☛ The Guardian: “Dino De Laurentiis: a life in pictures”, November 11, 2010 (Photograph: Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis ©)

From The New York Times:

Dino De Laurentiis, the high-flying Italian film producer and entrepreneur whose movies ranged from some of Federico Fellini’s earliest works to “Serpico,” “Death Wish” and the 1976 remake of “King Kong,” died on Wednesday at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 91. (“Dino De Laurentiis, Prolific Film Producer, Dies at 91” by Dave Kehr, November 11, 2010

I’ve come to learn the name De Laurentiis while watching classics such as La Strada (Fellini, 1954), Serpico (Lumet, 1973) Dune (Lynch, 1984), Blue Velvet (Lynch, 1986). I knew he was a kind of a giant in the world of film producer. Now, I learn that he was also behind the Hannibal Lecter saga, Conan The Barbarian and Bound (which he financed), the very first film Wachowski brothers.

• The Variety obituary.
• The Hollywood Reporter along with a gallery of pictures.
• Life also has an interesting gallery: “Who was Dino De Laurentiis?”

In a 1985 interview, David Lynch explains how Dino De Laurentiis inspired some of the settings for his film Dune :

―Lynch: This is how it happened: I went to Venice, just for an afternoon, to see the Marcusplace. Dino de Laurentiis bought me a book, which inspired all these things…
―TIP: Which book was that?
―Lynch: A book about Venice. It inspired the idea, that in the world of “Dune” a Renaissance had taken place thousands of years ago, and this renaissance had been very powerful and farreaching. And people built beautiful machines; they were so well-constructed, that they remained intact until now, the time, when the story begins. Of course this melange gives the humans certain mental abilities. But they need machines nonetheless, and these machines were built before discovering Melange. This world is not a world of machines, but they are part of it. (Interview by Herman Weigel for tip Filmjahrbuch)

Below, the opening credits for Manhunter (Michael Mann, 1986)