Toby Dammit

Attention, please.

TWA announces the departure of flight number 203 to New York.

Stop!

Damn you! I'll kick you all the way back to England! You...

He destroyed his camera! Did he hurt you, Dad?

No, I'm fine, but the camera...

They send all the nuts over here!

My name is Father Spagna.

They're brothers.

Should I tell him anything else?

This way, please.

You have to walk for miles in these airports.

It's the first Catholic western, you know?

The second coming of Christ in a desolated borderland.

Which in the end, is the desire of all men:

that Christ should show himself again.

That he, peace, should become a concrete, tangible presence.

Alive! Christ already lives within each of us,

but to represent him like this, in our everyday lives...

It might seem like a desperate enterprise,

blasphemy, even.

But you know, you understand, with your sensibility as an artist,

being a believer does not matter,

that certain types of cinema, with substance, let's say,

can create that sublime poetry with simple images,

bare and eloquent in their poverty.

Syntagmatic, as my friend Roland Barthes would say.

Somewhere between Dreyer and Pasolini,

with a touch of Ford, naturally.

If it reflects the crises, the shocks of our society,

the reasons for the decadence of our capitalist system,

even an Italian-style western can be a work of the highest commitment.

Even Lukács says so.

We want to create characters derived from history

with a wide sociological background.

For example, what do the two outlaws in our film represent?

A sad song with its full bosom,

and the deceptive sanctuary of the irrational.

The prairie is the region of earth without history.

The bison are the sustenance for which men must fight.

The film will be in color, in loud colors.

Simple costumes that can blend the evangelical landscape

with the prairie.

Piero della Francesca and Fred Zinneman.

It really is an interesting enterprise, you know?

But you'll find your place in it, your heart will lead you.

He wants the Ferrari.

You'll have your Ferrari. Of course you will, tonight.

Go on, keep moving.

Go on, go on!

Stop! Wait. Stop the car. I need to talk to you.

Give me your hand, I'll read your fortune.

- Give the gypsy 1000 lire. - Go away!

Go away!

He's curious to know.

Of course, your desire is understandable.

But you cannot change the fate which providence has determined.

No, I don't want to.

STAND BY

ON AIR

This evening, our program's guest of honor

is an English actor who requires no introduction.

We all remember him from his famous film.

Now he's in Rome, where he will act in a film

which transposes into the Western genre the evangelical redemption story.

Ladies and gentlemen, here with us today is Toby Dammit!

Have you ever been to Italy before, Mr. Dammit?

What led you to come here now?

Do you use LSD or any other drugs?

Why?

What's the thing you love most in the world?

And what do you hate the most?

They say you no longer have a public, Mr. Dammit.

How do you explain all the criticism you received for your Hamlet?

Did you have a sad childhood?

They say you can't stand criticism.

That you can be violent, irascible, hot-headed.

Do you consider yourself neurotic?

What's lacking in your life, Mr. Dammit?

Is it true you've also held less respectable jobs?

Do you know anything about Italian cinema?

How come you're popular with both men and women?

Why haven't you been to Italy before?

Do you think you're funny?

Do you believe in God?

And in the Devil?

Interesting. What's the Devil like? Have you seen him?

Describe him to us. Is he a goat, a bat, a black cat?

Great!

Let me see.

With this face, I can do whatever I like.

See?

He never stops!

Ladies and gentlemen, good evening.

Welcome to the tenth edition of the Italian Oscars.

I would like to thank the most eminent personalities from entertainment,

politics and art who are here with us.

A warm welcome to the Honorable Mr. De Bonis,

who, with such a lovely gesture, has come up with...

Long live my producer!

I want to shake your hand. Bravo! Well done!

Long live Italy. Because this country...

Welcome, Mr. Toby. I'm Italian actor Michele Stinelli,

- stage name D'Artagnan. - Take D'Artagnan away!

I can do any voice. I'm a poet, a philosopher...

Come on, D'Artagnan. Come with me.

Forgive me for interrupting, Mr. Dammit.

This is my daughter Elizabeth. She sings, dances, acts.

Say hello, Elizabeth.

- How's it going? - Is she a virgin?

Mr. Dammit, she's just a child.

I can guarantee that.

I'm Marty from the production.

The ceremony to award the Golden Wolf will begin in a moment.

We still have some time, because first there's the procession.

Are you following me?

The actors and actresses say something on the microphone,

make a little speech.

Not the actresses, of course.

You'll recite some Shakespeare, at least that's what I've heard.

But keep it brief, okay?

Real short.