Lions of Florence
Lions of Florence is an historical drama in the vein of Shakespeare in Love. In the arena of Renaissance art, Leonardo was the undisputed heavyweight champ, Michelangelo the brash, talented contender. In 1503, Niccolo Macchiavelli, the master manipulator, orchestrated an artistic competition between the middle-aged, refined Leonardo and the up-and-coming, roughshod Michelangelo. They were commissioned to paint competing frescoes in the Council of the Hall of 500 in their native Florence. The new champion would be crowned by a 21-year-old phenom named Raphael. This titanic battle, one of the most extraordinary episodes of the Renaissance, changed the world of art forever.
There is a sidebar of interest to this true story. The Italians have taken a page from director Jim Cameron's book of hi-tech tricks to help illuminate the ghosts of the past. The City of Florence, with financing from the Kalpa Group of Switzerland and National Geographic, is underwriting art detective Maurizio Seracini's quest to prove that Leonardo's unfinished fresco, "The Battle of Anghiari," still exists in the Hall of the 500 behind a wall and fresco built and painted by 16th Century artist and biographer, Giorgio Vasari.
If you've been following the news in recent years, you will have heard that Mr. Seracini may have found something. So, the search continues.
Not long after finishing the screenplay, I sent a copy to Mr. Seracini. He called to tell me how much he enjoyed the story. He felt it really captured the essence of these two men and their rivalry. Since then, I have visited Maurizio in Florence and met with him several times during his travels to the United States.
I'm also collaborating on an interactive non-fiction book about the search with Mr. Seracini.
My pitch for this story took first place at a Pitch Contest hosted by the Napa Valley Film Festival. The panel of judges included Peter Belsito, founding member of IFP and FilmFinders, guest blogger on Sydney's Buzz on IndieWire, and an expert on the international movie business; David Ward, Oscar-winning screenwriter of The Sting and creator, writer and director of the Major League franchise; and Joe Carnahan, writer/director of such films as The A-Team, The Grey, Smokin' Aces, and Narc. Joe is working with me on the rewrite.
DP Rob Draper (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0237170/) is also interested in Lions, as is his producer Deborah Del Prete, who produced Ender's Game (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0215769/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1). Rob has a working relationship with Cinecittà Studios in Rome.
I've also been in contact with Stefano Pratesi, a film and commercial director in Italy, about producing and funding this film in Italy (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1196044/).
I received feedback and notes from Voyage Media (https://voyagemedia.com/) and producer Miura Kite, Participant Media (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003982/).
I am currently in discussion with producers Mark Woods and George Fernandez of Magic City Film & Entertainment, LLC, to make the film in Italy.