Schmidt won't sell out Boboli. The indiscretion: no to the Garden as a set for a Warner film

The Uffizi reportedly turned down an offer from Warner, the well-known film company, which would have liked to set one of its films, Dune Part II, at the Boboli Gardens. Reporting the indiscretion, this morning, is the daily newspaper Il Tirreno: according to the Livorno newspaper, in fact, the American production company would have contacted the Florentine museum to “agree on the set and the costs for five days of filming,” and yet “the offer received by the Florentine museum, it is said to be 150.000 euros, would not have satisfied director Eike Schmidt, who instead asked for (also based on pre-requisites, because, in reality, a price list does not exist) 250,000 euros.” It seems that in the end Warner decided not to accept Schmidt’s raise and resolved to shoot the Dune scenes elsewhere.

The Tirreno also reports of discontent that would be brewing among the city’s authorities, because a film like the second part of Dune, according to enthusiasts, would have guaranteed a huge return in image for the city. We are talking, after all, about the sequel to a film that was able to count on a stellar cast, and which was awarded six statuettes at the 2022 Oscars, and was also nominated for best picture. In the end, the museum’s reasons seem to have prevailed, because it would clearly have been a matter of selling off the Garden: the Uffizi, the newspaper reports, “would have found no convenience either in the publicity return or in the amount of money that, at full capacity and in high season, Boboli and the Galleries manage to gross in just three days.”

Indeed, if indeed Warner offered 150,000 euros for five days of filming, one cannot help but remember that, in September 2020, Ferrari paid 173,000 euros for a dinner at Palazzo Vecchio. And that it is therefore difficult to find the figure congruous.

The museum, of course, does not comment: there are rules of confidentiality and behavioral practice, the Uffizi lets us know, that prevent the museum from confirming or denying rumors about ongoing and possibly unsuccessful negotiations. “The director of the Uffizi Eike Schmidt,” the museum reiterates, however, “stresses in any case that he has, on several occasions in the past, actively prevented the sale of the artistic heritage of the Galleries in the face of offers that were absolutely not congruous with the concession claims made.” In short: they do not say no regardless, but that at least the offers are adequate.

Schmidt won't sell out Boboli. The indiscretion: no to the Garden as a set for a Warner film

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.