Based on a book. The provisional title of the film is “The American”. It is based on the book “A very private gentleman” written by an English author, Martin Booth. It will be directed by Anton Corbjin, a former photographer. He started his career with a black and white film, Control, on the life of Ian Curtis, the singer of the English band Joy Division who committed suicide in 1980. Besides Clooney, there will be the Italian actors Violante Placido and Paolo Bonacelli and a Dutch actor by the name of Tekla Reuten.

Abruzzo locations. The film will be shot through to the month of November in the following locations:

Sulmona, a town dating back to 1200, famous for its sugar-coated almonds.

Castel del Monte, a once bustling sheep centre on the road leading up to the Campo Imperatore plain. It is the largest plain in Europe, 22 km in length.

The town of Pacentro is high on the mountain facing Sulmona. Every year in September the young men of the Roma community in the area race barefoot up the rugged mountain to honour the shrine of the Madonna of Loreto. They reach the top of the mountain with bleeding feet and nurses are on hand to immediately bandage and disinfect. The town of Pacentro is also the town from which the singer Madonna’s grandparents emigrated.

Another interesting location is Anversa degli Abruzzi. Here there is a splendid “Land Art” park, where works of art are made out of the surrounding nature. The agriturismo “La Porta dei Parchi” is located just before you enter Anversa. Nunzio, a big Abruzzese with a full black beard, runs this agriturismo, which produces natural sheep’s wool and above all excellent cheeses. Nunzio has been to Afghanistan to teach how to make cheese. The agriturismo also serves very basic genuine shepherds’ food at very reasonable prices and everything you eat is produced here. Nunzio also had the marketing idea of offering the possibility of adopting a sheep. You benefit from all your sheep produce.

Ofena was once a Roman stopover. Horses were changed for those travelling on the main road from Sicily to Tuscany.

Rocca Calascio is the highest fort in central Italy. In the 1400s it housed Count Antonio Piccolomini’s garrison. It was a lookout post to flag the arrival of the invaders in the Tirino Valley. Count Piccolomini had two fortified castles in Abruzzo, one in Celano and the other in Capestrano, which was later purchased by the daughter of the Medicis. Ladyhawke, Francesco and many Italian western films were shot in this area.

We expect the beauty of these locations to add value to Clooney’s film.

Fabrizio G. Scalabrino