Al Pacino on how he got his Modigliani film off the ground after 30 years
He is one of Hollywood's biggest stars, having made his name in the 1970s gangster classic The Godfather. Yet, despite his fame and Oscars recognition, Al Pacino struggled for 30 years to make a movie about one of the 20th century's greatest artists because 'art films' are 'always difficult to get off the ground'.
He refused to give up on a drama about Amedeo Modigliani, a tortured genius who faced repeated rejection before his life was cut short in 1920 by tubercular meningitis, aged 35.
The film, Modigliani – Three Days on the Wing of Madness, is directed by Johnny Depp, and will be released in cinemas in July.
The Italian painter-sculptor had struggled to sell his work while battling poverty and an addiction to drink and drugs. Today, demand for his elongated portraits and sensual nudes is such that one of his paintings – Reclining Nude, from 1917-18 – sold for a record $170m (£113m) in New York in 2015.
Pacino said of Modigliani: 'There is something in this story that is not just identifiable with [the] artist. There is that connection to rejection in all of us, so it gives audiences something they can relate to.'
Set in war-torn Paris in 1916, it is a fantasy that chronicles 72 hours in the chaotic, bohemian life of Modigliani as he tries desperately to escape the squalor of Montmartre and find recognition as an artist by meeting a famous collector, played by Pacino, who said: 'Unfortunately, it doesn't turn out to be as he expected.'
Depp cast the Italian actor Riccardo Scamarcio as Modigliani, saying: 'When I saw Riccardo, his eyes reminded me of Oliver Reed. I love Oliver Reed. He was dangerous and he was funny and he was cool … In Riccardo, I see something of Oliver Reed, as well as of Marcello Mastroianni, the classic movie star.'
Pacino recalled that he and Martin Scorsese had tried in vain to develop the Modigliani film. At one point, Depp was to play the artist with Pacino directing, but still it did not happen.
Now their actor-director roles have been reversed in a production made possible through a collaboration with the producer Barry Navidi, with whom Pacino has worked on several acclaimed films, including The Merchant of Venice, a 2004 film in which he played Shylock.
The writers Jerzy Kromolowski and Mary Olson-Kromolowski adapted a drama that was originally written for Pacino decades ago by the late playwright Dennis McIntyre, who 'had a great love of Modigliani', Pacino said. 'You could feel it in his play.'
Asked whether he regretted not taking the lead role originally, Pacino said: 'I wanted to do it, but sometimes the timing just doesn't work out … Sometimes when your career is in a certain place, you are fielding all sorts of ideas that come your way and you can lose track of things because projects take so much time to evolve.
'I can name about four or five of them that just went in different directions and never got off the ground because, in the end, it's a collective – a matter of getting a writer, director, producer etc together to make it happen.
'If you just want to interpret a role, finding a writer with the same level of enthusiasm, a talented director to come onboard along with a skilled producer is challenging, but I did find that in Scarface. I found that connection in Modigliani as well.
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'It's an art film, which is always difficult to get off the ground. However, it's about an artist and those films have been sought after. There have certainly been some great films about artists over the years.'
Pacino singled out movies about Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Munch and Toulouse-Lautrec, the latter played by José Ferrer: 'Each one of those films had their own context and were independent of each other, different in ways, but at the core that feeling of being judged and undervalued are there.'
He recalled approaching Navidi about Modigliani: 'I knew Barry had an interest in films with an edge and sophistication.'
He had also suggested that he speak to Depp about directing it: 'I have known Johnny through the years and thought he would find something there that resonated with him.
'It took a few years to get that script together and, as we all know, independent films take a while to develop. You really have to stick with something in this day and age in those early stages.'
Modigliani – Three Days on the Wing of Madness is in cinemas from 11 July. Special nationwide previews on 10 July will feature a discussion with Depp and Scamarcio on the universal plight of the artist, recorded at Tate Modern
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