Giovanni Minoli E Gianni Mina. Professional couple, long friendship
«Gianni was in the first group of “Mixer” in 1980 and took over the entertainment and music department. We started with a great show with Adriano Celentano and Milly Carlucci. An exceptional preview already indicated the meaning of that formula ».
Soon after there was the Blitz, in 1981
“As director of Rai 2, I was thinking of a date that could rival the traditional ‘Domenica In’ on Rai 1 hosted by Pippo Baudo…”.
Those were the times of the monopoly of rai music. Networks competed with each other. It’s hard to explain today. But that’s it. How was it?
I had this formula in mind with a character who invites her friends into the studio to put on a big show. We also did an episode with Vittorio Gassman. In fact, I thought of Maurizio Costanzo. But then, just around that time, the P2 scandal broke out and the project became impossible. And so I thought of Gianni Mina because he was already working on Mixer and then because his editorial board was completely forgettable, put one side there on Tg2. He was a free man, it is true, not biased in the party sense … That is, he was clearly a man of the left, but now I would say (laughs) an independent and independent left-wing anarchist, impossible to add in any traditional partisan territory. And so I chose it. We spent the whole day and night discussing the formula. Eventually we brought it into focus and the amazing TV machine that was “Blitz” started… ».
what is the secrete?
“I would say Gianni’s amazing phone book. The largest and most versatile I have ever seen owned by a journalist.”
Massimo Troisi’s old gag with Mina has resurfaced on the internet, where he talks about those memoirs…
“Exactly! But it was all true. Totally true.” He had contact numbers from any one. In fact, Gianni managed to bring anyone to the “Blitz”: Maradona, Cassius Clay, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Federico Fellini, Sergio Leone. Robert De Niro. And I can go on.”
Today that would be out of the question
“Absolutely unimaginable. Thanks to the incredible talent of a great TV guy and a great journalist. Thanks above all for his humility, for making himself available to the character ».
Some interviewers often overlap their interviewees with a vanity contest. Mina was not
“Quite the opposite and that’s his lesson. He was a kind person, respectful of what he heard from the interviewee, able to form immediate sympathy with the guests. Thanks to him, as well as to Aldo Bruno, another friend of mine and fellow ‘Mixer’, we had wonderful professional years. It has been repeated Gianni Mina’s interviews are everywhere, they have traveled the world. I also like to remember the twelve episodes of boxing history. Cassius Clay did come and we all went to dinner together. One of Gianni’s legendary dinners… ».
Latin America was his passion
“An absolute lover of that complex part of the world. He had a very deep literary, political and mathematical culture in Latin America. I would say that if we discover Latin America in Italy, we are mostly indebted to him.”
The famous 16-hour interview with Fidel Castro is a television legend
“Just a typical Mina thing… Gianni was a massive talent that Ray didn’t take much advantage of. When the “Blitz” experiment ended, Gianni thought the company would offer him something new and different. But we know that Ray is a mother but also a stepmother. He certainly didn’t give him what he deserved.”
What can Gianni Mena’s legacy teach new generations of journalists?
“This is an era unlike any other in the Far West as we set out to conquer unexplored territories just like that Sunday afternoon on Rai2. And it was a great achievement. What can you learn? Unbridled passion in the narration and, I repeat, humility in the description and interviewing. Not at the service of one, but at the service of the audience and the interlocutor ».
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