DINO DE LAURENTIIS / PRODUCER

Forget the home run race. Dino De Laurentiis is about to hit a cinema milestone. When the submarine drama “U-571” starts filming next month in Malta, it will be the 600th movie the Italian titan has produced, financed or distributed. Approaching 80, De Laurentiis began in 1941 with “L’Amore Canta,” and his credits range from Fellini’s classic “La Strada” to the camp “Barbarella.”

PRODUCTION PACE: “When I was in Europe, it was easy to do 20 pictures a year for all those years. In America, it’s very tough, especially with the budgets up, up, up.”

GOOD OLD DAYS: “ ‘War and Peace,’ what I was able to put into that [in 1956, for about $8 million] is impossible today. Doing that would cost $150 million today.”

KEY WORKS: “When I decided to move to the United States [in the early ‘70s], I was very famous in Europe, but I said, ‘What can I do to prove to myself and everyone else I can be an American producer?’ I did ‘Serpico.’ Fantastic movie with Al Pacino. I am proudest of that and ‘Three Days of the Condor,’ first two pictures I did in the United States.”

WORD POWER: “Today there are so many big stars. I’ve worked with everybody, almost--a star like Harrison Ford, a star like Mel Gibson, a star like Michael Douglas. But they need the right movie and a good script. For me, the star of the movie, for any movie, is the script.”

HUMAN TOUCH: “Special effects--in my opinion, too many. The audience starts to be tired. They look for drama, human stories. ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ no effects. Just human drama. That’s why I’m doing ‘U-571’ and next ‘Word of Honor’ from the Nelson DeMille bestseller. Fantastic stories.”

HARDWARE: “For ‘U-571,’ we’re building one full-size submarine for the navigation into the open sea, and two more, full-size, for a tank in Malta. Very expensive movie. But [the subs] don’t exist anymore from World War II.”

CAREER MOVE: “First movie I saw was a western, in a small county next to Naples. My dream was to be an actor. I started out to be an actor. At some point I see my face in the mirror and said it was better for me to stay in back of the camera.”

NEW RECRUITS: “The industry needs new blood. With ‘Bound,’ Larry and Andy Wachowski, two brothers from Chicago, came to me, said they want to direct a movie. I said, ‘What’s your expertise?’ Nothing. ‘What’s your job?’ Painter and carpenter. But they come back, and I love the script. We spent $5 million, and it was very good.”