THE KING OF LAUGHTER
synopsis
At the beginning of the 20th century, in Belle Époque Naples, theatres and the cinema were thriving. The great comic actor Eduardo Scarpetta was the king of the box office. Of humble origin, he made his reputation with his comedies and the character of Felice Sciosciammocca. The theatre was his life and around the theatre gravitated the whole of his peculiar family, composed of wives, partners, lovers and legitimate and illegitimate children, including Titina, Eduardo and Peppino De Filippo. In 1904, at the height of his popularity, Scarpetta took a great risk: he staged a parody of La figlia di Iorio, a tragedy written by the greatest Italian poet of the day, Gabriele D’Annunzio. The evening of its première in the theatre all hell broke loose: the performance was interrupted by boos and catcalls and Scarpetta ended up being sued for plagiary by D’Annunzio himself. It was the beginning of the first ever lawsuit on copyright in Italy. The years that the case took would be draining for him and his whole family. Everything in Scarpetta’s life seemed to be falling apart, but with the act of a great thespian he would take his fate into his own hands and win in the end.
international title: | The King of Laughter |
original title: | Qui rido io |
country: | Italy, Spain |
sales agent: | True Colours |
year: | 2021 |
genre: | fiction |
directed by: | Mario Martone |
film run: | 133' |
release date: | IT 9/09/2021 |
screenplay: | Mario Martone |
cast: | Toni Servillo, Maria Nazionale, Cristiana Dell’Anna, Antonia Truppo, Eduardo Scarpetta, Roberto De Francesco, Lino Musella, Paolo Pierobon, Gianfelice Imparato, Iaia Forte |
cinematography by: | Renato Berta |
film editing: | Jacopo Quadri |
art director: | Giancarlo Muselli |
costumes designer: | Ursula Patzak |
producer: | Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima, Carlotta Calori |
production: | Indigo Film, Tornasol Films, RAI Cinema |
distributor: | 01 Distribution |