Federica Illuminati: Photo Alessandro Cantarini
orre 7
“The phone gives me an alarm clock, coffee and biscuits in bed. If I’m inspired, take a walk to Villa Torlonia, close to home (I love Roman parks!), But it happens more often that I start reading the scripts right away, those offered to one of my actors or those of one of my authors: I also represent directors and screenwriters. Our job – the most boring of art jobs, the most artistic of boring jobs – is to discover, advise, promote and protect clients, but there is no school in which to learn it. I approached after various experiences (casting assistant, director): love for cinema entered my blood as a teenager by attending the Cineteca of my Bologna ».
9 am
“I sit at my desk and don’t leave for hours. I take stock of the situation with my assistant and phone the artists: I try to have real attention for them, I called my company “Atelier” because I like the idea of a “tailored” thing, made to measure. Then there is the “contracts” chapter (negotiation with producers is not just about money, but also about artistic freedom): I face it without fear. Let’s get rid of the “little match girl” that is in many of us women! When I see Camille Cottin (the protagonist of the Netflix series Call my agent!, ed) to take situations in hand, I think: “Brava, I would have done that too!” ».
The cast of Call my agent: Stefi CELMA, Fanny SIDNEY, Nicolas MAURY, Laure CALAMY, Thibault DE MONTALEMBERT, Camille COTTIN, Anne MARIVIN, Gregory MONTEL, Assaad BOUAB, Liliane OAK
2 pm
«Frugal lunch with one of the friends who are in the area or even in the building (we are a small community linked to the same environment). Generally we go to a restaurant: if I invite them home, they shouldn’t expect too much, cooking well is not one of my skills… ».
15 hours
«It’s time for meetings and meetings outside with directors and producers. Sometimes I go to the sets or attend rehearsals on stage. I work with theater leaders like Lucia Calamaro, whom I’m trying to convert a little to cinema ».
19 hours
«Long aperitif with friends in which we talk about everything (I belong to a generation that still has the pleasure of exchanging opinions on readings, shows) and together we decide: what will we see tonight? The choice generally falls on a play or a film, possibly in the original language at the Nuovo Olimpia, an institution sacred to us. Music interests me less, apart from the boundless love for Lucio Dalla ».
11.30 pm
Oliver Sacks – Gratitude
«Before going to sleep, time for reading for pure pleasure. I love Yasmina Reza, especially hers Happy are the happy ones. A little book that I saw as a gift is Gratitude from Oliver Sacks, I even “personalized” it by attaching a sticker that reads “Nurture yourself”… Gratitude is a feeling that belongs to me, I consider myself lucky to do the job I dreamed of and that gives me so many stimuli. Hobby? No! And who feels the need, with a profession like this? ».
iO Donna © REPRODUCTION RESERVED