Valentino, il film

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Courtesy of Acolyte Films
Valentino The Last Emperor opens in Chicago on March 27, and then on April 3 in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas.

In the last few years, whenever I ran into Matt Tyrnauer, a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, Id ask him how his Valentino movie was going. I remember when he started the project in Rome, shortly after writing a profile of Valentino and his business partner Giancarlo Giammetti and their extraordinary relationship. Matts cameras were at Wideville, Valentinos chateau outside Paris, during the couture shows. Well, if youve seen the documentary, which is at the Film Forum for at least two weeks (the movie opens in Chicago on March 27, and then on April 3 in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas), you know the cameras were always close to Valentino and Giammetti.

The Last Emperor provides an interesting glimpse into the world of haute couture in what may be its last hazy glamorous days. And Matt was lucky: he caught Valentino before his decision to retire and the great weekend party in Rome in July 2007. Last night, the film had its New York premiere, followed by a dinner at the Oak Room. It was, predictably, a very Valentino crowd: Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Hathaway, Claire Danes and others. All week long, Valentino and Giammetti have been making the rounds of the talk shows, starting with Oprah on Monday. Tomorrow, they and Matt will be on Charlie Rose. I had a few questions of my own for the first-time director.

CH: During these TV interviews, have people seen the real Valentino? Hes very protective of his image. How did you get past that?

MT: Thats the thing, nobody ever sees the real Valentino. I told him before we started, Youve got to let loose a little bit and take a chance. Otherwise, youll seem over-privileged and unsympathetic and not human. He didnt want to hear it. He would listen to me for one second. I gave him the same talk, director to star, for a couple of years. You know, when Valentino and Giammetti first saw the movie they freaked out. They werent prepared. I had a contract that gave me final cuta very hard-won contract. I wouldnt have made the movie without it. I think its a warts-and-all portrait, but you see the warm soul of Valentino.

CH: Now that the movie is out, how do they feel?

MT: I think they were very brave to do it from the beginning. Its got to be difficult when youre a perfectionist to see yourself 30 feet high, for 90 minutes. It got really intimate. I found what I consider to be a love story between Valentino and Giammetti. Thats what you see on the screen, and theyre rather private about all that. I think that was kind of getting to them. Then, when it was accepted to the Venice Film Festival, I think they saw that there was something here. At the world premiere [last September], Valentino was in the balcony with Giammetti, and after the movie about 1,600 people rose to their feet, turned, and gave him a prolonged standing ovation. He burst into tears. And he waved majestically from the balcony. Valentino and Giammetti embraced the film after that, because they saw that the public also embraced them and their story.

CH: Did they try to get any scenes removed?

MT: Yeah, of course, they tried but I really dug my heels in and we didnt do it. We had the essential document that any filmmaker must have in order to complete their own work and protect it. They knew that, but it didnt stop them from making some very forceful suggestions. No one who knows them would be surprised about that. They were just full of doubts because they hadnt seen it with other people. I kept saying to them, Watch it with people other than your immediate family. As you know, theres an entourage around them. I think it became a very disorienting period for them. Valentino had just retired, and I think he was very much out of sorts because of that. Anyway, they have embraced it. Valentino is very interesting on it. He told me, There are many things I dont like in this movie, that I prefer not to have been seen, but you see me how I am and I have to accept that. When someones a real pro, I find they ultimately come to that conclusion. Its a sign of professionalism.

CH: I wondered how the film will connect with general audiences. Valentino is so detached from real life, and in a way quite isolated.

MT: I dont think of the movie as a tribute to excess, or a celebration of opulence. It actually casts a relatively cold eye on it. I want audiences to take away from it what they will. In terms of making Valentino an accessible character, fashion is the backdrop here. Its the relationship between the two of them thats a universal story. It just so happens that theyre two of the richest men in Rome. But any time you have two people who have survived a half century together, who are so connected and clearly have this deep love for one anotherthat is universal. People really connect with that. Also, I think people want to look into worlds that are not their own. Thats why I encouraged Valentino to not phony-it up and to let it hang out a little bit.

CH: I love the scene when theyre planning the Rome party and Valentino weighs in with his opinion of Giammettis initial plan to have a circus theme. He was just crushing.

MT: [laughs] Exactly. I think thats the professional dynamic between them. Giammetti would put a draft out there, and after so many years he knows that Valentinos going to come in and just stomp on it. Exert his dominancebecause hes Valentino. Its his name thats on the door, after all. And they take that very seriously. Giancarlo and Valentino are equal partners but the power games between them are amazing. Id be exhausted living like that for five minutes. Theyve done it 24/7 for a half century. Thats extraordinary by itself. I think its also a great partnership that really works. The scene you mention is amazing. Giancarlo has gone off in this circus direction and you just know Valentino is going to hate it. Theyre talking about carts with hamburgers on them, and Valentino looks like hes about to vomit.

CH: Did you get the idea to do a documentary after you met them for the VF profile?

MT: I love Rome, and I was thinking, Two weeks in RomeThen I found Valentino and Giancarlo and I was very intrigued by the relationship, and thats really what I wrote about. Giancarlo let me write about that, and I think for both the article and this movie it was really time for them. They had kept that relationship from the press, although they talk to the press all the time. But for the Vanity Fair piece, they really talked about being partners, about being gay, and having this kind of extended family. Anyway, the two of them together seemed to say a movie to me. We had survived the Vanity Fair piece, without a divorce, and we were having dinner in Rome and I just popped the question. Would you consider making a movie? They were intrigued. A few weeks later I flew back to Rome and they said yes.

CH: Where did you get funding?

MT: Private equity. At the time we started there was a lot of it floating around, especially for independent movies. But, as with every project, the funding seems to disappear. We were no different, we had that experience. But for the most part the funding came without difficulty.

CH: Considering the drama of the past two years, with his retirement and the Rome party, you really lucked out with timing.

MT: Totally. I think Valentino was ambivalent about retiring. One day hed wake up and say, Enough of this. And then that evening hed change his mind again. You know that he and Giammetti are Olympic mind-changers. I mean, Ive never seen anything like. It can range from the type of pasta at lunch to a round-the-world trip that will be rescheduled minutes before takeoff.

CH: How did you deal with that?

MT: OMG, it was the hardest thing. First of all, we were making this movie when the euro was at its highest, so we had to decide very carefully when to shoot. And we were commuting between New York and Rome. We had to really plan and know what they were doingand they dont tell you what theyre doing. And when they know what theyre doing, they change their minds five minutes later. That was an enormous challenge. Then wed get to Rome. I would go to see Giancarlo first in his officethat Italian dictator-size officeand hed come in. Theyre always trussed up in ties and perfectly fitted suits. Id greet Giancarlo, and by this point he is someone I know extremely well. And hed say, Hello, my darling. So tell me what brings you to Rome? Meanwhile there would be 15 metal cases in the hallway, a soundman, producers. Of course, Giancarlo knew what he was doing. I love the Italians more than any other people, but they have their ways. And both of them have the Italian terror of seeming overly eager. So we would have this minuet at the beginning of every shoot about the very fact of shooting. It was almost an existential thing.

CH: Since the film was completed, the new owners of his company have already changed designers. I wonder what Valentino must think.

MT: When you leave something thats been yours for 50 years, which you built with your own hands, I think it must be difficult to see other people running the company. I think Valentino only cares about what Valentino did, and thats the way all designers are. I dont think you can be them without being that way.

Courtesy of Acolyte Films
Valentino The Last Emperor opens in Chicago on March 27, and then on April 3 in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas.

In the last few years, whenever I ran into Matt Tyrnauer, a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, Id ask him how his Valentino movie was going. I remember when he started the project in Rome, shortly after writing a profile of Valentino and his business partner Giancarlo Giammetti and their extraordinary relationship. Matts cameras were at Wideville, Valentinos chateau outside Paris, during the couture shows. Well, if youve seen the documentary, which is at the Film Forum for at least two weeks (the movie opens in Chicago on March 27, and then on April 3 in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas), you know the cameras were always close to Valentino and Giammetti.

The Last Emperor provides an interesting glimpse into the world of haute couture in what may be its last hazy glamorous days. And Matt was lucky: he caught Valentino before his decision to retire and the great weekend party in Rome in July 2007. Last night, the film had its New York premiere, followed by a dinner at the Oak Room. It was, predictably, a very Valentino crowd: Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Hathaway, Claire Danes and others. All week long, Valentino and Giammetti have been making the rounds of the talk shows, starting with Oprah on Monday. Tomorrow, they and Matt will be on Charlie Rose. I had a few questions of my own for the first-time director.

CH: During these TV interviews, have people seen the real Valentino? Hes very protective of his image. How did you get past that?

MT: Thats the thing, nobody ever sees the real Valentino. I told him before we started, Youve got to let loose a little bit and take a chance. Otherwise, youll seem over-privileged and unsympathetic and not human. He didnt want to hear it. He would listen to me for one second. I gave him the same talk, director to star, for a couple of years. You know, when Valentino and Giammetti first saw the movie they freaked out. They werent prepared. I had a contract that gave me final cuta very hard-won contract. I wouldnt have made the movie without it. I think its a warts-and-all portrait, but you see the warm soul of Valentino.

CH: Now that the movie is out, how do they feel?

MT: I think they were very brave to do it from the beginning. Its got to be difficult when youre a perfectionist to see yourself 30 feet high, for 90 minutes. It got really intimate. I found what I consider to be a love story between Valentino and Giammetti. Thats what you see on the screen, and theyre rather private about all that. I think that was kind of getting to them. Then, when it was accepted to the Venice Film Festival, I think they saw that there was something here. At the world premiere [last September], Valentino was in the balcony with Giammetti, and after the movie about 1,600 people rose to their feet, turned, and gave him a prolonged standing ovation. He burst into tears. And he waved majestically from the balcony. Valentino and Giammetti embraced the film after that, because they saw that the public also embraced them and their story.

CH: Did they try to get any scenes removed?

MT: Yeah, of course, they tried but I really dug my heels in and we didnt do it. We had the essential document that any filmmaker must have in order to complete their own work and protect it. They knew that, but it didnt stop them from making some very forceful suggestions. No one who knows them would be surprised about that. They were just full of doubts because they hadnt seen it with other people. I kept saying to them, Watch it with people other than your immediate family. As you know, theres an entourage around them. I think it became a very disorienting period for them. Valentino had just retired, and I think he was very much out of sorts because of that. Anyway, they have embraced it. Valentino is very interesting on it. He told me, There are many things I dont like in this movie, that I prefer not to have been seen, but you see me how I am and I have to accept that. When someones a real pro, I find they ultimately come to that conclusion. Its a sign of professionalism.

CH: I wondered how the film will connect with general audiences. Valentino is so detached from real life, and in a way quite isolated.

MT: I dont think of the movie as a tribute to excess, or a celebration of opulence. It actually casts a relatively cold eye on it. I want audiences to take away from it what they will. In terms of making Valentino an accessible character, fashion is the backdrop here. Its the relationship between the two of them thats a universal story. It just so happens that theyre two of the richest men in Rome. But any time you have two people who have survived a half century together, who are so connected and clearly have this deep love for one anotherthat is universal. People really connect with that. Also, I think people want to look into worlds that are not their own. Thats why I encouraged Valentino to not phony-it up and to let it hang out a little bit.

CH: I love the scene when theyre planning the Rome party and Valentino weighs in with his opinion of Giammettis initial plan to have a circus theme. He was just crushing.

MT: [laughs] Exactly. I think thats the professional dynamic between them. Giammetti would put a draft out there, and after so many years he knows that Valentinos going to come in and just stomp on it. Exert his dominancebecause hes Valentino. Its his name thats on the door, after all. And they take that very seriously. Giancarlo and Valentino are equal partners but the power games between them are amazing. Id be exhausted living like that for five minutes. Theyve done it 24/7 for a half century. Thats extraordinary by itself. I think its also a great partnership that really works. The scene you mention is amazing. Giancarlo has gone off in this circus direction and you just know Valentino is going to hate it. Theyre talking about carts with hamburgers on them, and Valentino looks like hes about to vomit.

CH: Did you get the idea to do a documentary after you met them for the VF profile?

MT: I love Rome, and I was thinking, Two weeks in RomeThen I found Valentino and Giancarlo and I was very intrigued by the relationship, and thats really what I wrote about. Giancarlo let me write about that, and I think for both the article and this movie it was really time for them. They had kept that relationship from the press, although they talk to the press all the time. But for the Vanity Fair piece, they really talked about being partners, about being gay, and having this kind of extended family. Anyway, the two of them together seemed to say a movie to me. We had survived the Vanity Fair piece, without a divorce, and we were having dinner in Rome and I just popped the question. Would you consider making a movie? They were intrigued. A few weeks later I flew back to Rome and they said yes.

CH: Where did you get funding?

MT: Private equity. At the time we started there was a lot of it floating around, especially for independent movies. But, as with every project, the funding seems to disappear. We were no different, we had that experience. But for the most part the funding came without difficulty.

CH: Considering the drama of the past two years, with his retirement and the Rome party, you really lucked out with timing.

MT: Totally. I think Valentino was ambivalent about retiring. One day hed wake up and say, Enough of this. And then that evening hed change his mind again. You know that he and Giammetti are Olympic mind-changers. I mean, Ive never seen anything like. It can range from the type of pasta at lunch to a round-the-world trip that will be rescheduled minutes before takeoff.

CH: How did you deal with that?

MT: OMG, it was the hardest thing. First of all, we were making this movie when the euro was at its highest, so we had to decide very carefully when to shoot. And we were commuting between New York and Rome. We had to really plan and know what they were doingand they dont tell you what theyre doing. And when they know what theyre doing, they change their minds five minutes later. That was an enormous challenge. Then wed get to Rome. I would go to see Giancarlo first in his officethat Italian dictator-size officeand hed come in. Theyre always trussed up in ties and perfectly fitted suits. Id greet Giancarlo, and by this point he is someone I know extremely well. And hed say, Hello, my darling. So tell me what brings you to Rome? Meanwhile there would be 15 metal cases in the hallway, a soundman, producers. Of course, Giancarlo knew what he was doing. I love the Italians more than any other people, but they have their ways. And both of them have the Italian terror of seeming overly eager. So we would have this minuet at the beginning of every shoot about the very fact of shooting. It was almost an existential thing.

CH: Since the film was completed, the new owners of his company have already changed designers. I wonder what Valentino must think.

MT: When you leave something thats been yours for 50 years, which you built with your own hands, I think it must be difficult to see other people running the company. I think Valentino only cares about what Valentino did, and thats the way all designers are. I dont think you can be them without being that way.

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