Raffaella Leone, CEO of Leone Film Group, has been confirmed among the 500 most
influential personalities in the world, capable of shaping the global media industry, according to Variety –
a centenarian magazine and leading source of entertainment information in America.
The news arrived with the publication of the Variety500 rankings, which list the 500 most influential business leaders
in the world, based on the results they have achieved over the course of the year.
Raffaella Leone has demonstrated this for the sixth consecutive year,
confirming her place in the listing as the only Italian woman, alongside
international personalities such as James Cameron, Bob Iger, Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg and Amy Pascal,
to name but a few.
Alongside her, 5 other Italian professional figures were selected: Paolo Del Brocco
(Managing Director of Rai Cinema), Andrea Scrosati (Group COO/CEO Europa
Continentale for Fremantle), Marco Bassetti (Managing Director of the Banjay group),
Luca Bernabei (Managing Director of Lux Video) and Alberto Barbera (Director
Venice Film Festival).
Raffaella Leone was included in the "Producers" category, a recognition that testifies, in
in particular, her contribution to the world of film production.
This is what Variety said about her:
“Leone has spent years carving her own identity as the producer of such films as “Playing for
Keeps” (2012) and “Fathers and Daughters” (2015). But she had no problem exploring the
legacy of her legendary director father in her latest project for Leone Film Group, the
the documentary “Sergio Leone: The Italian Who Invented America,” which premiered at
he Venice Film Festival in September 2022. The year also saw her team with Disney+
Italy to produce director Paolo Genovese’s upcoming eight-part miniseries “The Lions of Sicily,”
based on Stefania Auci’s multigenerational historical novel of the same name and expand
her company’s pact with user-generated fiction platform Wattpad — initiated with a 2021
deal to do a feature adaptation of Blair Holden’s “The Bad Boy’s Girl”
to co-develop feature films with its entertainment arm, Wattpad Webtoon Studios.