Dino De Laurentiis, acclaimed producer of many films including the Hannibal Lecter franchise, sadly passed away on Wednesday, surrounded by his family at his Beverley Hills home. He was 91 years old.
Earlier in his career, De Laurentiis worked with some of Italy’s most famous directors, including Federico Fellini and Roberto Rossellini, however in the 1970’s he made the move to Hollywood, going on to work on films as well-known and eclectic as Dune, Flash Gordon, Conan the Barbarian, Serpico, Death Wish, Breakdown, The Bounty, King Kong (1976) and U-571.
It was perhaps for Manhunter, Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon, Hannibal and Hannibal Rising that he became best known and he was awarded the Irving Thalberg Award at the Oscars in 2001, to go with his Best Foreign Language Film Oscar from 1957 for La Strada.
Brett Ratner, who directed Red Dragon, said on Twitter that De Laurentiis “was a mentor and friend…I will miss him”. De Laurentiis is survived by his wife Martha and their two children as well as four children from his first marriage to Silvana Mangano, who passed away in 1989. RIP Mr De Laurentiis.
