Italian film producer Carlo Ponti (Carlo Ponti): biography, personal life, films

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In 2018, one of the most famous producers in the history of European cinema could celebrate his 105th anniversary. The man whose name is forever inscribed in the history of cinema is Carlo Ponti. The owner of a special gift to "find diamonds", he gave the world many brilliant film stars, including Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida and Alida Valli. Almost every of his films was a huge success with the public and film critics. In Hollywood, he was whispered about and called a visionary, he accurately guessed scenarios that became legends. Being an incredible workaholic and charming person, he was able to work with renowned directors Federico Fellini, Giorgio Capitani, Vittorio De Sica, David Lina, Alberto Lattuado and Michelangelo Antonioni.

Carlo before the movie

The full name of the producer is Carlo Fartunato Pietro Ponti (it. Carlo Ponti). He was born on December 11, 1912 in the small province of Milan, in the town of Magenta. Died in January 2007 from lung disease.

Carlo's mother was a housewife, and his father was a lawyerpractice and maintained his own office. Little Carlo attended school there, in Majete. Immediately after its completion, the hero of our article firmly decided to follow in his father's footsteps and become a lawyer. He enters the University of Milan at the Faculty of Law, where he studies law. Carlo independently earns money for his education, moonlighting in his father's office. After graduating from high school in 1934, Ponti received a bachelor's degree and got a job at his father's office. Here he actively carries out his instructions. Filmmakers are among Carlo's first clients. Carlo helps them with the execution and verification of contracts with the actors. This job fascinates the young lawyer so much that he decides to start producing films on his own.

The beginning of the creative path

Carlo Ponti manages to start his long and thorny path in cinematography only at the age of 29. This area literally draws in an ambitious young man, he understands that he can realize himself in the profession of a producer and “make a fortune”. Already in the late 30s and early 40s, Carlo tried to make his own film production.

His first serious production work was the film "A Little Old World", based on a story by Antonio Fogazzaro directed by Mario Soldati. This picture will play a bad role in the biography of Carlo Ponti. Despite the fact that the film was successful at the box office and won the Golden Lion Award for Best Actress in 1941 for Alida Valli, Ponti would be imprisoned by the Nazis for some time.

The Second World War marched across Europe, destroying not only the cities, but also the dreams of Carlo Ponti. Despite the crisis in Europe, in 1943 he produced the film "Idealist Giacomo".

After the end of the war in 1945, Carlo gets a job at the Lux Film studio, where he works until 1950 and releases about a dozen films. After finishing work at Carlo Ponti's company, he decides to open his own studio, for which he finds a companion, who becomes an American producer with Italian roots Dino De Laurentiis. Together they open the Ponti di Laurence Company.

In the six years of the company's existence, these two talented producers have released more than twenty films on the screens. The most famous works of that period are "The Gold of Naples" directed by Vittorio De Sica, "The Road" by Frederico Fellini and "War and Peace", in which Audrey Hepburn took part. Fellini's painting wins a Golden Lion and an Oscar.

Private life: Sophia Loren - half a century of love

Further work and life Carlo will be "on the run". Hiding from the Italian police, Carlo moves to France. The blame for everything is love, which will force Carlo to abandon his homeland.

In 1946, Ponti married, his chosen one was the daughter of a general, the beautiful Giuliana Fiastri. On paper, the marriage of Ponti and Fiastri was registered for 11 years, in reality everything was different. The couple got married, but after the birth of children, problems began in their married life. According to the memoriesPonti, they haven't lived together for the last two years of their marriage.

In the early 50s, the already famous film producer Carlo Ponti met the main love of his life - Sofia Villani Scicolone. Carlo, 38, is having lunch with a friend at a cafe in Rome that overlooks the Colosseum. Sophia is in the same cafe with her friends. Carlo, who at that moment is a guest judge of the beauty contest, immediately notices the beauty. He asks a friend to approach the girl and ask if she wants to participate in the Miss Rome contest. Sophia initially refuses the offer. But Ponti is very persistent, he tells the girl that he is a film producer and has opened many film stars to the world. Sofia's face immediately seemed unusual to Carlo, and her facial expressions were very lively, he was looking for just such an actress. After some thought, Sofia takes part in the competition, where she takes second place and receives the title of "Miss Grace".

After the competition, Carlo invites the girl to visit his office and take some test shots for a portfolio. Soon Sofia comes to Ponti's office, but finds out that the pictures do not seem very successful to him. Carlo criticizes Sofia and suggests that she lose weight and get plastic surgery to reduce her nose. Sofia flatly refuses. In response, Ponti drives the girl away.

Sofia has been trying to make it on her own for a while, acting in low quality, sometimes provocative films. After several failures, she returns to Carlo's office and guards him at the office for severalhours in a row. Sophia was nicknamed "Miss Reception" by Ponti's secretary. Ponti surrenders under such pressure and arranges for the girl the first test. Shikolone is very talented in the role. And soon Sophie becomes the main woman in the work, and then in the personal life of Carlo Ponti.

At first, Carlo helps a young girl disinterestedly: he buys her clothes, teaches her to paint and style her hair, even teaches her to walk, makes her read books. He patiently shows directors and cameramen how to shoot Sophie, what angle to choose. It was Carlo who came up with the stage name for Sophia - Sophia Loren. Every day the girl becomes more beautiful, Carlo can no longer resist his feelings. They begin a whirlwind romance.

7 years after they met, Sophia Loren and Carlo Ponti decide to get married, but encounter unexpected difficulties. Until 1970, divorce was banned in Italy, as the Vatican did not support them. In order to circumvent the law, Carlo hires lawyers. After lengthy consultations, a decision was made - Carlo and his first wife are bred in Mexico in absentia. The marriage of Carlo and Sophie is also registered in absentia in Mexico.

But in Italy, the divorce of Ponti and Giuliana Fiastri is refused to be recognized. Carlo is accused of bigamy, and Sophie of cohabitation before marriage. They appear before the court. Miraculously, they manage to escape prison, they go into hiding and live under false names from 1957 to 1966, until they manage to get a divorce in France. The divorce certificate is signed by J. Pompidou (Prime Minister of France). After that they are alreadywill not part until the death of Carlo.

Children

In the first marriage, Carlo had two children: Gwendaline and Alesandro. Gwen chose to practice as a lawyer, like her grandfather, she has a daughter, Angelica (Ponty's granddaughter). Alex chose to follow his father's example and become a producer.

After several attempts, Sophia Loren gave birth to Carlo Ponti's two children: Carlo and Edoardo. Carlo has become a famous conductor and Edoardo works as a film director.

Ponty Movies

In France, Carlo creates many great paintings. Directors from all over the world dreamed of working with Carlo. In total, Ponti took part in 150 films, 140 of which he produced while in France.

Carlo's most famous films in France:

• 1954 - "The Road". This film gave Carlo real fame. The work was awarded the Oscar and the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
• 1958 - "This type of woman." The film was nominated at the Berlin Film Festival but did not win.
• 1960 - Chochara. The tape has collected a whole scattering of awards: Oscar, Golden Globe, Blue Ribbon, Cannes Film Festival prize.
• 1961 - "A woman is a woman", the film won two awards at the Berlin Film Festival.

• 1963 - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow won David di Donatello, Oscar, Silver Ribbon and Golden Globe awards.
• 1964 - "Italian Marriage"became the winner of the Moscow Film Festival and received the Golden Globe.
• 1972 - "White, red and …". The film did not receive high-profile film awards, but thanks to the participation of Adriano Celentano and Sophia Loren, it was a huge success with the audience.
• 1976 - "Cassandra's Crossing". This is one of the first disaster films in the history of cinema.

Little old world

The tape, filmed in 1941, tells the post-revolutionary story taking place in Lombardy. A young descendant of an aristocratic family, Franco, is brought up by his grandmother and lives quite well, but one fine day he falls in love with a poor girl, Louise, which his grandmother immediately finds out about. Not wanting a marginal wedding, she does her best to upset the happiness of her beloved.

Road

The script for the film "The Road" was invented and embodied on the screen by the famous Frederico Fellini. A difficult dramatic story about circus performers Giampano and his protégé Gelsomina.

Giampano redeems the girl at a young age and teaches her the trade, together they travel and perform. During one performance with a traveling troupe, Gelsomina meets an aerialist and falls in love with him. Giampano kills a gymnast, after which he flees the scene of the crime alone, leaving his protégé behind. A few years later, he returns to these places and learns that the girl has died.

That type of woman

This is a light comedy melodrama set in 1944. Young girl Kay accompanies her friend Jane on a trip. On the train theymeet two handsome guys. Kay is engaged to a rich man. She does not plan to continue the meeting, and after returning home she forgets about it until one and the guys come to her house in search of reciprocity.

Chochara

This is a war drama about a woman, Chezira, and her daughter, who, in an attempt to escape the bombings, leave for a remote place, where they are forced to fight hunger, fear and the death of their close friend.

A woman is a woman

This is a comedic story of a woman who longs to have a baby. The problem is that the men around her refuse to understand.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow

This is a three story movie. The first is based on a true story about a smuggler who gave birth to seven children in order to escape punishment. The second story tells about the affair of a young guy and his we althy girlfriend, who, while trying to escape, learn a lot about each other. Can their love survive these hardships? The third story is comical and tells about a prostitute and a seminary student.

Italian Marriage

A melodrama in which a we althy young man and a poor girl who works as a prostitute meet during the bombing of the city. It would seem that this harmless connection cannot result in anything serious. But fate decrees otherwise. After the war, they meet again, and a little later the guy invites the girl to live with him and take care of his mother. However, he does not intend to marry. 20 years of theirrelationship, a woman wants to get married and comes up with a plan: to pretend to be dying in order to marry a we althy boyfriend. Upon learning of the deception, the man is going to dissolve the marriage. But he finds himself in an awkward position when he learns that in secret from him the woman kept 3 children, and one of them is his son.

White, red and…

A tragedy film about the life of the nun Herman, who took a vow after the death of her lover. A woman goes to work in one of the hospitals in the city, where she meets Annibale, a young man who practically lives in this hospital. They develop an uneasy love relationship. Herman tries to convince the man to stop being afraid of life and leave the walls of the hospital. Soon a man dies during one of the strikes.

Cassandra's Crossing

Last work by Carlo Ponti. A disaster film in which a person working for the World He alth Organization sneaks onto a train to Stockholm. He is the carrier of the plague, obtained by him as a result of a bacterium leak in the organization. They want to destroy all passengers in order to hide information about the leak. People are trying to escape.