct, Meloni will become the first female prime minister of Italy. Her Brothers of Italy party is projected to win between 22% to 26% of the vote, which would allow her to outflank Enrico Letta, the centre left politician who is her nearest rival. Brothers of Italy are expected to form a coalition government with Matteo Salvini’s League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia. Final results are expected on Monday morning.

Far-right politician Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party appears to be on the cusp of victory in Italy’s general election on Sunday, according to exits polls released shortly after the urns closed at 11 pm local time.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent German media group Bertelsmann has put its TV group M6, France’s second-biggest commercial broadcaster, back on the market following its abandoned merger with TF1. Bertelsmann’s chief executive Thomas Rabe told the Financial Times that he has asked to receive non-binding offers by Friday to “test the market” after being “inundated with expressions of interest.” Bertelsmann’s RTL Group owns a 48.3% stake in M6 Among those expected to bid are a consortium of high-profile French entrepreneurs including Rodolphe Saadé, the French shipping billionaire; Stéphane Courbit, chairman of TV powerhouse Banijay; and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, chairman of the investment vehicle Fimalac, Variety has confirmed.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorRoberta Whiteman, a longtime editor for Variety who specialized in international coverage, died June 17 at a hospice facility near Vero Beach, Fla., where she lived. She was 62.Known as Bobbie, the British native was a skilled copy editor and news editor who was an unfailingly sunny presence in Variety‘s newsroom for nearly 13 years.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentTop Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset, which is being rebranded as MediaForEurope (MFE), is launching a bid to gain full ownership of its Spanish unit Mediaset Espana in move touted as a first step in its stated plan to gain scale in Europe.The company, which is controlled by the family of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, after a board meeting late on Tuesday revealed that it has given the go-ahead for a public offer in cash and shares to buy the 44.31% stake it does not already own in Mediaset Espana, which is Spain’s leading private free-TV player. MFE is valuing the Mediaset Espana stake at roughly €780 million euros ($854.6 million).“The offer represents an important step forward in the creation of a pan-European media and entertainment group,” MFE said in a statement.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItalian commercial broadcaster Mediaset announced on Monday that it will be holding a board meeting to decide whether to raise its stake in Mediaset Espana, following press reports that the company intends to gain full control of its Spanish TV unit.In a statement issued by its MediaForEurope subsidiary, Mediaset, which is controlled by the family of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said it will hold a board meeting on Monday or Tuesday “with a view to adopting eventual resolutions on the case.”“A study is being made of the strategy regarding the stake held in Mediaset Espana,” the statement said.Mediaset, which currently owns a more than 50% stake in Mediaset Espana, is believed to be mulling the launch of a takeover bid of the remaining more than 40% stake it does not own in the company, which has a market value of €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) according to Bloomberg.

Mediaset, the Italian media group controlled by controversial mogul and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, has increased its stake in Munich-based ProSiebenSat.1, giving Berlusconi sufficient control to block major corporate decisions by the German broadcaster.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe battle is heating up between ex-Vivendi boss Vincent Bolloré and Mediaset founder and former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi, European media barons and former friends.Four years after their botched pay-TV deal, where Vivendi walked away from plans to buy Mediaset’s pay-TV unit — a pact that was supposed to lead to a strategic alliance that could have given the family-controlled companies scale to compete against streamers — the barons and their

Former Vivendi Chairman Vincent Bollore and Vivendi Chief Executive Officer Arnaud De Puyfontaine are among those charged by Italian prosecutors for allegedly driving down broadcaster Mediaset SpA’s share price in a market manipulation scheme, Bloomberg News reports.

Italian media mogul and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has COVID-19 and a history of heart and other medical problems, was admitted early Friday to a Milan hospital, where tests found that he has the "beginnings" of pneumonia, state radio said. Earlier, one of his top aides, Sen.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterOscar-winning Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino has been set to write and direct The Hand Of God for Netflix.The Youth and The Great Beauty filmmaker most recently helmed HBO series The New Pope and Silvio Berlusconi biopic Loro.His latest pic will be produced by Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment Pictures, a Fremantle company, with Sorrentino.Plot details have not been released yet but it is based on an original idea by the director and the team are promising