MOVIES - Dec. 7, 1990

Paradise Cinema: “Cinema Paradiso,” one of the most commercially successful foreign-language films ever released in the United Sates, is going to be remade as an American movie. New York-based Miramax Films, which picked up the Italian picture following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last year, has obtained the rights to a remake from producer Franco Cristaldi and writer-director Giuseppe Tornatore. Miramax President Harvey Weinstein said that the remake will be reset in the U.S., but will not be directed by Tornatore. No other creative decisions have been made. “Cinema Paradiso,” which stars Mario Leonardi and tells the story of a young boy’s love affair with movies in a small Sicilian village, won this year’s Oscar for best foreign-language film and, still in release after 44 weeks, has grossed more than $11 million.