Oscar-winning actor-director
Roberto Benigni and his wife Nicoletta Braschi on Tuesday sued
TV news show Report for a report on government funding to the
entertainment sector.
A lawyer said he had been instructed to sue journalists
"Giorgio Mottola and Sigfrido Ranucci, as well as anyone who
cooperated with them, in connection with the false and gravely
defamatory news broadcast in (yesterday's) programme".
The report on the RAI State broadcaster programme claimed
that Benigni's ambitious project to turn his studios outside
Terni into a hub to rival Cinecittà had caused a huge waste of
public money.
Benigni had vainly sought an injunction to stop the Report
segment from going ahead.
The segment said the project for the Papigno studios, where
Benigni shot Life is Beautiful and Pinocchio, had cost an
alleged 16 million euros in local, government and European
funding, and claimed that Benigni had "run off" after the
project allegedly foundered.
"What we are challenging," said Benignhi's lawyers," is that
the business operation was based on public funds and that
Benigni then 'ran off' so as to avoid footing the bill.
"In fact it's not true that the operation enjoyed public
funding, because the restructuring was done at Benigni's
expense.
"And it's not true that our client fled after Papigno's
failure to be relaunched, because the studios were bought by
Cinecittà Studios, a company of Luigi Abete, Aurelio De
Laurentiis and Andrea Della Valle.
"The restructuring cost Benigni 7.4 million euros; Cinecittà
Studios 'bought' five million of credit; Benigni still has to
get 1.1 million.
"Therefore, he made a loss. Benigni himself told Report
reporters: 'It's not known how much money I lost in it'."
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