WORLD NEWS

Directors Unhappy: Leading Italian film directors including Lina Wertmuller and Giuliano Montaldo are angry about an auction of 10,000 film props from Cinecitta, the Rome film studios founded by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in the 1930s. Among the items already sold: Elizabeth Taylor’s bed from the extravagant flop “Cleopatra” went for $4,500, and the elegant furnishings that surrounded Burt Lancaster in “The Leopard” went for $18,000. Wertmuller said the government should have stopped the auction, which was prompted by the dismal state of the Italian film industry. The sale, which continues through Wednesday, is expected to bring in $4 million to $5 million.