Italian Contemporary Screen Performers Training, Production, Prestige

Bringing together performance studies, celebrity studies, and media production studies, this open access book offers a comprehensive understanding of the multi-layered condition of film and television performers within the contemporary Italian screen media landscape. By focusing on a selection of stars who reached success from 2000 onwards, the collection highlights how the renewal of the Italian media industry in the late 1990s impacted  different aspects of Italian screen performers’ professional lives,  from training to promotion and validation strategies.

1. Introduction. Working Stars.- 2. Introduction to Section I.- 3. Antonio Albanese. Drama, Comedy, and Everything in Between.- 4. Luca Argentero. The Charm of Understatement.- 5. Marco Giallini. “I Had a Hundred Jobs!” What His Story Tells Us About Career Development in the Cultural Industries.- 6. Luca Marinelli. “You Have to Learn to Trust Your Own Face”.- 7. Benedetta Porcaroli. Don’t Call Me Baby.- 8. Alba Rohrwacher. An Unconventional Actress with an Academic Training.- 9. Toni Servillo. An Actor “Fallen” into Cinema.- 10. Mirella Bordoni. Teaching Acting with the “Costa Method”.- 11. Tatiana Lepore. From Creative Mediation to Functionality. The Role of the Acting Coach in Italy.- 12. Introduction to Section II.- 13. Giuseppe Battiston. Enough with the Latin Lover.- 14. Silvia Calderoni. A Techno-Heart Athlete.- 15. Coco Rebecca Edogamhe. A Very Ordinary Girl.- 16. Pierfrancesco Favino. Italianness, Masculinity, and Performance of a Popular Antidivo.- 17. Sabrina Ferilli. A Star Reborn. Negotiating Sexuality, Femininity, and Ageing through Authenticity.- 18. Valeria Golino. Transnational and Global Italianness.- 19. Caterina Murino. Global Ambitions, Italian Roots.- 20. Jasmine Trinca. The Smiling Girl Goes #MeToo.- 21. Laura Muccino and Sara Casani. Casting and Crafting Italian TV Stardom.- 22. Beppe Caschetto. How a Talent Agent Can Build a Film and Television Performer.- 23. Introduction to Section III.- 24. Monica Bellucci. Internationalising Italian Beauty.- 25. Alessandro Borghi. (Reluctant) Celebrity, (Self-)promotion, and Social Networks.- 26. Margherita Buy. Accounting the Career of an Ageing (Anti-)Diva.- 27. Paola Cortellesi. Artistic Versatility, Gender Equality, and the Use of Promotional Interviews in the (Re-)Negotiation of a Star’s Image.- 28. Matilda De Angelis. Naked Ambition.- 29. Elio Germano. Not Just an Actor.- 30. Riccardo Scamarcio. The Transference of Energy and the Enigmas of Intimacy.- 31. Greta Scarano. A Versatile Contemporary Celebrity.- 32. Checco Zalone. Popular Performance, Italian Masculinity, and Transmedia Promotion.- 33. Alberto Barbera. Enhancing Italian Actors and Actresses through Film Festivals.

Luca Barra is Professor of Television and Digital Media Studies at the Università di Bologna, Italy.

Cristina Formenti is Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands.

Mariapaola Pierini is Professor of Film Studies at the Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy.

Francesco Pitassio is Professor of Film Studies at the Università degli Studi di Udine, Italy.