Gherardo Pagliei, the Italian co-producer behind CriticsWeek Italo-Moroccan contender ACasablanca Les Anges Ne Volent Pas, is lining up an ambitious slate ofinternational films.

Pagliei's Rome-based Gam Film is to produce veteran Chileandirector Alejandro Jodorowsky's next movie, KingShot. The director, whose credits include 1970 cult movie El Topo and surreal 1989 picture Santa Sangre, has described the film,which will be set in a saloon, as a metaphysical spaghetti gangster film. TheEuros 3m picture, which is backed by Italy's Istituto Luce, is expected tostart shooting in Italy in September or October.

Gam is also producing cult New York filmmaker Abel Ferrara'snext picture, Go Go Tales. A Euros 4mcomedy entirely set in a night club, the film has been set up as anItalian-French-UK production, involving Italy's Istituto Luce, Frenchproduction outfit Euro American and the UK's Acquarius. The picture is expectedto star Harvey Keitel, Naomi Campbell, Eva Herzigova and Giancarlo Giannini andwill start shooting in Rome in July. A veteran British actor is also in talksto join the cast.

Pagliei's international slate also includes John Boorman'supcoming adaptation of acclaimed French writer Marguerite Yourcenar'shistorical novel, Memoirs Of Hadrian. Pagliei isexecutive-producing the picture, which is due to start shooting before the endof October 2004 in Morocco.

The film is produced by Enzo Peri's Olympus, who bought therights to Yourcenar's 1951 fictional novel about the dying Roman imperial leader.

Italy's Istituto Luce, Rai Cinema and Massimo Pacilio'sMovieweb are co-producing the project, which has an estimated budget of$20m-$25m and will also involve international partners.

Meanwhile, Gam is also the Italian co-producer behind PeterGreenaway's Tulse Luper Suitcasesseries, as well as A Casablanca Les AngesNe Volent Pas.

A 40%-60% co-production between Italy's Gam Film andIstituto Luce and Morocco's Dagham Film, Mohammed Asli's A Casablanca marks the first ever co-production between the twocountries, under a new initiative which saw Istituto Luce and Italy's Lazioregion sign a deal last year with the Moroccan government.

Topics