Hold the macaroni! Universal Pictures today bought a minority stake in the Italian firm Cattleya, and announced that Focus Features will partner with Cattleya on a whole raft of upcoming films. Why is this latest event in the spaghetti-like affairs of studio politics worthy of comment? Well, Cattleya recently produced good Italian films like Romanzo Criminale, My Brother Is An Only Child and Don't Tell, and this deal may mean that we get to see more of films like that. They're also co-producers on Rome-based productions like Rob Marshall's Nine, and the deal with Universal could even see more films like that headed to Italy. The new partners are planning to make at least two films a year for the next four years, with Universal handling the Italian distribution of Cattleya's films and Focus getting first dibs on foreign distribution. So it's limoncellos all round for the dealmakers, and hopefully for audiences who get a few more Italian films headed our way. | 
