Ettore Scola
About
Biography
Biography
Ettore Scola was an Italian filmmaker who wrote and directed over forty movies throughout his fifty-plus year career. Born and raised in the Southern Italian town of Trevico, Scola got his start in show business in his early teens when he began ghostwriting jokes for a prominent Italian comic named Toto. His work for the comic was funny enough that by his early 20s, Scola was making a good living writing comedy screenplays for various Italian movie studios. Despite having a successful screenwriting career, however, Scola longed to direct his own films. He had his chance in 1964 when co-wrote and directed "Let's Talk About Women." The film was a minor success, which allowed Scola to write and direct several more films throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. His first major hit came in 1974 with the comedy-drama "We All Loved Each Other So Much." The film won two Italian Golden Globes and was nominated for several more, thus distinguishing Scola as one of Italy's most acclaimed directors. Scola continued directing films at a breakneck speed over the next few decades, with films like "The Night In Varennes" (1982), "What Time Is It?" (1989), and "The Dinner" (1998), all receiving wide acclaim. Scola's directing career slowed down in the 2000s, with a 10-year gap between 2003's "People of Rome" and his final film, 2013's "How Strange to Be Named Federico." With a prolific career spanning seven decades and dozens of films, Scola died peacefully on January 19, 2016 in Rome. He was 84.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Editing (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Special)
Life Events
1948
Began writing gags for radio
1952
First screenwriting credit on "Canzoni de Mezzo Secola"
1964
Directorial debut, "Let's Talk About Women"
1970
Helmed "The Pizza Triangle"
1975
Garnered international attention with "C'Eravamo Tanto Amati/We All Loved One Another So Much"
1977
Wrote and directed the Oscar-nominated Best Foreign-Language Film "A Special Day/Una Giornata particolare"
1981
Helmed and scripted the period romance "Passione d'Amore"
1982
Directed and wrote the speculative historical drama "La Nuit de Varennes"
1984
"Le Bal", a historical drama told without dialogue, screened at Berlin Film Festival where it won the Best Director prize
1987
Second Academy Award nominated Best Foreign-Language Film, "The Family"
1991
Directed "Captain Fracassa's Journey"
1993
Wrote and directed the triangular romance "Mario, Maria and Mario"
1996
Was screenwriter and director on "The Dinner"
2001
Helmed and scripted the historical drama "Unfair Competition"
2013
Co-wrote and directed his final film "How Strange to Be Named Federico"
Videos
Movie Clip
Family
