Checco Zalone Explained

Checco Zalone
Birth Name:Luca Pasquale Medici
Birth Date:1977 6, df=y
Birth Place:Capurso, Italy
Height:1.73m (05.68feet)

Luca Pasquale Medici[1] (born 3 June 1977), known as Checco Zalone (pronounced as /it/, modeled on the Italianized Barese insult "Italian: che cozzalone!", ("), is an Italian comedian, actor, screenwriter, director and film producer. He co-wrote and starred in the five highest-grossing Italian films in Italy headed by Quo Vado?.

Biography and career

Luca Medici was born in Capurso, in the first hinge of the metropolitan area of Bari, close to the suburbs south of the city. The pseudonym Checco Zalone recalls the local expression Italian: che cozzalone!, meaning "what a boor!". During his teens, he was very fond of video games and spent most of his afternoons indoors. He graduated from the scientific high school Sante Simone in Conversano; he later enrolled at the University of Bari, where he graduated in law. In the meantime, he participates in the competitions as deputy police inspector and INAIL in Rimini, but is rejected.

After being a regular in many editions of the Italian: [[Canale 5]]|i=no variety show , he became famous in 2006 thanks to the song "Italian: {{ill|Siamo una squadra fortissimi|it" (meaning "we are a very strong team" in broken Italian), celebrating the Italian team just before the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[1] In 2009 he co-wrote and starred in Italian: [[Cado dalle nubi]], co-written by Gennaro Nunziante, who also directed.

In 2011, he again co-wrote and starred in Italian: [[Che bella giornata]], also co-written and directed by Nunziante. It opened with a record Italian opening weekend of $9.4 million[2] and became the highest-grossing Italian film of all-time in Italy, grossing €43.4 million,[3] surpassing Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful.[4] Life Is Beautiful retained the worldwide record for an Italian film with $70 million worldwide.[4]

In 2013, he and Nunziante followed it up with Italian: [[Sole a catinelle]] which surpassed it with an opening record of €19.2 million and a total gross of €51.9 million.[3] [5] [6]

In January 2016, his and Nunziante's next film Quo Vado? set another opening weekend record grossing over €22m (£16.5m) over the three-day holiday weekend[5] [7] [8] and went on to become the highest-grossing Italian film of all-time[9] with €65.3 million, second only to Avatar in Italy with €65.7 million.[9] In the same year, Zalone was the Italian testimonial of the funding raising campaign for the research on Spinal muscular atrophy.[10] [11] His and Nunziate's films are currently the second, third, fifth and sixth highest-grossing films in Italy.

On 30 April 2021, Checco Zalone released the video of his song "La vacinada" (meaning "the vaccinated woman" in pseudo-Spanish), starring English actress Helen Mirren. In the song, Zalone jokes about the fact that, in times of Covid-19 pandemic, it is safer to have an affair with someone who has already been vaccinated against the virus, and therefore the best option is a higher-aged partner, as the elderly are the ones who were vaccinated first.[12]

In 2022 he has been guest at Sanremo Music Festival with a medley.

Filmography

Films

YearTitleRole(s)Notes
2009Cado dalle nubiCheccoAlso writer
2011What a Beautiful Day
2013Sole a catinelle
2016Quo Vado?
2020Tolo ToloAlso writer and director

Notes and References

  1. http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/checco-zalone Zalone, Checco
  2. Web site: Beautiful Day' now Italy's most successful film (Reuters) . 17 January 2011.
  3. Web site: Annuario Cinetel 2014. Cinetel. it. 3 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20160107233759/http://www.cinetel.it/images/documenti/Annuario_Cinetel_2014.pdf. 7 January 2016. dead.
  4. Web site: Italian Comedy 'Sun in Buckets' Sets New Opening Weekend Sales Record. Eric J.. Lyman. 4 November 2013. 3 October 2019. The Hollywood Reporter.
  5. Web site: Italy Box Office: Local Hit 'Quo Vado?' Sets Opening Records. Ariston. Anderson. 4 January 2016. 4 January 2016. The Hollywood Reporter.
  6. Web site: Italian Comedy 'Sun in Buckets' Sets New Opening Weekend Sales Record. Eric J.. Lyman. 4 November 2013. 4 January 2016. The Hollywood Reporter.
  7. Web site: Backward-looking The Force Awakens might pay the price beyond the west. The Guardian. 12 January 2016. Phil. Hoad. 4 January 2016.
  8. Web site: Quo Vado? has beaten Star Wars at the box office. The Independent. 9 January 2016. 12 January 2016.
  9. News: Niola. Gabriele. Italy box office: 'Quo Vado?' becomes biggest ever local film. Screen Daily. 14 January 2016. 3 October 2019.
  10. News: Sma, il nuovo, magnifico, spot di Checco Zalone. Chiara . Pizzimenti. Vanity Fair. it. October 2, 2020.
  11. News: "Ciao grande Mirko". L'addio di Zalone all'amico malato di Sma. Francesca Galici. it. October 2, 2020. Il Giornale.
  12. Web site: Helen Mirren joins Italy's best known comic in light-hearted to promote Covid-19 vaccine. telegraph.co.uk. 30 April 2021. 1 May 2021.