Italy’s Stand By Me and RAI have partnered on “The General’s Men,” a high-end drama that delves into the country’s battle against Red Brigades terrorism by portraying a special paramilitary unit set up by a high-ranking police official played by Sergio Castellitto.
Castellitto (first look image above) plays General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, the heroic chief of the Carabinieri paramilitary police force who in 1974 set up the Nucleo Speciale Antiterrorismo, a unit of elite young officers, to fight Red Brigades terrorists who were running rampage. In 1978 the Red Brigades abducted and killed then Italian prime minister Aldo Moro.
“They are all young [both the terrorists and the elite police officers] and they represent two distinct groups who have decided to be on different sides of history,” said Stand By Me chief Simona Ercolani.
“The show’s underlying theme is the defense of democracy, which is very timely,” she added.
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The eight-episode show directed by Lucio Pellegrini (“The Miracle”) is her company’s most ambitious project to date, she noted.
“The General’s Men” is also the most ambitious Italian TV series made to date about Dalla Chiesa, who after eradicating Red Brigades terrorism from the country was appointed prefect in Palermo, where he was murdered by Cosa Nostra in 1982.
Penned by Monica Zappelli (“Though Shalt Not Kill”) and Peppe Fiore (“The Young Pope”), “The General’s Men” – which has just wrapped an 18-week shoot – boasts high production values, said Ercolani, and will meld meticulous period detail with snippets of archive footage.
The show’s cast, besides Castellitto, an Italian A-lister who starred opposite Penelope Cruz in “Don’t Move” –– which he also directed –– also comprises Teresa Saponangelo (“The Hand of God”) as Dalla Chiesa’s wife.
Los Angeles-based Dynamic Television will be launching international sales at the upcoming MipTV market in April on “The General’s Men,” which will premiere on RAI this fall.
“We are thrilled to have Stand By Me bring this incredible Italian story to a global audience in partnership with RAI and world-class Italian talent,” said Gaspard de Chavagnac and Marina Williams, co founders and co-CEOs of Paris-based Asacha Media Group, which owns Stand By Me.
Stand By Me has been busy taking its productions to a new level of international visibility lately. They recently made Netflix original documentary series “Stories of a Generation with Pope Francis,” which dropped on the streaming giant last Christmas. The high-profile piece is based on the Pope’s 2018 book “Sharing the Wisdom of Time,” and features Martin Scorsese, British ethologist Jane Goodall and Pope Francis himself among other people over the age of 70 from all over the world who impart their life experiences to young filmmakers.
The company’s other recent releases include 10-episode Italian comedy series “The Guru,” which has been scoring gangbuster ratings on RAI’s RAIPlay streaming service.
