by Enrico Maso, translated into English by Ruth Stephens
Chapter 7 – Guess who?
After the audition, Marco emerges into the corridor and tells Luca about it.
A few minutes later the director comes out and goes over to Eugenio.
“Papà!” he says “What a nice surprise!”
The two laugh and embrace. Eugenio tells him about his train journey and introduces Luca and Marco. “These lads have been so kind,” he says.
Luca and Marco leave their names and phone numbers with the secretary, then say goodbye to Eugenio and his son and leave the theatre.
Luca suggests they look around a bit as there is still plenty of time before their train is due. So they walk the length of the set of Ancient Rome ending up near Theatre 5.
“This is where Federico Fellini worked,” Luca tells Marco.
“Really?”
“Yes, he made some of his most famous films here, like 81/2 and Amarcord. It’s the biggest in Europe, and is now dedicated to Fellini. Look!”
He points to a plaque. The plaque bears Fellini’s most famous quote, “Theatre 5 is the ideal place, a space to fill, a world to create.”
Marco reads it thinking “The cinema really is a world of fantasy and dreams!”
The two friends suddenly become aware of how quickly the time has passed
Quickly, they make their way out of Cinema City and back towards the metro station.
Arriving at Rome’s central staion they realise they have left it late to catch their train for Bologna.
They run to the platform but the train is no longer there. They’ve missed it!