Nicola Maccanico, the former Warner Bros. and Sky Italia senior exec, who has been spearheading the radical overhaul of Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, has stepped down after a three-year stint.
Maccanico has been instrumental to relaunching the iconic filming facilities that last year lured big shoots such as Roland Emmerich’s gladiator series “Those About to Die” starring Anthony Hopkins and Netflix’s period soap “The Decameron.”
Maccanico had been appointed by a center-left government in April 2021 when the government-owned facilities embarked on a mission to secure a multi-million dollar loan provided by the European Union’s post-pandemic recovery fund.
Though from a formal standpoint Maccanico on Tuesday stepped down voluntarily at the end of his three-year mandate, it is widely believed that the Cinecittà chief wanted to remain on board to complete the second-phase of Cinecittà’s overhaul but was ousted by Italy’s current right wing regime.
Maccanico in a text message said: “I’ve had an intense and super-positive 3-years and now I am ready to think about the future,” declining to comment any further.
In his resignation letter published on the Cinecittà News website Maccanico noted that “Cinecittà is not just one of the best-known brands in our country and a physical space that represents the highest and most international concept of Italian creativity.”
“Together we managed to prove that it can also be a strong, competitive company, capable of generating profits by attracting large Italian and international productions,” he added.
Maccanico went on to underline the numbers he accomplished during his three-year stint, noting that under his management Cinecittà reached a €100 million ($106 million) turnover, €43 million of which generated by the sudios’ art and set design departments. The studios closed the past two fiscal years turning a profit after decades of red ink, bringing its Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) to over €2.5 million ($2.6 million) and hosting over 50 major productions, while investing to refurbish the facilities, building new soundstages, and implementing a general overhaul that includes the instalment of one of Europe’s largest LED walls.
Though plenty of rumours are swirling in the Italian press, it is still unclear who the current government will chose to replace Maccanico, or what the manager’s next move will be.
Source Agencies
