The new comedy remake of the French cult Dix pour cent debuts on January 20 on Sky and in streaming on NOW: it was presented in Rome by Sky, the actors, the director Luca Ribuoli and the screenwriter Lisa Nur Sultan.
Making an adaptation of a huge international blockbuster is always a feat that requires courage and originality. But Sky he did not want to shirk the challenge and thought it well to rummage in the Italian star system by relying on the director Luca Ribuoli (I was hoping de died earlier, The mafia only kills in the summer, We) and the screenwriter Lisa Nur Sultan (On my skin, Circeo, Beata Te) giving us already in January one of the most awaited series of the year: Call My Agent – Italiacomedy remake of the acclaimed French series Ten percent (note with the international title of Call My Agent!). What was it like to pay homage to and, at the same time, make fun of Italian cinema and its protagonists? And what has been done to transform the typical humor of the original French series into a comedy that works on our stars? Looking forward to the debut of the series (coming from 20 th January are Sky Serie e in streaming su NOW ), the representatives of Sky, the producer, told us today Charles Degli EspostiRibuoli and Nur Sultan along with the full-bodied and enthusiastic cast that includes Michael DiMauro, Sara Drago, Maurice Lastrico, Marzia Ubaldi, Emmanuel Fanelli, Paola Buratto, Sarah Lazarus e He says who participated in the Press conference presentation of the series, in Rome (e Francis Russoabsent because he is currently working on a set).
The plot of Call My Agent – Italy
Call My Agent – Italia tells in 6 episodes the vicissitudes of a powerful entertainment agency and the stories of his partners, grappling with the careers of the biggest stars of Italian cinema. The actor management agency at the center of the story, the CMA (Claudio Maiorana Agency), is based in Rome, the city of cinema par excellence. Thus we follow the events, between work and private life, of his charismatic agents and their assistants. The result is an ironic and irreverent journey behind the scenes of our showbiz.
Call My Agent – Italy: Adapting a success among successes
Antonella d’ErricoEVP Programming Sky Italia, underlined how to make a debut in 2023 with Call My Agent – Italia is a source of great pride, especially in a moment considered “the culmination of the golden age of seriality”. “Just think that, I’m in the USA, over 850 titles were produced in 2022. This requires us to reflect on what can really ‘pierce’ this background noise”, added d’Errico. There is a lot of confidence in the project and its ability to endear both audiences and critics. “It has a history of success, but also because the Italian version managed to bring a French humor to a typically Italian style. And then it is the first time that an Italian series gathers such a consistent star system“, according to Sky Italia’s EVP Programming.
The second season has already been confirmed, keyword: originality
Sonia RovaiSenior Director Scripted Productions Sky Studios, wanted to confirm that, precisely because of the enthusiasm that has generated the series, the second season is already being worked on Of Call My Agent – Italia. The guiding star followed and to be followed has always been the originality. “For us, adaptations are rare because we like to give the Sky imprint. This series is the exception that proves the rule, especially thanks to the pen of Lisa Nur Sultan, the director and the cast. We have revised some horizontal stories and they have arrived Some suggestions from the talent too. They worked with Lisa on some stories that fit them,” he stressed.
Carlo Degli Esposti, producer of Palomar, also spoke about the creation of Call My Agent – Italia as of a challenge won: “The challenge was not having a break in a beautiful format. The creator of the original series, when he saw the edited version, said ‘I’m almost jealous of the result'”. The credit also goes to truly exceptional guest stars who immediately lent themselves to interpreting colorful versions of themselves: Paula Cortellesi, Paolo Sorrentino, Pierfrancesco Favino e Anna Ferzetti, Matilda De Angelis, Stephen Accorsi e Conrad Guzzanti who in the various episodes give a hard time to the CMA agents. “There wasn’t a line outside because we didn’t say it too much and seats filled up almost immediately. We were lucky that everyone agreed,” explained Lisa Nur Sultan.
The screenwriter did not hide that she threw herself into the project with a certain recklessness. “We started thinking it was a strong idea, then The pressures have arrived because there are those who said that in Italy we don’t have starsthat the series was untouchable, that there was no Italian star system”, she observed. But, in the end, she focused on the core of the story: a workplace that becomes a family, from which careers can start or where they can stop.
A close-knit and well-matched cast
Speaking of the cast, the director Luca Ribuoli claimed the excellent job done in choosing the actors – both those in their first experience like Paola Buratto and the expert Marzia Ubaldi (The predators, Suburra – The series) – also bringing back the compliments of the talents who have appeared in the series, especially those of Paolo Sorrentino. Just Ubaldi, who confessed that she had not seen the French series, said she convinced herself to accept the role of Elvira, the agency’s oldest and most experienced agent, because she, in turn, had faith in Ribuoli. “Our series will be even more beautiful than the French one. I personally don’t like French comedy. And then we are much better at it. They were great colleagues, I really liked them all,” the actress joked.
Sara Drago, who plays the very rigid and well-prepared agent Lea Martelli (a character that corresponds to Andréa Martel played by Camille Cottin in the original series), underlined how Ribuoli helped her not to fall “into the speck of bitch”. “I leveraged my being from Brianza. It was a lot of fun,” she added. Michele di Mauro, who plays the lawyer in one piece Vittorio Baronciani, underlined the complex world of his character, “a husband, father, man and also a serious professional in an agency that doesn’t even exist in Italy. A fantastic agency, with the top of the top”.
Emanuela Fanelli, who plays the extravagant actress Luana Pericoli in the series, spoke about mythomania that often afflicts starswhich is also the engine that drives her character forward: “Luana pours all her frustrations out on her agent Elvira, with a surprise at the end. Mythomania is something that affects all of us actors. It was a lot of fun for me to joke on the category, making fun of myself first”.
Rome: A protagonist city
Naturally, in a series that talks about our showbiz, Rome could only be the protagonist. The CMA office has a stunning view of Piazza del Popolo and in the series there are some of the classic locations for events and previews, from MAXXI all’Music Park Auditorium. “Even Rome, the city of cinema, has contributed to this reality-fiction short circuit whereby in our series there are agents played by actors”, noted Luca Ribuoli.
We just have to enjoy the vision of Call My Agent – Italiawhich arrives from January 20 every Friday on Sky Serie, also on demand, and streaming on NOW.
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