Gianni Nunnari
Gianni Nunnari (born 10 August 1959) is an Italian film and television producer and executive.[1]
After completing his studies, he followed the footsteps of his father, Alexander Nunnari, and began his career in the film business. He is the father of two girls, Giulia, from a previous marriage, and Caterina, with actress Vanessa Hessler, whom he currently resides with in Malibu.
Career
After graduating from Pareto college, Gianni began his career working at Dick Randall, a Hong Kong-based foreign sales company, known for distributing Bruce Le, Bruce Li and also the very first Jackie Chan movies.[2] Soon after the death of his father, he joined Mario Cecchi Gori and his son, Vittorio, to export their commercial italian feature films.
Hollywood
At age 25, Gianni moved to Hollywood to expand the market horizon and product slate for Cecchi Gori Pictures and distribute European films for the US market.[3] Some of the titles include Mediterraneo, Il postino and also the Oscar-winning Life is Beautiful. After some successful years, he was appointed to overview Penta Films, alongside Cecchi Gori and Silvio Berlusconi, to produce Hollywood commercial movies in the style of the Cecchi Gori films. [4] Following his accomplishments in production, Gianni decided to expand his business knowledge into other type of entrepreneurial by opening the popular Los Angeles restaurant Ago, with one of his partners Meir, owner of the critically acclaimed Nobu chain of Nobu Matsuhisa and Robert De Niro.[5]
Late 90s
In the late 90s he founded his own production company, Hollywood Gang Productions (HPG). The company went on to produce big budget commercials spots, and became one of the pioneers in using big Hollywood stars, such as Oscar-winners Robert De Niro and director Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso). After developing Se7en right before opening HGP, which became a hit, Gianni then approached his best friend Meir about a small vampire movie he liked. They went to finance and produce From Dusk Till Dawn, starring George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino for Miramax. It was Clooney’s first movie for the big screen and became an instant success and a cult classic, with millions of followers.
Hollywood Gang Productions
Film production became an unquestionable path and Hollywood Gang Productions went to develop and produce successful films like the 300 franchise, Immortals and several others. In 2016, HGP produced their first TV show, Start Up, released by Sony's streaming services Crackle. With several films and TV shows in development, HGP is currently in production for the anticipated thriller The Domestics, one of the first films to be released by the recently revived Orion Pictures, under the label of MGM Studios.[6]
Lawsuits
In 2010, Nunnari sued fellow producer Vittorio Cecchi Gori over the termination of his contract with the company. Gori counter-sued claiming fraud, alleging that Nunnari had been funneling profits from Cecchi Gori Pictures into HGP. The court dismissed Nunnari's claimed and awarded Cecchi Gori with monetary compensation and the rights to the film adaptation Shusaku Endos Silence, a film Gianni developed for over 20 years. Nunnari's legal team appealed the decision and a settlement agreement was reached by both parties. [7]
Producing Credits
Film Credits
Year | Title | Director | Box Office | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | Se7en | David Fincher | $327.3 million[8] | as executive producer |
1996 | From Dusk Till Dawn | Robert Rodriguez | $25.8 million[9] | as producer |
1997 | The Blackout | Abel Ferrara | $0.11 million | as co-executive producer |
1999 | From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money | Scott Spiegel | as producer | |
1999 | From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter | P. J. Pesce | as producer | |
2004 | Alexander | Oliver Stone | $167.3 million[10] | as executive producer |
2005 | O Casamento de Romeu e Julieta | Bruno Barreto | as executive producer | |
2006 | The Departed | Martin Scorsese | $289.8 million[11] | as executive producer |
2006 | N (Io e Napoleone) | Paolo Virzì | as producer | |
2006 | 300 | Zack Snyder | $456.1 million[12] | as producer |
2009 | Everybody's Fine | Kirk Jones | $16.4 million[13] | as producer |
2010 | Shutter Island | Martin Scorsese | $294.8 million[14] | as executive producer |
2011 | Immortals | Tarsem Singh | $226.9 million[15] | as producer |
2014 | 300: Rise of an Empire | Noam Murro | $337.6 million[16] | as producer |
2016 | Silence | Martin Scorsese | $27.3 million | as executive producer |
Television Credits
Year | Title | Director | Original Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | StartUp | Ben Ketai | September 6, 2016[17] | as executive producer |
References
- Simpson, David (November 8, 2011). "Gianni Nunnari & Mark Canton: 'Immortals' Producers". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
- Frater, Patrick. "Gianni Nunnari Talks Rights, Remakes and Real Life Heroes".
- Galloway, Stephen. "Martin Scorsese's Journey From Near-Death Drug Addict to 'Silence'".
- Ayscough, Suzan. "Berlusconi cuts off PentAmerica".
- Wire Image. "Ago Grand Opening".
- Frater, Patrick. "Gianni Nunnari Talks Rights, Remakes and Real Life Heroes".
- Cieply, Michael (2016-05-29). "Gawker Case Calls Attention to a Go-To Hollywood Lawyer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
- "Seven (1995) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
- "From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
- "Alexander (2004) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
- "The Departed (2006) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
- "300 (2007) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
- "Everybody's Fine (2009) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
- "Shutter Island (2010) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
- "Immortals (2011) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
- "300: Rise of An Empire (2014) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
- StartUp, 2016-09-06, retrieved 2016-12-01