00:00Thank you Silvia. Thank you everybody. Good morning. Thank you all for being here today and thank you to all
00:09the people and the institutions who made this dream a reality. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the Hollywood Walk of
00:16Fame, the Italian Ministry of Culture, Cinecittà, and our team at Fondazione Carlo Rambaldi.
00:23I have been very fortunate to spend a childhood in the workshop of Carlo Rambaldi, not knowing how famous he
00:31was or what he had meant for the world.
00:34My sisters and I would watch him draw, build things, test mechanisms, and sometimes get to play with the creatures
00:42lurking around the stock.
00:45I remember how much he'd love having us there. He would give us candy and take the time to explain
00:51what he was working on.
00:52I thought he was the coolest person in the world. But then again, I figured every kid thinks that about
00:58their grandfather.
00:59It was only when I got older and started going to events with him that I realized that maybe my
01:04grandfather wasn't just the fun nonno Carlo who would draw with us and tell us stories and take out his
01:10telescope to teach us about stars and planets and what may lay beyond.
01:17People would come up to him all the time. They'd shake his hand and ask him to draw them that
01:22little alien who lived in his office. He never said no.
01:27However tired he was, however inconvenient the moment, he'd make a little sketch for anyone who asked. On any kind
01:35of paper they could find. There are a lot of ETs and paper napkins out there.
01:41And even though he was very reserved and a quiet man, if anyone had questions about his work, his eyes
01:49would light up and he would go on and on and on to the point that my grandmother often had
01:56to pull him away.
01:57He loved his craft so much. And more than that, he loved sharing it with others. That generosity, that kindness,
02:06that love for what he did. That, above all else, is the legacy I think he and my grandmother would
02:15have wanted to pass down.
02:17Carlo didn't set out to become a special effect artist. He started as a painter and a sculptor with a
02:25great fascination for nature, electromechanics and storytelling.
02:29At first, he couldn't find his way. But just like his creatures, he had to build it, step by step.
02:37And even when he finally found in special effects a discipline where all his passions could converge, still the odds
02:44were stacked against him.
02:46From his upbringing in a small rural town, to his parents wanting him to find a real job, to the
02:54professional and personal challenges he encountered throughout his life, his ascent to the stars was never a given.
03:03Yet, he persevered, supported by my grandmother's strength, vision, and love. He went on to pave the way for those
03:11who would come after him.
03:13If he were here today, I really think he'd dedicate his honor to the young artists and creatives of our
03:22time.
03:23The ones who are finding their way in the new landscapes of art and cinema. In the hope that his
03:29story and the work he left behind can be a North Star on their journey.
03:33Because, as he would often say to us, if you can't find a way, build it.
03:40Thank you so much. Thank you, Matt. Thank you, Cinecita, Cara Zarizia, Comitato Nazionale. Thank you.
