ITALY'S FILM DUBBERS MAKE POINT MUTE WITH JOB ACTION.Byline: Candice Hughes Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Hollywood's been struck dumb, silenced by a dubbers strike in Italy that could darken dark·en v. dark·ened, dark·en·ing, dark·ens v.tr. 1. a. To make dark or darker. b. To give a darker hue to. 2. To fill with sadness; make gloomy. 3. the silver screen. The strike brings to the fore an unsung but indispensable part of the movie business in Italy. Elsewhere in Europe, subtitled sub·ti·tle n. 1. A secondary, usually explanatory title, as of a literary work. 2. A printed translation of the dialogue of a foreign-language film shown at the bottom of the screen. tr.v. or original-language versions of films are usually available. Not in Italy. Italians like their movies in Italian. Period. That means virtually all of the 300 or so first-run films imported by Italy every year get dubbed dub 1 tr.v. dubbed, dub·bing, dubs 1. To tap lightly on the shoulder by way of conferring knighthood. 2. To honor with a new title or description. 3. . Dubbers walked off the job July 13 in a long-simmering contract dispute. The strike has studio executives and distributors chewing their nails. Fall is a big movie season and a lot of major films are supposed to open. ``We're in trouble if they don't go back,'' said Patrizia Gelvatti, of United International Pictures, which distributes MGM MGM in full Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. U.S. corporation and film studio. It was formed when the film distributor Marcus Loew, who bought Metro Pictures in 1920, merged it with the Goldwyn production company in 1924 and with Louis B. Mayer Pictures in 1925. , Paramount and Universal films. ``We can't even get our trailers out.'' Steven Spielberg's World War II epic ``Saving Private Ryan'' is awaiting Italian voices, she said. At Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) ., ``The Perfect Murder,'' a remake of the classic ``Dial M for Murder'' with Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow, isn't dubbed yet. ``Lethal Weapon 4'' is only partly dubbed. ``This is a movie that could make a minimum of $8 million at the box office,'' said the head of Warner Bros. in Italy, Paolo Ferrari. The good news is the strike won't affect the upcoming Venice Film Festival, which caters to purists by showing films in the original language. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) Mum's the word for Oreste Lionello and Italy's other striking movie dubbers who are voicing contract displeasure. Corrado Giambalvo/Associated Press |
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