Digital News South Africa

First Pirelli movie debuts online

It could just be the film pairing of the decade - John Malkovich stars with controversial supermodel Naomi Campbell in a breath-taking dark thriller 'The Call' directed by Antoine Foquà. However, this controversial picture isn't coming to a cinema near you. The Call - the latest venture from the cutting-edge Pirelli brand - will be aired on the Internet.

The Call is Pirelli's first foray into the world of commercial film and is only one of a number of high quality short films that the company is involved in. This extraordinary project intends to support the Pirelli image and positioning and to maintain brand leadership. Each film will interpret the famous Pirelli claim - "Power is nothing without control" - in a different way each year.

Director, Foquà, of Training Day fame, also received an Oscar nomination for King Arthur. The movie focuses on the eternal battle between good and evil. Before filming began, the final script was shown to Father John, the Vatican liaison for relations with the movie industry. Father John helped develop the idea and made several suggestions for parts of the dialogue and the liturgy that made the film even more realistic. It was shot in Rome last year at the Santo Spirito Hospital and in an old abandoned industrial warehouse. Post-production was done entirely in studios in Hollywood.

Pirelli has chosen the web as the main channel for these films. Internet, with its endless possibilities, has evolved to become an entertainment channel and, in this case, also a movie theatre. A new path has therefore been opened in the world of entertainment and audiovisual communication.

The website where The Call will make its debut at the end of March and where all the other new releases will appear is www.pirellifilm.com.

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