Berlin
He inherited a trillion and doesn’t know what to do with it. Or rather, you only become the richest man in the world by spending every penny on your utopia: eradicating poverty from the earth. Starting with an intriguing premise, part Da Vinci Code and part environmental thriller, Paramount+’s new series One Trillion Dollars, a re-adaptation of Andreas Eschbach’s best-selling book that hits the platform Thursday, comes in six episodes. Filmed in Germany, Spain and partly also in Italy (thousands of billions belong to the fund of a fictional 14th-century Florentine nobleman), the series follows the rise of billionaires in the world of John Fontanelli, a penniless delivery boy from Berlin (German Philippe Froissant, 29). Who was a dark prophecy that would determine the salvation of the world. Next to him, in a role between financial guru and caregiver, is Alessandra Mastronardi, 37, excellent, with an impeccable English accent lost (shame) in the Italian dub: “It’s the first time they’ve offered me a character like this: a woman in a world of men standing in “Everyone’s face,” says her ex-lover from Berlin’s “I Cesaroni,” in the cast with Italians Greta Scacchi and Orso Maria Guerrini — “I love German soap operas, raw and real, without doing the Italian good.”
He has a trillion. what’s he doing?
“I will not try to solve poverty by distributing money, but I will try to manipulate the financial markets like my character, Franca Vacci, does in the series. “As a UNICEF ambassador, I went to difficult countries and realized that if you want to change the system, you have to do it from within.”
The first money he got?
“First profit with Cesaroni. I bought myself a car. “It’s clearly not a Ferrari.”
Have you ever been refused a large sum of money?
“At 22 I said no to clothing advertising.
Regret?
“No. You can also have a lot of zeros in your account, but if you’re not happy, there’s no point.”
Why did you say yes to “a trillion dollars”?
“For courage. I love stories that aren’t afraid to be politically incorrect. In Italy someone writes them, but they are few: most of our products are outdated compared to the freshness of the pallets. “They seem to come from the ancient world, when there was only Rai and Mediaset.”
The world of “i Cesaroni”: If they made them again, would you come back?
“I heard rumours, but nothing official. If they do it again I won’t be there. I don’t support restarts and I don’t need them: when the cycles end, they close. Moreover, my character (Eva Cudicini, editor) is married, has two children, and if she comes back she will be a grandmother: no thanks. So we’re not talking about a global hit like Friends.”
Will you watch it?
“No. If I want to see the cast of I Cesaroni again I’ll go there for dinner. I’d love it.”
Why didn’t he leave?
“I decided on this after thinking about it for a long time. I struggle with choices, but then I don’t go back. I’m not me anymore, I’m not that thing over there anymore. I wanted to raise the bar. The hard part was convincing others to accept the break.”
Do you mind if they still remind you of this series?
“I’m sorry that every time we talk about my career, we have to go back 17 years. I also did Woody Allen (To Rome with Love, ed.), no one ever says that, but whatever.”
Did you raise the bar?
“From the time he became Cesaroni on, I learned everything on my own. I’ve fallen, made mistakes, and things I could have done better or shouldn’t have done, all under a giant magnifying glass. I’ve started over a few times. And I’m only 37 years old.”
what do you want to do now?
“A different kind of personality. Like Zendaya in Euphoria (Sky series, ed.). I think I can do it, but it’s the others who don’t believe it. “I am also convinced that Italy can produce products at this level.”
Many actresses are making their directorial debut. Which?
“It was time. There is a tsunami of female directors coming, and let’s hope it continues. It was necessary: the weather in Italy was a shade, just a breeze arrived. I’m happy that women are speaking out by putting themselves behind the camera. But directing doesn’t interest me. Maybe writing.” Or production.”
From Rome to England and back. Why?
“After eight years in London, I returned to Rome to close the circle. I left because I needed to find myself. “I was lost or perhaps I didn’t know myself: starting at a very young age, I was what other people wanted me to be.”
And now?
“Now I know what I want: projects that I believe in 100%. Do they see me as a TV presenter? I won’t care anymore.”
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