#diabolik

Luca, Novembre 2021

I actually quite enjoyed Diabolik!

It’s strange to see Luca so affectless, because he’s so expressive in literally every other movie I’ve seen him in, but that just drove home to me that this was a choice (of his? of the director’s? of both?) based on the source material. And it works to some degree - part of the intrigue is that you never quite know how Daibolik will realize his goals, so the fact that his face betrays nothing keeps you guessing. (In the last few scenes, for example, I felt reasonably sure he was not in the vault but actually one of the firemen, ha!)

I love that Walter is an anti-hero. He gaslights his wife horribly, and has clearly been using her for … what?  Credibility? He kills people because they get in his way. Not all of the people he kills are morally compromised, although he clearly has no qualms in creating terrible scenarios for people who are. And yet you root for him! I’m always fascinated when movies (or novels, or comic books) pull that off, and you end up uncomfortably hoping that the bad guy wins. And “bad guy” is overly simplistic, too, because he clearly has an ethical code, or at least a set of principles that he lives by, it’s just not a straight-up goodone.

Eva is great. She’s just as much of an anti-hero as Walter, she is so skilled at using other people’s presumptions about her to her advantage, and she has a killer wardrobe. I love that she’s calculated and thoughtful and that her shady past is apparently that she sang in a gangster bar?  (There’s likely more there, but the fact that what we saw of her file was her singing sultrily cracked me up.)

I cackled in several places where the filmmakers would not have wanted me to (especially Luca underwater in the vault). I had to handwave the idea that Eva and Walter were powerfully and immediately attracted to each other, because while I certainly understood her curiosity, I didn’t get what was in it for him, and they didn’t really have chemistry. It’s a silly movie, but all told, I had fun watching it. A pleasant way to spend the evening.

[ID. An edited graphic featuring the actor Luca Marinelli holding a microphone and wearing a shirt that reads: “Pen Paper Peace.“ Above the frame are the words “lmzine 2022 - charity zine” in gradient font, and to the right a gradient font that reads “update.” The background is blue hues of watercolor splashes, and a vector of blue torn paper. END ID.]

We just wanted to share a quick update: since we’ve gone live four days ago, we’ve already had several sign ups - including merch artists - as well as soft commitments from a few more.

In the application form, our content creators are asked which top three Luca characters they would like to work on and here are some of the replies - some characters definitly had more than one request ;)

• Nicky from The Old Guard
• Primo from Trust FX
• Cesare from Don’t Be Bad
• Guido from Every Blessed Day
• Walter Dorian from Diabolik
• Martin Eden from Martin Eden
• Fabrizio de Andre from Fabrizio de Andre
• Pietro from The Eight Mountains
• Lui from Ricordi?
• Gabriele from Waves

So there will definitely be some variety for the digital zine in October On Monday I’ll be sharing a digital mock up of a potential merch bundle we will launch with the kickstarter campaign in the fall - and until then, if you’re interested please feel free to browse through the following links at any time.

Introduction•FAQ•Applications

Danger: Diabolik (1968)

Director - Mario Bava, Cinematography - Antonio Rinaldi

“The whole underworld worries me less than a single man, Diabolik.”

Marisa Mell photographed by Gianni Ferrari in the “Parque Guell”, Barcelona, Spain, 1969.⭐️

When the sequel to Netflix’s THE OLD GUARD was confirmed, the filming date was due to be early 2022. While it is still early 2022 the only indication that the sequel is gearing up is an Instagram post from KiKi Layne who plays Nile Freeman.

Other than that, nothing. Nothing from director Victoria Mahoney who takes over helming duties from Gina Prince Blythewood, nothing from Matthias Schoenaerts who is living his best life,

nothing from Marwan Kenzari who came out of hiding to present at the European Film Awards at the end of last year with terrible hair.

Nothing from Charlize Theron who congratulated Veronica Ngo (Qyunh) on her engagement.

And you definitely know there is nothing from Luca Marinelli.

What has been up with bello Luca? DIABOLIK was released and now available on DVD in Italy. The film was also recently nominated for 11 David di Donatello awards including Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor.

Though it was already confirmed by multiple sources, including a set video with the new Diabolik, it is press official that the new Diabolik is GREY’S ANATOMY vet Giacomo Gianniotti.

In the interview DIABOLIK directors The Manetti Bros. gives scheduling conflicts as the official reason why Marinelli couldn’t return for the two sequels. The lockdown pushed the filming date back and Marinelli already had another film commitment. I assume it was THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS/ LE OTTO MONTAGNE based on the novel by Paolo Cognetti and adapted for the screen and directed by Felix van Groeningen (BEAUTIFUL BOY) and his professional and romantic partner Charlotte Vandermeersch.

Luca’s name was inserted in a bit of gossip in late February when it was being reported that footballer Francesco Totti and wife Ilary Blasi were possibly splitting due to Totti’s infidelity and that Ilary was finding comfort in the arms of Luca.

That is the exact expression I would have on my face if people started mixing my name up in drama.

Pretty much.

While we await further signs of life from Luca, we will get to see him in an upcoming editorial for Fantastic Man magazine. Writer/director Luca Guadagnino (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME) oversees the issue directed some of his favourite performers including Kyle MacLachlan and Josh O'Connor (THE CROWN).

And for no reason here’s L'il Luca, sister Giorgia, father Eugenio Nicola Marinelli and his stepmother.