The first memory?
‘He and I taking the sleeping car to go from Rome to Milan. It happened every week for At 7 in the evening, the program that aired on the second channel. At the time there was no high speed and we were both afraid of flying». Christian De Sica and Maurizio Costanzo: a phobia and several projects in common.
Strange but true: it was not he who discovered it.
“It was the opposite, I was the one who recommended it at the beginning.”
How did you meet?
«In Rai. I went to do a very poor show, alone on stage, I sang and told anecdotes. He saw me and called me for a broadcast».
‘At 7 in the evening.’
‘He had clear ideas. He told me: you will be the presenter, but don’t try to be nice, good-natured, democratic, because you have the face of a father’s son, or rather you have the face of an asshole … So you have to be an asshole; you have to speak affectedly, with birignao, dress in a fané fashion, with your hair pulled back and you will see that slowly people will say: who is this asshole? That’s how they’ll notice you.’
It was 1974, “Goodness them” arrived two years later.
«He was establishing himself as a journalist but hadn’t done anything important yet, so much so that when I made Duccio Tessari’s film La madama I proposed Maurizio among the screenwriters».
Was he as cynical as he seemed?
‘He was ironic, he had that cynical humor that I like. But it was also a facade. I remember that in 2006 he called me for a show written with Enrico Vaime, Tell me about me. At the premiere Maurizio came backstage and told us: don’t be afraid because tonight there are so many sons of bitches who hope that you are wrong in order to be able to say that the show is bad. He don’t care. The show was so successful that there was a standing ovation. Maurizio and I hugged backstage and he was crying. I think I can be the only one who can say that I saw Maurizio crying».
He was a phenomenal interviewer…
“He was really a curious character, at the same time he put you at ease but kept you on your toes.”
Did you have a chance to see each other other than work?
«Not much, he was always behind a thousand projects. We met several times at his house when we wrote Tell me about me. The thing that struck me is that she always ate sandwiches, pizzas, nothing cooked. All stuff came from the bar, I’ve never seen pasta or risotto…».
The last meeting?
‘Just at the last episode of yours Costanzo Show. I keep a happy image of him, he made me tell many anecdotes and laughed like crazy. I carry with me a beautiful memory together with the little turtle that he always gave to all the guests».
