 Producer Augusto Caminito (qv) originally hired director  Maurizio Lucidi (qv), who shot a few crowd scenes in Venice before  the script had even been completed. Caminito decided that the  project needed another director and fired Lucidi (paying him his  full salary), hiring Pasquale Squitieri (qv) to write and direct  the picture. However, Squitieris screenplay proved too expensive to  shoot so Caminito decided to stop working with him (he nevertheless  paid him his full, hefty, salary). Shooting had already been  postponed several times and the Italian TV network which co