Joe Wright on Creating the Mussolini Series, M. Son of the Century

Director Joe Wright takes a 180-degree turn in the portrayal of World War II prime ministers, moving away from the wise and thoughtful Winston Churchill in the 2017 film. The Darkest Hour (for which Gary Oldman received an Oscar for Best Actor) to the spontaneous, impulsive and hot-tempered Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini in the series Fremantle/Apartment/Sky/Pathe M. Son of the Century which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival today. While Lido can see the full eight hours of the series, which Wright directed and produced, TIFF will be able to watch the first two episodes.

We spoke with Wright as he was editing the punk-rock-themed series. He originally shot M from October 2022 to April 2023; a show that reflects the creator’s full tonal sensibility, i.e. deep amber colors, shimmering shadows, and rapid pace that we have seen in his award-winning feature films The Darkest Hour, Penance, Anna Karenina and more.

M. Son of the Century follows the journey of Mussolini, played by Luca Marinelli, from the editor of a political newspaper People of Italybecoming a passionate symbol of hope for the forgotten veterans of the Great War, which gave birth to the venom and brutality of the Black Shirts; all paving the way for a totalitarian grip on the nation. The first season captures ten years of Il Duce’s life, leading up to the murder of the socialist politician.

Though polar opposites, Wright’s Churchill and Mussolini share intriguing similarities: the director portrays them both in unflattering ways while emphasizing their audible power over their populations. At the same time, both experienced isolation in pursuit of what they believed to be politically right.

Those in the United States lucky enough to watch the show will witness an incredible political allegory for former President Donald Trump’s sensitivity to crowd gatherings, not to mention the echoes of the January 6 insurrection. While M. Son of the Century The game has been sold to most countries around the world, but has yet to be distributed in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Below is our conversation with Wright:

How did the opportunity to make a TV series about Mussolini come about?

Joe Wright: Producer Lorenzo Mieli and I both took part in the awards series – me and Cyranoand he with The finger of GodI was a big fan of him and have been a big fan of his work for some time now. Many people I work with, especially my editor, Valerio Bonelli, always told me about Lorenzo. We kept bumping into each other, as we do at this time of year. I had the chance to spend some time with him and hang out together, and I discovered that he had a very brilliant mind and a very calm and interesting point of view on cinema.

He was obviously a fan of mine. So we said, “Yeah,” let’s do something together, and there were a few things that he kind of suggested, and one of them was Mussolini, and I’ve always been fascinated by Mussolini, and I was kind of surprised how little other people outside of Italy really knew about him. So it was another opportunity for me to learn something.

At the time I was working on a movie, so I said, “Listen, you know, I hope to continue working on this movie, but if it doesn’t happen, you can count on me.” I should also say that one of my favorite TV shows was the TV series Gomorrahwhich was written by Stefano Bises. Stefano was a writer on Mand that is why I was immediately interested in the opportunity to work with him.

It’s very clear that the show is relevant to what’s going on politically today, especially with the demagogues who have been running our governments, the whole January 6th uprising. Was that impact immediate from reading the scripts?

JW: It’s impossible to ignore the impact that M and his populism, his far-right populism, has had on global politics since then, and certainly since 2016 we’ve seen an even more terrifying return to that type of politics, that type of rhetoric, that type of populism, so yes, it’s certainly a very political piece with a lot of relevance to what’s happening today, not just in America, but in… I’m very, very sad to say, in many European countries, in Brazil, and all over the world. So yes, it felt like a very, very important piece to make at the time, and Lorenzo really embraced it. He’s a very political animal, and it felt important not just for Italy, and then for the situation there that’s ongoing, but also around the world.

The entire series is in Italian. Did you have a translator on set or did you direct in Italian?

JW: I directed in Italian. I had a lot of crew who were also Italian. I would take Seamus McGarvey, my DP, and AD Danny McGrat. We were the only British crew members and so, luckily, Luca Marinelli, who is the star of the show, speaks perfect English but some of the actors don’t. It was a very interesting process, directing in another language that I’m not that familiar with. A little bit, but not too much. So I was really directing through the sound of the voices and you can really tell the truth about the artist from the sounds they make, but I also have translators and my script supervisor was bilingual and brilliant etc.

How long did the filming take?

JW: 127 days, eight episodes, complete.

And this was all filmed at Cinecittà?

JW: We were based in Cinecittà and all the studio footage was shot there, but we also built a big set there for the streets of Milan. We also shot around Rome and Naples, and also up north in a small town called Gorizia, just north of Trieste.

I got to see the sets at Cinecittà, which were beautiful. Was that possible? Have you filmed there before?

JW: Cinecittà was amazing, and Lorenzo worked out a deal with the whole crew. We got great prices at Cinecittà through the deal that he had set up, and it was fantastic to work there. I loved working there. I mean, it’s a great combination of all the modern conveniences that you could want. Very positive, positive approach, and also this incredible history around you. You know, you feel the pedigree. You feel the legacy of the studio, not just Fellini, but you know, Scorsese, who makes Gangs of New York and you know, the whole… incredible, incredible history of filming there. Antonioni filmed there. Everyone filmed there, and it’s really special. So, you know, it works financially and kind of creatively, spiritually, it’s like a very powerful film environment.

How does it work? How does Lorenzo compare to other producers you’ve worked with?

JW: Lorenzo is incredibly intellectual. This guy is a serious thinker and he once told me that he named his production company The Apartment because he basically studied in his apartment and produced things from there. He has, I think, exceptional taste. He’s very good at creatively putting packages together.

I don’t mean financial packages. So for example, Mbought the rights to the book and then gave Stefano the writer and it was a brilliant combination. Then he hired me. It was a really interesting, left-wing idea and I think that, you know, it was really smart because I have a distance from the material, which allowed me to… you know, Italians are — it’s a very, very emotional issue for Italians.

Absolutely

JW: One of the first questions I asked Lorenzo was, “Who do you think should play Mussolini?” And he said Luca Marinelli. And he said it was completely up to you, but I would look at Luca Marinelli and he was absolutely right, and one of the best things for me, as a British, English-speaking director, was that I wasn’t aware of the Italian accent, so I got to discover a whole world of actors who had never been on my radar before.

And they were amazing, and I had no idea if they were stars or not, where they came from, what their background was, really. I could have been incredibly egalitarian in my casting, but he suggested Luca. I looked at all of Luca’s work. I was just blown away by his work on other shows, and then I met Luca and he is a complete masterpiece of casting.

And he’s absolutely extraordinary, and the whole show is based on his performance. It’s kind of a one-man show, so that was Lorenzo. When I told Lorenzo that I wanted the technical advisors to do the music for it, it wasn’t an obvious choice, and he totally agreed. He understood immediately what I was getting at, why I made that choice.

He didn’t go into too much detail when he was developing the script, but then he had one or two, I think, one idea early on in the first book that I found out about… it’s a bit of a spoiler how I describe it, but it just turned the whole thing around and you just said, “Oh my God, this is the line.” That was Lorenzo.

So he’s one of those people; maybe because he allows himself a certain distance – like I had that distance – he allows himself a little bit of distance to be able to look at it more objectively, and that’s really, really helpful, and then he leaves you alone and he’s been incredibly supportive every step of the way.

He’s definitely a producer you can call at the right moment when you need it. You know, I don’t remember… there was a problem with a very prestigious location in Rome and it required a quick call from a high-level executive. He makes things happen. Yes. He totally makes things happen.

(Editor’s note: Mieli left her position as CEO of Fremantle’s Apartment earlier this year to form OUR Films with partner Mario Gianani, in which Mediwan has a majority stake.)

Do you think Western audiences, especially British and American ones, will be ready for M. Son of the Century?Most Italians are fascinated by Mussolini, good or bad. Even if you are not a Mussolini supporter, he is a fascinating figure.

JW: I think it’s going to be really, really interesting and I’m fascinated to see the reaction. It’s a very bold approach to the show. It’s not a costume drama in the traditional sense, you know? As I said, you know, the music is The Chemical Brothers. It’s a very intense experience and I’m very excited for people to see it. I’m also interested in the Italian reaction because Italy has never fully come to terms with its fascist past. You know, there were terrible civilian retaliations after the war, but there was no consideration of social responsibility.

There were no Nuremberg trials. There was no armistice, no reconciliation. So I’m fascinated to see how Italy reacts, and I think it’s going to have a big impact there, and I think it’s going to have a big impact on the rest of the world as well. I’m sure it will, because it’s very… it’s about Mussolini, but it’s also about fascism, populism, and the right. It’s also about how awful men can be. It’s also about masculinity, if you will.

Is that what attracted you to this project?
JW: Yeah, one of them. I mean, you try to find a work that works on multiple levels — political, sociopolitical, geopolitical, cultural, but also personal and spiritual. I think it’s really important to feel that. The show works on multiple levels.