Italian director Marco Risi,
whose film Three Touches screened at the Rome International Film
Festival on Tuesday, said acting is no easy task.
His movie, which opens in theaters November 13, tells the
true stories of six B-list actors who have two passions in
common - their chosen profession, and soccer.
"I got the idea in the changing rooms of the national
actors' team, which I've been playing on for years," said the
63-year-old Milan-born director, screenwriter and producer who
won a directing David di Donatello - Italy's Oscar - for his
1990 film Ragazzi Fuori (Boys on the Outside).
"I used to listen to out-of-work actors trading jokes,"
said Risi, who is known for his neo-neorealist style and
penchant for gritty social issues such as juvenile delinquency
and gang rape.
"Finally one of them attacked me verbally, saying he was a
good actor and demanding an audition".
The three touches in the title, he explained, "are the same
in soccer as in life - vision, concentration, and speed".
The thespian's is the most insecure job of all, Risi said,
because whether or not actors manage to make a living in their
chosen profession has as much to do with luck and being in the
right place at the right time as with their talent and hard
work.
Risi's film renders an homage to these unsung heroes of the
seventh art, their trials, tribulations, and occasional joys.
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