Giovanni Minoli and Gianni Mina. A professional couple, a long friendship
«Gianni was in the founding group of “Mixer” in 1980 and took care of the entertainment and music section. We started with an amazing show with Adriano Celentano and Milly Carlucci. An exceptional preview that has already indicated the importance of this formula».
Shortly after that there was Blitz, 1981
“As the manager of Rai 2, I had in mind an appointment that could compete with the traditional “Domenica In” on Rai 1, hosted by Pippo Baudo…”.
Those were the days of the Rai monopoly. And the networks competed with each other. Hard to explain today. But that’s it. And how did it go?
I came up with this formula with a character who invites his friends into the studio to put on a big show. We also did an episode with Vittorio Gassman. In truth, I was thinking of Maurizio Costanzo. But then, right around that time, the P2 scandal broke out and the project became impossible. And so I thought of Gianni Minà, because he was already working on Mixer and then, because his editing was pretty much forgotten, he was put aside there at Rg2. He was a free man, true, he wasn’t aligned in the party sense…that is, he was clearly a man of the left, but I would say now (laughs) an independent, autonomous left-wing anarchist, impossible to be deployed in any traditional party area. And so I chose him. We spent a whole day and night discussing the formula. In the end we focused it and this wonderful TV machine that was “Blitz” started…».
what was the secret
‘I’d say Gianni’s amazing phone book. The largest and most diverse I have ever seen owned by a journalist».
Massimo Troisi’s old gag with Minà has reappeared on the internet in which he talks about this diary…
“Exactly! But it was all true. All true. He had everyone’s phone numbers. In fact, Gianni managed to get everyone to “Flash”: Maradona, Cassius Clay, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Federico Fellini, Sergio Leone. Robert De Niro. And I could go on.”
That would be unthinkable today
“Absolutely unthinkable. Thanks to the incredible talent of a great TV man and a great journalist. Above all thanks to his humility, his devotion to the figure».
Quite often, some interviewers almost overlap with the interviewee, in a vanity contest. Minà was not like that
“Just the opposite and that’s his lesson. He was a lovely person, respectful of what he heard from the interviewee and able to instantly empathize with the guests. Thanks to him, and also thanks to Aldo Bruno, another friend of mine and colleague from “Mixer”, we have had wonderful professional years. Gianni Minà’s interviews have been repeated everywhere, they have traveled around the world. I would also remember the twelve episodes on the history of boxing. Cassius Clay actually came and we all went to dinner together. One of Gianni’s legendary dinners…».
His passion was Latin America
“An absolute lover of this complex area of the world. He had a very deep literary, political and sporting culture in Latin America. I would say if we discovered Latin America in Italy it is largely thanks to him.”
The famous 16-hour interview with Fidel Castro is a TV myth
“Just a typical Minà thing… Gianni was an immense talent that Rai little used. When the “Blitz” experience ended, Gianni thought the company would offer him something new, different. But Rai, we know that, is a mother, but also a stepmother. And he didn’t give him what he certainly deserved.”
What can Gianni Minà’s legacy teach the new generation of journalists?
«This is an unrepeatable era, I would say, from the Wild West, where we set out to conquer uncharted territory, just like Sunday afternoons on Rai2. And it was a great achievement. What can it teach? The irrepressible passion in storytelling and, I repeat, the humility in describing and interviewing. Not in his own service, but in the service of the public and the interlocutor».