Benigni Blathers On

Roberto Benigni is at it again. The actor who threatened to 'kidnap everybody and take them to the firmament and make love to everybody' at the 1999 Oscars has been speaking about his latest project, a live action version of Pinocchio, which has just been bought up by Miramax. 'There is nothing more beautiful in the world, enough to lose one's head,' Benigni tells a bemused Variety correspondent whilst in Cannes. 'A sunset with a long nose, a starry sky that lies,' he goes on to say, 'a river searching for its father, a beautiful blue forest. 'It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it's very mean, generous, magical, universal, a picture of freedom, of unrestrained desire to live, of pain and joy; a joy so powerful and sweet that it restores the souls in every spot on earth. 'Pinocchio': nothing more beautiful in the world.' Eh?