VALENTINO THE LAST EMPEROR
PARIS – January 21, 2008. As Valentino stages his very last fashion show in Paris this week, Acolyte Films is wrapping up post-production of a non-fiction feature on the legendary designer, in the wake of his exit from the company he founded in Rome more than 45 years ago. Valentino's last haute couture show, which will take place at the Rodin Museum in Paris on January 23, 2008, will be the centerpiece of couture week and mark not only the exit of the last couturier, but also the end of an era in fashion. Valentino: The Last Emperor, produced and directed by Matt Tyrnauer, Special Correspondent for Vanity Fair magazine, is an intimate and engaging fly-on-the-wall exploration of the singular world of one of Italy's most famous men. The film documents the colorful and dramatic closing act of Valentino's celebrated career, tells the story of his extraordinary life, and explores the larger themes affecting the fashion business today. At the heart of the film is the unique relationship between Valentino and his business partner and companion of 50 years, Giancarlo Giammetti. Their partnership is the longest-running alliance in fashion. In production from June 2005 to July 2007, the filmmakers shot over 250 hours of footage with exclusive, unprecedented access to Valentino and his entourage. "We were let into the inner circle, but we had to stick it out for a long time—practically move in—to capture the truly great moments," says Tyrnauer. "Valentino is surrounded by a tight knit family of friends and workers, but, eventually, their guard came down and they forgot there was a camera crew in the room." “One thing I found in the Valentino story is that it is an inspirational story about a self-made empire,” says Tyrnauer. “Valentino is the last true couturier and one of the great success stories of our time. He is a born dreamer, who let us in on his creative process and also let us in on the life he built around him to sustain this process. He was one the first designers to make himself the inspirational figure at the center of the story he was telling. He lives as lavishly as his clients and set a standard for the industry.” “Valentino is also a subject who allows for an inspirational story to be told,” says Tyrnauer. “He has put himself on a kind of cloud of glamour, and shuts out all that is not beautiful in the world. We followed him around the world to try to capture that special world.” Valentino: The Last Emperor is much more than a fashion movie. It is a portrait of an extraordinary relationship between Valentino and Giammetti—the longest-running partnership in fashion—and an a dramatic story about a master confronting the final act of his celebrated career. It will be a film and fashion world event, marking the end of an era. Shot in widescreen high-definition, the film will begin showing at film festivals in April 2008, with plans in the works for gala premiere parties and special events at film festivals, fashion weeks and other venues around the world.
CREATIVE TEAM Matt Tyrnauer, director/producer Matt Tyrnauer is a Special Correspondent at Vanity Fair magazine, where he has worked since 1992. His feature articles include profiles of Martha Stewart (the August 2005 post-prison cover story, and a 2001 profile), Valentino Garavani, Siegfried and Roy, Tommy Hilfiger, Philippe Starck, Frank Gehry, producer Robert Evans, actor Greg Kinnear, and writer Bret Easton Ellis. Matt Kapp, producer Matt Kapp created and produced, for the Emmy Award-winning PBS series American Masters, the feature-length documentary The Education Of Gore Vidal, which premiered at the 2003 Sundance film festival and was a People magazine and Entertainment Weekly critic's pick. From 1997 to 1999, he worked for Academy Award winner Lee Grant, associate producing biographies for Lifetime Television’s Intimate Portrait series, and has written and produced newsmagazine stories for series on PBS and MTV’s LOGO channel. Carter Burden, executive producer Carter Burden is Chairman and CEO of Logicworks Corporation, the internet infrastructure firm he founded in 1993, which hosts web sites such as TruTV, Daily Candy, and The Onion. Burden is also the co-founder of Dead Horse Media, which publishes the web sites Dealbreaker, Above The Law, and Fashionista, and is founder of Darkstar Capital, a private multi-strategy investment firm. Tom Hurwitz, director of photography Tom Hurwitz is one of our country's most honored documentary cinematographers. Winner of two Emmy Awards and a Sundance Award for Best Cinematography, Hurwitz has photographed films that have won four Academy Awards and several more nominations. Over the last 25 years his television programs have won dozens of awards, including Emmy, Dupont, Peabody, Directors Guild and film festival awards for Best Documentary. Bob Eisenhardt, editor Three-time Emmy Award winner and Oscar nominee Bob Eisenhardt has worked as a film editor, director, and producer. Films that he has contributed to garnered two Oscar nominations, nineteen Emmys, two Peabodies, and numerous other awards. Recent films he's edited include Dixie Chicks: Shut Up & Sing, directed by Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck, and The Blues: Godfathers & Sons, directed by Marc Levin and executive produced by Martin Scorcese. Peter Miller, sound recordist Peter Miller is an Emmy-Award winning sound recordist who has worked on four Academy Awardwinning documentaries (Into the Arms of Strangers, He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin', Best Boy, and The Ten Year Lunch) and two Academy Award-nominated documentaries (Paul Taylor: Dancemaker and Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse). He also recorded sound for Barbara Kopple's Wild Man Blues, My Generation, the ABC miniseries The Hamptons, and George Butler's Going Up River: The Long War of John Kerry, among others.
Frederic Tcheng, co-producer and co-editor Frederic Tcheng is a French-born filmmaker who holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Directing from Columbia University in New York City. He has directed several short films and also shot and edited numerous award-winning short films for his colleagues at Columbia University. Adam Leff, co-executive producer Adam Leff has written numerous screenplays including Last Action Hero, PCU and Bio-Dome (which he also executive produced). He is an L.A.-based contributing editor for Vanity Fair. Aimee Bell, consulting producer Aimee Bell is a Deputy Editor at Vanity Fair magazine. Highlights of her fourteen-year tenure at V.F. include editing columnists Christopher Hitchens and James Wolcott, overseeing the Africa issue, and portfolios on British Theatre, Swinging London, Young Royals, and John Singer Sargent. She produces the magazine's annual Music Issue and International Best-Dressed List portfolio. She was a co-producer of the 2005 documentary Eleanor: Godmother of American Fashion, which depicts the life of legendary fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert.
Contact for PR: New York: Tom Piechura, 42 West Public Relations Tel. +1 212.277.7555 Fax +1 212.277.7550 Parigi: Frédéric Tcheng Tel. +33 6.63079227 Press Office Valentino Milan Tel. +39 02.62492.1