Produced several prestigious Italian films in collaboration with Carlo Ponti in the 1950s before turning to grandiose international productions. After the failure of his massive Dinocitta' Studios in Rome, De Laurentiis moved to the US. His taste for overblown spectacle has led to some expensive failures (Hurricaneand Tai-Pan), though he was also behind such critically lauded productions as Ragtime and Blue Velvet. In 1984 De Laurentiis unveiled the DEG (DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group) Film Studios in Wilmington, NC, but the venture was a failure and its founder bowed out in 1988. Raffaella De Laurentiis, the second of his four children with actress Silvana Mangano, is a Hollywood-based producer who formed her own company in 1987.
Born at 5:0am-CEST. Referred to by critics Harry and Michael Medved as "Dino Di Horrendous" in their 1980 book "The Golden Turkey Awards" after having produced a succession of costly failures during the previous decade (e.g., the remake King Kong). Announced on February 13, 2001, as recipient of the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award at the 2001 Academy Awards. Changed the name of the big screen adaptation of Thomas Harris's "Red Dragon" novel to Manhunter. This was due to the fact that he had a flop with Long de xin ("The Year of the Dragon") previously and didn't want to tempt fate by having another movie with the word "dragon" in it. Six children: Veronica, Raffaella, Federico and Francesca with first wife Mangano; Carolyna and Dina with second wife Schumacher. Brother of Luigi De Laurentiis. Uncle of Aurelio De Laurentiis. Grandfather of Dino De Laurentiis and of Giada De Laurentiis.