HOLLYWOOD — Dino De Laurentiis will be the 36th recipient of the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award — his first Oscar since 1956.
“De Laurentiis’ body of work speaks for itself,” Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences prexy Robert Rehme said. “His love of, passion for, and dedication to making motion pictures has suffused through his career. He has always had the courage to make the films that he believes in.”
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STATESIDE TOPS FOR DINO De Laurentiis is positioned to top his previous U.S. box office runs with “Hannibal” this February. Here’s a snapshot of his B.O. filmography |
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| Title (Dist., Year) | Domestic B.O.* | |
| U-571 (U, 2000) |
$77 |
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| King King (Par, 1976) |
53 |
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| Breakdown (Par, 1997) |
50 |
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| Conan the Barbarian (U, 1982) |
40 |
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| Conan the Destroyer (U, 1984) |
31 |
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| Source:ACNeilsenEDI/Filmsource *(in millions of $) |
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The award, established in 1937, is bestowed to “creative producers whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production.”
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In 1950, he pacted with Carlo Ponti to form the Ponti-De Laurentiis production company. The two accepted the Oscar when Federico Fellini’s “La Strada” won the Academy Award for foreign-lingo film in 1956 — the first year of competition in that category.
The following year, Fellini’s “The Nights of Cabiria,” a Dino De Laurentiis production, also won in that category, but the rules had changed: The Oscar was presented not to the producer but to the country of origin. (It was open as to who accepts it on behalf of the country; Fellini’s wife, Giulietta Masina, accepted the “Cabiria” trophy.)
Since then, the producer has never received an Academy Award nomination.
First pic in 1941
De Laurentiis produced his first pic, “L’Amore Canta,” in 1941. He garnered international acclaim in 1948 with “Bitter Rice” (Riso Amaro).
He split with Ponti in 1957. De Laurentiis’ dozens of producing or exec producing credits include such pics as “The Bible,” “Barbarella,” “Death Wish,” “Serpico,” “Three Days of the Condor,” “King Kong,” “Conan the Barbarian,” Dune,” “Blue Velvet” and “U-571.” His “Hannibal” debuts in February.
De Laurentiis will be feted during the March 25th kudocast at L.A.’s Shrine Auditorium.