THE KING OF LAUGHTER

by Mario Martone

• Film
• Production year 2021
• Length 132’ min.
• Release Date 9 September 2021

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Synopsis

At the beginning of the twentieth century, in the Naples of the Belle Époque, theaters and cinemas are on the rise. The great comedian Eduardo Scarpetta is the box-office king. Success made him a very rich man: from his humble origins, he established himself on the scene with his comedies and the mask and character of Felice Sciosciammocca, who managed to replace Pulcinella in the hearts of the Neapolitan audiences. The theater is his life, and his complex family core gravitates around the theater, with wives, companions, lovers, legitimate and illegitimate children including Titina, Eduardo and Peppino De Filippo. At the height of his success, Scarpetta allows himself what will prove to be a dangerous gamble. He decides to parody the play “The Daughter of Iorio”, a tragedy by the greatest Italian poet of the time, Gabriele D’Annunzio. On opening night, all hell breaks loose: the play is interrupted by screams, whistles and insults from the poets and playwrights of the new generation who cry out scandal, and Scarpetta ends up being sued for plagiarism by D’Annunzio himself. And so the first historic copyright lawsuit in Italy begins. The years of the trial will be exhausting for him and his whole family, so much so that the delicate balance that held it together seems on the verge of dissolving. Everything in Scarpetta’s life seems to be going in pieces, but with a great actor’s performance he’ll manage  to challenge a fate that wanted him a loser, and he’ll win his last game.

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Crew

Director  Mario Martone

Outline And Screenplay  Mario Martone, Ippolita Di Majo

Photography  Renato Berta

Editing  Jacopo Quadri

Scenography  Giancarlo Muselli, Carlo Rescigno

Costumes  Ursula Patzak

Make-Up  Alessandro D’anna     

Hair  Marco Perna With The Collaboration Of  Aldo Signoretti

Sound  Alessandro Zanon

Sound Editing  Silvia Moraes

Sound Mixing  Giancarlo Rutigliano

Director’s Assistant  Luca Federico

Casting  Raffaele Di Florio Paola Rota

Executive Producers  Viola Prestieri, Giorgio Magliulo

Produced By   Nicola Giuliano  Francesca Cima Carlotta Calori

Co-Produced By  Mariela Besuievsky

A Co-Production From  Indigo Film With Rai Cinema

Co-Produced With  Tornasol

With The Support Of  Regione Lazio - Fondo Regionale Per Il Cinema E L'audiovisivo

With The Contribution Of  Regione Campania And  Film Commission Regione Campania

With Support Of  Icaa

Distribution  01 Distribution

International Sales  True Colours