Primarily, Lina Wertmuller is known for being an Italian film director who found international success with movies such as Seven Beauties as well as The Seduction of Mimi and Love and Anarchy. Given that this happened in the 1970s, it should come as no surprise to learn that Wertmuller has had a fair amount of influence on cinema, not least by being a pioneer for women in film-making.
Here are five things that you may or may not have known about Lina Wertmuller:
Of Noble Descent
For those who are curious, Wertmuller was born with the name Arcangela Felice Assunta Wertmüller von Elgg Spañol von Braueich. Given the “von” in her name, it is perhaps unsurprising to learn that her family has noble roots. However, it should be noted that “von” can be used to mean something along the lines of either “of” or “from,” meaning that its presence in a name does not necessitate the existence of noble roots at some point in the family tree.
Expelled On Numerous Occasions
Regardless, it is interesting to note that Wertmuller was said to have been a rebellious child. In fact, calling her “rebellious” might be understating the case, seeing as how she was expelled from more than a dozen Catholic schools over the course of her childhood. To cap it off, Wertmuller made a choice to enroll in theatre school, which was very much against the wishes of her father, who wanted her to become a lawyer.
Made Her Name Because of Giancarlo Giannini Movies
Wertmuller got involved in theatre as an actress, a director, and a playwright as soon as she graduated. However, it was not until the 1970s that she managed to make her name known to an international audience with four movies that starred Giancarlo Giannini. It is interesting to note that the two were acquainted with one another well before those four movies, seeing as how they had met when Wertmuller was still involved with theatre.
Famous For Her Movie Names
Amusingly, Wertmuller has something of a reputation when it comes to her movie names. In short, her movie names are not just unnecessarily long but also tend towards the whimsical. For example, her Swept Away is actually Swept away by an unusual destiny in the blue sea of August, which was shortened when the movie was released to international audiences. As a result of these tendencies, it should come as no surprise to learn that Wertmuller holds the world record for the longest movie title.
First Woman to Be Nominated For Best Director At the Oscars
Through her career, Wertmuller has helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industries, not least because she managed several important firsts. One excellent example is how Wertmuller managed to become the first director to be nominated for the Oscar for the Best Director for the 1975 Seven Beauties. Even now, she is one of the four women who have ever been nominated for that particular prize, which has been won once by a woman when Kathryn Bigelow walked away with it in 2010 for Hurt Locker.
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