The time is 10,30AM; the date Feb. 8, 1975; the place Terni, Umbria: that’s when Leonardo’s eyes first see the light. Some say he was born with a comic book in his hands; other claim his first word is “B-B-Batman!”.
Legend aside, it’s a known fact that he learns reading thanks to Spiderman and Daredevil: until, one unfortunate day he discovers the existence of the X-Men, and for him that’s the beginning of the end. From that moment on he will be convinced his mission on Earth is to find an Adamantium skeleton.
When he finds out that comics are not Reality and that he’s not Bruce Wayne he will first flog himself with his Granma-sown felt Batarang, then he’ll switch his Earth Mission to comic books drawing. It is then that he realizes he can’t draw!
That’s when he discovers TV, deciding to spend his next ten years (between age 6 and 16) in a pre-teen orgy of cartoons and Animes... until he stumbles upon Twin Peaks and X-Files.
This time he will fall prey to American TV serials – eventually setting his mind to write ALL of them: comics, cartoons and TV series; his ‘genre of choice’ will be... horrors, thrillers, hard-boiled... and a dash of science-fiction.
At 19 he once again changes direction and turns to music: he learns to play the electric bass and founds 10-or-so bands, from pop to hardcore, from fusion to grunge: his schizophrenia is now boundless. None of these groups will survive, but teaming up with some former members Leonardo creates Urbaga, a pop-rock ensemble that will record a demo-tape. Only a whack on the side of his head – courtesy of his bass neck - will set him to the right course.
Thus, aged 22 he writes and directs “I command you!”, a live-action short heavily influenced by Tex Avery and Japanese Animes. He edits the material at home in three days, with just two VCRs hooked together; what little sanity he was left with quickly dissipates in the process.
Shortly after, during a trip to Barcellona, he has a mystical enligthment, and comes back dressed as an Indian guru. It’s in such altered state that he meets his future wife Barbara. Why she ever fell in love with him is the deepest mystery of all.
1997: Barbara volunteers as director’s assistant on the set of “Life is beautiful”.
Leonardo is chosen as an extra for the same film (he’ll play a deported Jew: easy task, since at the time he looks like Christian Bale in “The machinist”...).
It’s their first meeting: they will only talk for a couple of minutes. Who could imagine that a few months later they will be an item?
They’re drawn together by the common passion for movies, and start planning right away to write and direct assorted zany projects.
Their first script is “A matter of Spirit”, a tribute to Bram Stoker, John Carpenter and Nando Cicero (!).
Someone even crazier than its authors decides to award it: the Festival of Saint Vincent will end up producing the short, shot in 3-days time on Hi-8 with analog editing and an all-Ternan cast & crew.
Yet unfulfilled, the Dynamic Duo sets out to film another short, in Betacam this time, produced by Rossella Belli and Sonia Berrettini (now owners of PARS Film).
The pic is called “Amorsi” (a gastronomic love story between a cook and his female customer, with an ultra-splatter ending) and is invited to a number of Festivals, where it’s well received by public and critics alike.
By now the duo has reached a familiar crossroads: should they stay amateurs or turn Pros? They choose the second path, setting direction aside and specializing on writing. After taking two seminars funded by RAI and MEDIASET, they are finally hired by Pietro Valsecchi and Camilla Nesbitt’s TAODUE.
And this is where their shiny TV career starts.
In 2003 they will be joined in marriage. Could it be a normal wedding? No way! The scenery of choice? The Nevada desert...
They’re currently dividing their time between Rome and the Umbrian country, along with their two splendid Dalmatians… |
