Antonio Tentori
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Cosi Perversa were recently privileged to speak to Italian screenwriter and cinema writer Antonio Tentori about his career, working alongside greats such Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento in the horror industry and that praying mantis. Antonio is very much someone we admire here thanks to his unwavering support of the genre, his positive can-do attitude and just as importantly because he is genuinely a nice man who is flying the flag for the Italian horror scene both behind the camera and, when required, in front of it.
CP: How did you break into the film business and did you always know that you wanted to write stories?
AT: Writing has always been my biggest passion and since I was a kid I really wanted to write for film. I started working general roles in some films (for example Yado by Richard Fleischer, which was shot in Italy) and then I was assistant to the director Antonio Bido (Barcamenandoci), Tonino Valerii (Sicilian Connection) and Lucio Fulci (Demonia). This path was necessary for me to get to screenwriting.
CP: You worked alongside the late great Lucio Fulci with him giving you an introduction to the industry with 'Demonia' and a start with the meta-film 'A Cat in the Brain'. How did you find this baptism of fire?
AT: Lucio Fulci was my teacher, I would not have done anything without his help. Starting with him taught me so much and even now I keep his valuable advice and follow his instructions. I experienced my "baptism of fire" as rightly you call it, in a state of perpetual enthusiasm, almost of exaltation. It was an unforgettable moment, magical.
CP: What was the most important lesson that you learned working with Lucio Fulci?
AT: To know and work with Lucio Fulci, I repeat, it was crucial. He taught me that cinema is art, work, professionalism. Essentials for a screenwriter, together with the visionary and surreal touch that has always characterized the cinema of Fulci and to which I am bound.
CP: At what point did you realise that you had made it as a screenwriter and do you feel that those working in horror get the credit that they deserve?
AT: The awareness of being scriptwriter came later. At first I was just happy to have contributed to the realisation of any films with directors with whom I loved, as Fulci and Aristide Massaccesi. The satisfactions came over time, not immediately. But I feel that the trials and challenges that we overcome drive us to move forward and always do better.
CP: When you write what is your usual process?
AT: When I write a story I follow the main idea, which takes place then the whole narrative. It is a kind of writing not far from the script, in the sense that I begin with a starting point and continue on with the various drama branches of the story. It is clear that each story is independent and then each time the way I write is different. For some descriptions it is necessary to (perform) research and documentation about places, environments or chosen topics. In any case, I use my imagination.
CP: With Italian being your native language but the majority of the films being shot or dubbed in English, do you write your draft scripts in Italian or English? And how much gets lost in translation?
AT: I write in Italian. Something inevitably gets lost in translation, but not the essence of the story you want to tell. A good translator must be able to know and keep in English that which is (conveyed) in the original text.
CP: For a screenwriter, what would you say has been the biggest challenge in ensuring that your vision comes across or do you simply put your trust in the director to do the best by your work?
AT: The first task that I set when I write is that my ideas have their narrative coherence and even the most delirious story may have its own internal logic. It’s clear that the director is then shown my work and must visualise it to the best of their ability, then adapt it to their own style and sensibility.
Antonio Tentori showreel. Video copyright of LUPA Film. Reproduced in the spirit of promotion.
CP: A significant amount of time passed between 'Frankenstein 2000 – Ritorno dalla morte’ and your return to the industry with the fantastic Sergio Stivaletti’s ‘The three faces of horror’ (I tre volti del terrore’). What prompted this hiatus?
AT: It is true, between these two films ten years have passed. But they are years in which I have always worked as a writer, even though several projects did not materialize. At the same time I wrote and published books on cinema, worked with magazines, wrote horror comics. We also need to remember that in the early nineties there was the crisis of Italian cinema in general and the (volume of) work fell for all.
CP: You co-wrote Dracula 3D alongside Dario Argento, Enrique Cerezo and Stefano Piani. How did this come about and how do you find writing with such a group?
AT: I wrote Dracula with Argento and Stefano Piani, Cerezo is in the headlines only for reasons of co-production. The film was born from the encounter between Dario and Gianni Paolucci, the producer of many films of Bruno Mattei, with whom I had previously worked. We then added Stefano Piani. I had previously worked both alone and with other writers and on this occasion I found it very good to write with Stefano and, of course, with Argento.
CP: In this group writing process have you had to compromise or is there a feeling of synergy and common ground between you all?
AT: There were no real compromises, but only the decision to eliminate some narrative situations in the novel by Bram Stoker (all part of London, for example) and to focus on the territory and the country dominated by Dracula. There was from the start an immediate understanding between us and the common desire to create something that will differentiate it from all other Dracula movies.
CP: Dracula is able to shapeshift, but why a praying mantis?
AT: The idea of Dracula in being able to turn in the most diverse animals in the course of the film was strengthened by Darius. After having changed shape many times, the apotheosis of its transformations is this giant mantis that appears unpredictably in the final. It is unreal and delusional, but personally I find it a spot on choice for how strange it is.
CP: You have worked alongside the old guard (Argento, D’Amato, Fulci and Mattei) and now the newer breed of Italian directors (Pastore, Cristopharo). What have been the biggest changes in the industry since you began back in 1990?
AT: I am proud to have worked with masters of horror and fantasy films and now I'm happy to work with young writers. In recent years I have met several directors who have grown up with the same movies that I loved also. In addition to Pastore and Cristopharo also Edo Tagliavini (Bloodline), Lorenzo Lepori and Bruno Di Marcello. The biggest changes were in production: compared to when I started out, or the end of the eighties, missing producers that invest in genre cinema. The consequence of course is the production of fewer films. Out of this, however, comes notable indie productions, which sometimes arise notable authors and interesting films.
CP: Which film throughout your career have you felt most satisfied with?
AT: It's hard to answer this question because every movie in which I worked, even minor ones, represented an important moment for me in my path as a writer. I can say that I am very attached to some films, as well as filmmakers who have directed. I will mention only two: A Cat in the Brain, which even today after so many years continues to be seen and appreciated by fans around the world, and Dracula, for which I was lucky enough to be invited to the Cannes Film Festival.
CP: You have written many books, both fiction and non-fiction. Do you find that writing fiction gives you more freedom than a script?
AT:Parallel to the scriptwriting, the essay is an important component of my work. I started around the same time, because my first film coincided with my first book. As for the books on the cinema, this form of writing is certainly very different from the screenplay. Total freedom, however,is that of the narrative.
CP: I have read and enjoyed the English language versions of Italian Giallo Movies (written with Antonio Bruschini) and Italian horror movies (with Luigi Cozzi). What made you decide to write these guides to the genres? Are there any plans to translate any more books in the future?
AT: Italian Giallo Movies is upgrading two books on Italian thriller film written with my friend Antonio Bruschini, that is in other words 'Deep darkness' and 'Under the eyes of the murderer'. The same thing can be said for Italian Horror Movies, updating certain volumes on horror Italian written with Luigi Cozzi. Maybe the versions of the books that I publish with Deep Red, the publishing house of my friend Luigi Cozzi, will come out in English.
CP: Your first acting credit came back in 2010 in Luigi Pastore’s 'Symphony in Blood Red' which you also helped co-write. How did the decision come about for you to star in it or was this always the intention?
AT: Previously I have appeared in films written by me (Demonia, A Cat in the Brain, The Three Faces of Terror), or filmmaker friends like Brass (Fermo posta Tinto Brass, Trasgredire, Senso 45, Monamour) and Argento (The Card Player, The Mother ). Come una crisalide - Symphony in Blood Red is the first film in which I really act. Initially I did not have to play the serial killer, but Luigi Pastore was struck by
my appearance in The Three Faces of Terror, where a I played a torturer dressed in black, and offered me the role. I agreed also for budgetary reasons and because it would be more complicated to explain this role to an "true" actor!
CP: You returned in front of the screen with a role in Pastore’s 2015 reboot of 'Violent Shit'. Can we expect to see you in front of the camera again?
AT: After 'Symphony in Red Blood' I also appeared in Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show by Gabriele Albanesi and Paura by the Manetti Bros. Soon you will see me in Catacomba by Lorenzo Lepori (episode Evil Tree) and in the new film by Luigi Cozzi Blood on Melies Moon.
CP: 2016 sees you involved in a couple of films including Virus: Extreme Contamination, which looks fantastic. What can you say about your future projects?
AT: With Domiziano Cristopharo I have other projects in the works but it is too early to talk about it, as well as with regard to projects with other directors. For now I can say that the films will be released are Catacomba by Lorenzo Lepori and we should soon begin filming House of Murderers by Bruno Di Marcello.
CP: Thank you so much for your time Antonio and best wishes.
We are very much looking forward to Catacomba by Lorenzo Lepori and Virus: Extreme Contamination by Domiziano Cristopharo, both of which we have featured in our blog section and look forward to not only Antonio's future work but the Italian horror scene in general which is finally increasing it's volume of releases.
You can find out more about Antonio Tentori and his work on his website and can Follow him on Facebook.