George Clooney ‘will film in L’Aquila’ to help boost region’s economy
Friday, July 10th, 2009
A cinematic landscape at Rocca di Calascio, L'Aquila, Wolfango/Flickr
Actor George Clooney yesterday visited the city of L’Aquila - which is currently hosting G8 - and said that he would make a film there in September to aid the earthquake-devestated region’s economy.
George Clooney in 2007, Gary King (talk)/Wikipedia Commons, GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
At a press conference Clooney, 48, told journalists “We’ll shoot a film here at the end of September, in which I will act,”
“I think this is the best way to lend a hand and boost the economy, ” he said. “We’re here to draw attention to this tragedy.”
He did not however name the film.
Clooney, who has a home near Lake Como in northern Italy, arrived in L’Aquila by helicopter. He opened a small cultural center inside one of the tents still being used to house thousands of people left homeless after the disaster.
He was accompanied by Massimo Cialente, Mayor of L’Aquila, fellow actor Bill Murray and former mayor of Rome Walter Veltroni.
The UK’s Financial Times recently reported on fears in L’Aqulia that the quake-affected region will be ‘colonised’ by Rome.
Maura Scarcella, founder of Collettivo 99, formed of young professionals from L’Aquila - one of several local taskforce assocations - said “Before the quake, L’Aquila’s identity was the sum of different places. Now people will end up in soulless dormitory neighbourhoods.”
Marco Morante, an architect in the town and spokesman for Collettivo 99, says: “To restart, L’Aquila and its citizens need a thought-out, not improvised, reconstruction [process].”
“The common fear is that L’Aquila is being colonised by Rome and that we will be abandoned. We want to make sure that there is a model which is being followed and if there is one we want to take part in it,” says Mr Morante.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has pledged that everybody will be out of tents and into housing by September. The police college rooms, currently used as housing for the G8 leaders, will be made temporarily available for 1,000 people.
