He made his debut with “Return to the Future” in 1985 and was Cal Hockley in “Titanic”; He played the role of the disturbing Hugie Warriner in “10 am: flat calm” and those of Lieutenant Valentine in “Memphis Belle”. Billy Zane, great talent almost predestined for roles as antagonist in cult films of the 80s and 90s, received the Taormina Excellence Award at the Film Festival for his incredible career.
At the event, in addition to dialogue with the public in a masterclass, he presented “Int.hallway/night” out of competition, his debut for direction. A metacinematographic black comedy on infidelity, with a rather bizarre plot. Three people (Zane, Helena Mattsson and Matthew Jacob) wake up in an apartment without remembering their names and identities, not realizing that he is death and finding himself in Purgatory, victims of a murder-suicide by jealousy that took place on the set of a horror. “Suddenly it looks like a Cassavetes film with murder and jealousy situations,” Zane told the press, telling that he had been involved in the production in a project that was initially an existentialist thriller. «The only way to make it work was to break the fourth wall, showing the Making of of the film as in the” night effect “of Truffaut. There is also a little Sartre and Fellini of “Eight and a half”, in which, through the director’s gaze, his interpersonal relationships are experienced ». A real challenge, made in just seven days of shooting of improvisation.
Lover of Italy and fans of Paolo Sorrentino, with whom he would love to work, Zane recalls the experience with Carlo Vanzina in “billions”. “Carlo taught me to make the shoe with the sauce – he remembers – it was the first time I came to this country to turn and do it with Carlo and a wonderful cast made me feel pampered”. At the same time as “Int.hallway/night”, the actor and director will be Marlon Brando in the biopic “Waltzing with Brando” by Bill Fishman, in the room in September after the world premiere at the Turin Film Festival 2024. Interpreting it I imagined how he would have – he said – Libero, like a jazz musician. notoriety.
Olivia Wilde, one of the most influential professionals of contemporary cinema, also awarded the Antico Theater.
Face of Alex Kelly in the series “The OC” and Dr. Remy Beauregard Hadley called “Thirteen” in “Dr.house”, among the protagonists of films such as “Cowboys & Aliens” “Rush”, “Lei” and “Third person”, the American actress, director and producer received the Taormina Creativity Award for distinguishing with works that unite deeply Emotional, irony and a modern look at social and cultural dynamics. Among these, the Royal “The revenge of the bad luck” (2019) and “Don’t Worry Darling” (2022), acclaimed worldwide, as well as various documentaries.