Maria De Filippi: The Miracle of Amici’s Enduring Dominance on TV

Mourning suits Electra, but Maurizio would not have wanted it to suit Maria. There is an invincible ethics in the dignity of Maria Of Philippi, in tears swallowed by a sense of duty and in the desire to go back to work after the terrible death of her husband. Maria-exhausted by her pain-reopens her personal shutter of Amici in the Evening of this Saturday. And he throws his heart over the obstacle and into the program, “as he was taught” by Maurizio Costanzo; and of Maurizio himself, Maria pays homage to the legendary work bulimia perpetuated until the last breath from a hospital bed. Amici it’s not just a tv show. It is the ideal anxiolytic for Maria and, at the same time, the secular church of Italian entertainment. When she launched it (with a 1992 preview conducted by a very empathetic Lella Costa at the helm and, later, the 2001 preview with Daniele Bossari as conductor), De Filippi was already a solid and established author behind the camera . And, on that occasion, she invented something that previously, in Italian television, did not exist in nature.

THEY WILL BE FAMOUS
It was a talk show reserved for teenagers and twenty-somethings and their complex relationship with peers and parents. It was a good start. Then, gradually, that story of life was grafted into the plot of a historic film – and then telefilm – by Alan Parker in 1980, Fame; and from there, with the name of They will be famous the format found its way and became the springboard for talents to be injected into the world of television, recording, dance and theatre. I remember the novice teachers from that pioneering period: from Pino Insegno to Fioretta Mari, from Garrison to Beppe Vessicchio, to the Albanian dancer Kledi, all baptized by the director of the “school” Bruno Voglino taken from the boarding house where Rai had relegated the legendary scouting ability. Today Amici it’s a very oily war machine. The new three judges of the evening are Michele Bravi, Giuseppe Giofrè, the ubiquitous Cristiano Malgioglio; and everything will be consumed, no doubt, in the usual riot of listeners and tumultuous hearts, while Maria’s half smile and sidelong glance will set up the rest of the show.

Still, many of us are old enough to remember when the program was forced to change its title, because the production company of the US show of the same name threatened copyright infringement lawsuits. So it became Friends of Maria De Filippi, almost immediately shortened to Amici. The first edition was won by the singer Denis Fantina and Valeria Monetti and Monica Hill ate the stage, today respectively become a good actress and Ramazzotti’s excellent chorister. Amici also had the undisputed merit of giving new life to Italian discography. Starting with Marco Carta’s success in 2008, whose invitation to Sanremo (which he won) broke the glass roof of the bitter rivalry between Mediaset and Rai. Maria, thanks to the collaboration with the record companies, illuminated the market. A market that came back to life, where the voices of Alessandra Amoroso, Emma, ​​Pierdavide, Valerio Scanu, Annalisa and all the new pop stars who helped to revive – together with their X Factor counterparts – also the Sanremo Festival, which had fallen into crisis of listening.

ALWAYS CHANGING
Amici, in two decades, he has changed rules, competition mechanisms, barrier exams, protagonists, guests (everyone has been on that set, from Emanuele Filiberto to Al Pacino). Above all, he has changed his skin a lot of times, to adapt to the times and the needs of the schedule. Amici, in this sense it was also a tactical weapon. For example, in 2009, after the conclusion of Amici 8, Maria remained on the air for another seven Saturdays with the castings of the ninth edition; and in doing so, diabolically, she crushed Italian Academy 2, the newborn Raidue talent show, in the cradle. Amici stay at Big Brother like Doctor Jeckill to Mister Hyde. And our rider is always there to tell us about it. Welcome back, Mary.