Sergio Donati

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Sergio Donati (born April 13, 1933 in Rome ) is an Italian screenwriter and writer .

biography

Donati gained his first literary experience as the author of several successful crime novels ( L'altra faccua della Luna, Il sepolcro di carta, Mr. Sharkey torna a casa ). In the early 1960s he decided - despite several offers (including the then unknown Sergio Leone to have been interested in the film rights of Mr. Sharkey torna a casa ) - to hang up the letter and moved from Rome to Milan . There he worked for several years as a copywriter in a large advertising agency and made his first experiences as a producer of TV commercials.

This activity gave Donati access to the world of film, in which he initially revised other authors' scripts as a so-called script doctor. A first offer from Sergio Leone to write the script for his first spaghetti western , For a Fistful of Dollars , he turned down. After the film, contrary to expectations, became a huge commercial success and Leone was given the option of a sequel, the director again turned to Donati. This time Donati accepted and developed the first designs for For a Few Dollars More . Although the script came largely from him, he was - for contractual reasons - not mentioned in the opening credits of the film. It is similar with Leone's third western, Two Glorious Scoundrels . Some of the key scenes, for example the idea of ​​the soldiers' choir, which drowns out the screams of pain from the tortured soldiers, come from Donati's pen. Nevertheless, the working relationship with the sometimes difficult Leone continued.

It was not until Leone's film Spiel mir das Lied von Tod , which was originally based on a treatment by Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento, and Donati was the official screenwriter for Death Melody . The international success of Leone's films enabled Donati to work with other renowned directors such as Michael Anderson , John Irvin and John Guillermin . One of the highlights of Donati's career was a long collaboration with Hollywood legend Billy Wilder , which never got beyond project status.

Donati met the screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni through Leone . Their relationship was initially characterized by competition. But gradually a fruitful collaboration developed. Many of Donati's later works, such as Anderson's Orca - The Killer Whale (1977) or Bonnie e Clyde all'italiana (1982, directed by Steno ) were the product of this collaboration.

Filmography (selection)

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personal data
SURNAME Donati, Sergio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian screenwriter and writer
DATE OF BIRTH April 13, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Rome