Information » Encounters

Mara was lucky to met Elijah at the Giffoni Film Festival which took place in July 2006, Italy. Here is her encounter. Want to send in your own encounter?. Note: this report contains resized versions of the original pictures.

Elijah at Giffoni Film Festival

So, where to start? All right .... In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit … No, that has already been written … This is a report about the sweetest of hobbits and his day in Giffoni, Italy.


First of all, I’d like to thank you, all my dearest friends, for being so supportive, wishing me good luck in this adventure and waiting patiently for my reports to be posted. Very special thanks go to janira11(for her lovely post about me and my Lij’s interview), julchen11(for her gift of my special angel, who actually watched over me) and lyrastar77(who spent a lot of time sharing my emotions and giving suggestions).

It was the first time I was leaving alone, since I usually like to travel in company. But this time it was different. My trip was planned to go and meet Elijah Wood at Giffoni Film Festival. In case you don’t know, this is a festival held each year in Italy about cinema for young people and kids. The jury itself is composed by kids. I arrived in Salerno (a town near Naples) Saturday morning. At the train station, there was a car waiting for me and other journalists and we were taken to our hotels. Then we had to catch a bus for Giffoni, which is a little town in a valley, half an hour from Salerno.

I was glad that in the meanwhile I met Alessandra, a young journalist from Rome who stayed at the same hotel. She told me that she was there to interview several people and music groups and that she was a fan of Frodo and Lord of the Rings.

In Giffoni, we collected our pass and went to the press office, to have the program for the day and to ask for a private interview with Elijah Wood. They made us fill in a form, transmitted it to the person who was planning the interviews and then asked us to come back within a few hours.

While waiting, I attended the press conference of Sabrina Ferilli, who is an Italian actress and showgirl (mostly known because she is a huge supporter of AS Roma football team) and went with Alessandra to interview an emerging Italian group called Finley. It was my first time ever. I’ve only written articles until now, but never made interviews or press conferences, so I was very curious. Later in the evening, we asked if there were news about the private interview with Lij, but they said they didn’t know yet and we had to wait until next morning.

The following night was probably the longest in my life. I slept only 3 hours, I was too excited (and it was too hot) to sleep and I was constantly thinking about my next meeting with Lij. I didn’t know if I would be able to interview him personally, anyway I was sure I could attend the press conference and the soirée and the prize ceremony, which meant at least an hour or two with Lij (far more than the handful of seconds I’ve spent with him in London).

Sunday morning arrived and Alessandra and I caught the first bus to Giffoni. On the bus there were a lot of kids and everyone was talking about Elijah Wood. My heart started racing, it was true, after all. But I was so scared, at the same time: where could I find the courage to interview him in case they had agreed for the interview? But I tried to relax and calm down. I didn’t want to waste this chance because of my fears and shyness.

Once there, we asked for the day program and we had a great surprise: there were other events with Lij that day. First a conference with the kids (at 4 pm), then a conference with older students (at 4.30 pm), then the conference for the press (at 5 pm). Then the soireé, at 9 pm. In the middle, they say they were still scheduling the interviews. I was incredibly happy! So many events to attend and the real chance that I could have the interview.

Then, while we were at the restaurant for lunch, my cell phone rang and someone announced that my private interview with Elijah was for 7 pm. Oh, my!!! I nearly choked. I wanted to jump, to squeee, to dance, but I had to restrain myself. I was supposed to behave like a journalist there, not a fan! So I squeeed just a little, with Alessandra, who had received the same call a few minutes later. So no more wasting time, we had to get ready for the long afternoon.

At 2.30 pm we went to the first location where Elijah was supposed to meet the kids. It was a park called “Giardino degli Aranci” (Oranges garden) and the TV crew was already there, working with gears and wires. We entered the gate (thanks to the pass, it was closed to the public), sat on a bench and waited for the Beautiful One to arrive, in the meanwhile discussing the questions we wanted to ask Elijah.

Then someone said that the car had arrived. I turned towards the gate and there was a car parked just in front of it.

Then I saw him! He left the car and, strictly followed by the security, walked through the gate, greeted by a huge cheers and applause from everyone there.

I could not believe it. Only 15 days since London and Lij was in front of me again! He was wearing jeans and shirt and sunglasses, the usual bag across his shoulder (what does he have in that bag??) and looked very relaxed. He smiled and waved to everyone, before entering another gate.

Here's the clip of his arrival. I've already posted it, but in case you missed it: click here

Everyone immediately followed him, then he entered a third gate, which was forbidden to us. We tried to explain we had the pass, but they didn’t let us in. So I waited patiently, watching through the bars, feasting my eyes on Lij talking and smoking a cigarette, until a body guard told us to leave the place. I think there was a private photo session to be taken there so no one was allowed. But I didn’t care, because I knew that in a few minutes Lij would have been back

And here's a short clip of Lij smoking. If you hear someone complaining, he's a photographer who could not understand why they didn't let him in. click here.

Actually, after a short time he was ready to come back and meet the kids. He walked just in front of me, so I said “Hi Elijah”. He turned towards me saying “Oh, hello!!” in his sweet voice, greeting me with a lovely smile (a great, real smile, gap included). And waved. I waved back and followed him, waiting for the TV program shooting to begin.

The kids were really impatient and they’ve been instructed on how to behave and who was going to ask question and in which order. It was very interesting to be there and see things from real, how they were set and programmed. We are accustomed to the final product, the movie or the program. For me it was a sort of behind the scenes.

Lij sat on a bench, surrounded by those excited children. He was so relaxed and full of joy, clearly enjoying his time, chatting with the kids, sharing smiles and laughter. It was since the old days of LOTR that I haven’t seen him that happy. I was so glad it happened here in Italy and that I’ve been able to witness it.

Oh yes, While waiting for the TV program to be shot, Elijah was sitting on a bench, with all those very excited kids all around him. The TV crew was busy preparing all the stuff to get ready.

After a bit of struggle, I gained a good position (although I had to constantly give way to allow the TV crew to move easily) and I could see everything Elijah was doing, while waiting.

I can say he was very curious, he looked like a child among children, smiling to everyone, looking at their pass, pointing at their shoes. He was simply adorable to watch, with his wonderful eyes gazing all around, trying to catch the tiniest detail.

If I hadn't known he was a star, I could say he simply was a gorgeous guy living next door. The very sight of him, behaving so charmingly, talking so easily with everyone was something I really appreciated. I felt my heart swell with joy, I felt so happy for him and proud of him, proud of being a fan of his.

Then someone brought him a glass of water and he said “Grazie” (thank you, in Italian), and I melted, because it was the very first time I’ve heard him saying a word in Italian.

And here's a small videoclip showing it all: click here
When everyone was ready and the recording began, Elijah was introduced for the program (shown on Canale5, an Italian TV) by Marco Liorni (already known in Italy to have conducted Grande Fratello, the Italian version of Big Brother).

They talked about Frodo and LOTR, then Liorni asked Lij why, in his opinion, he has the right face for fantasy roles and Lij laughed, saying he didn’t know. So Liorni said that maybe it was because of his blue eyes and his dreamy air and Elijah had another burst of laughter. When he was asked if he could imagine LOTR without special effects, as if the set was real, Elijah said that it actually was all real!

Then it was time for kids to ask questions, mainly about his role of Frodo.

At some point, I remember clearly (but that’s not been showed on the TV final editing) that someone asked him if he could sing a song. He said that he could not sing. They asked if he knew any Italian songs and he said “Volare” (if only had he started singing right there I would have died!).

Here's a short videoclip of Elijah being introduced for the program: click here

When the recording ended (it was a very short program, ten minutes or so), all the kids were allowed to ask for autographs and take pics. There were a few moments of total chaos, and Lij completely disappeared from my point of view, but I heard him laugh. God, this guy has a lovely (and very frequent, bless him) laughter.

When the children left the place, there were just the TV crew, some body guards, the photographers and a few journalists A guy from the crew proceeded to remove Lij’s microphone and Elijah thanked him. I noticed that Lij has this lovely way to thank everyone around him, from the organizers, to the body guards, to the TV crew. (And I couldn’t help but think that it was unfair that a guy had to remove the mic, let’s have a lady do that! Me, for instance!).

Then I don’t know how it happened, but when the crew dispersed, after having collected all wires and gears, and I was finally able to have a good point of view on Lij again, I was greeted by one of the most lovely sight ever: Elijah was bent (I don’t know what he was doing) and his lovely bottom was pointing up directly at me. I know I was behaving very badly, but I had to restrain myself from pinching it (too tempting!).

I must say that he has the smallest hips and bottom I’ve ever seen on an adult, almost a child bottom (lovely and rounded and tempting, but so small!). I know, I know, I’m being very fangirlish now, sorry! And I even tried to capture it on my camera, furtively … (*blushes with shame*).

That’s the result, it could have been better, but that’s it. He still has the back part of his mic on.

Then, since it was a relatively calm moment, I decided it was the right time to approach Lij and (feeling very guilty inside for the previous pic) I politely asked him if I could take a photo of him holding my magazine, explaining him that I work for that magazine.

He stared at me with those gorgeous blue eyes (oh my, I’ve never realized how they shone in the daylight and how sweet and piercing they are), smiled (again!) and said “Sure!”.

Such a sweet guy he is, he never denies anything to anyone! I handed him my magazine and he posed for me, like this:

Then the bodyguards escorted him until he entered the car to go to another conference and meet a group of older guys and girls.

I wish I could attend that conference too, but it was more important for me to be present at the press conference, and the locations were quite distant from were I was, so I chose to go directly to the place were the press conference was supposed to be.

During the walk, under a merciless sun, I had another quick glimpse of Elijah when the car he was in passed by.

While heading to the place where we thought the press conference was to be, I talked with Alessandra, who is a Frodo and Lord of the Rings fan, but not a great Elijah’s fan. It was the first time she had met him , but she immediately had the impression that he was different and unique. She said that she never met anyone like him, that he looked like a character out of a fairy tales book, so lovely and ethereal. I happily realized that our Lij made an impression on a person who is not involved in the fandom, but could feel the magic, too.

When we arrived at the Monastery yard, we immediately realized that no one knew if that was the place for the conference. You have to know that everything, during the festival, was a WIP, with locations, times and scheduling constantly changing. But we managed to stay in the area where the previous day there has been the photo session with Sabrina Ferilli. A few other journalists were there, too, waiting.

Then the disaster: my phone rang again to announce me that all the private interviews with Elijah had been cancelled by his agent. The reason apparently was that someone had a discussion (a fight?) with the agent, she went mad and cancelled everything.

That’s what I’ve been told. I was not there when this happened and I’m only saying what I’ve heard, so please take it as a possible truth, but not necessarily THE truth.

At that point I was really disappointed because a dream seemed to be vanishing in the thin air. But I didn’t want the bad news to ruin my day. There were still a lot of things to do, attend and enjoy, so I just thought, OK, who cares? (anyway, who could care about having a private interview with Lij? Just a boring thing, you know!).

So I called the person who had organized the interviews and she told me that she was discussing the matter with the agent, trying to reschedule at least some of them.

In the meantime, speculations were spread that there were some journalists complaining about Lij having been rude with them.

At that point I felt I could not stay silent anymore. I immediately took Elijah’s defence and I said to those people:

“I don’t think so. I’d like to know in which way they approached Elijah. I’ve met him a few minutes ago and he has been extremely kind and polite with everyone”.

I could not believe that, and Alessandra was astonished, too, because we both had an extremely positive and wonderful impression about our previous meeting with Lij.

In this case, too, I’m only saying what I’ve heard, so who knows what the truth really is. For sure something very strange happened, otherwise interviews would not have been cancelled.

And a very curious thing was that no one there knew that Elijah had been meeting kids in Giardino degli Aranci. In fact, I have to say that on the day program there was no mention of those events and we had to find out ourselves. In that, fans are more capable than journalists, being a lot more motivated and very, very stubborn.

At that point, someone yelled that Lij was coming and we all launched outside and towards the main entry of the monastery. I climbed the stairs in a hurry, just in time to see the car arriving and Lij getting out.

He was immediately surrounded by a horde of various people, fans, photographers, reporters, body guards, but I managed to get really close and take a couple of pics, while trying not to fall from the stairstep and not to be blinded by the sun. Once inside the hall everyone tried to approach Elijah, with more or less success, but there was a lot of confusion, so the organizers and body guards decided it was better if, for a brief moment, Lij posed for the photographers. He obliged and smiled for everyone, so I was able to have a pic of him too in a relatively calm way, without a lot of people pushing to gain a better view of the “star”.

And because I’m a very stubborn person and I have a never ending patience, I waited “in the shadow” (like a bird of prey) for the best moment to try and approach Lij before the press conference began.

And there he was, left alone and “unattended” for a few seconds, admiring the beauty and the art in the place.

He was absolutely lovely, concentrating on the details of a wonderful wall painting and if I didn’t know who he was, I could have said he was just another tourist enjoying his trip abroad.


So I approached him, very casual like, and asked: Do you like it, Elijah?

He turned to me (that blue, amazing gaze again!!!), smiled and said: Absolutely, it is wonderful!

He was really interested and curious, so I went on: We have a lot of art here in Italy and we are so proud about it.

He: Oh, but you have to!

Me: Is it your first time here? (in Giffoni, I meant)

He: Not the first in Italy, but I’ve never been in Giffoni before. Oh it’s an amazing place, really, very beautiful, I like it, a lot.

Me: Oh yes, it’s very beautiful. It’s the first time here for me too!

He: Where are you from?

Me: I’m from Rome

As if I had pronounced a magic word, Rome, his face illuminated, he beamed, his eyes widened in joy or surprise or whatever, he flashed a gorgeous smile and: Oh Rome!!! That’s so great!

And then the security staff grabbed him and took him away from me …. Damn, we had just started to talk about Rome … and possibly me!! And he was genuinely interested! Damn again!

That most curious thing was that, save for the very first moment I approached him (with my heart beating madly), I felt very comfortable in engaging a bit of conversation with him. He was so simple and genuine, so eager to talk, so curious about everything and everyone, that I truly felt at ease.

It has been just so natural to start talking to him, not like a fan to an idol, or a journalist to an actor, but simply like a person to another person, on the same level. And I appreciated it, it was a great sensation that I never thought I could feel in front of someone so famous and who I admire so much.

Then we all were asked to take a seat because the conference was about to begin.

We all took a seat (I was in the middle rows, the front rows had already been occupied while I was chatting with Lij). Elijah sat at the table, between the interpreter and the main organizer. So the conference began, with the main organizer introducing Elijah to the press and Elijah thanking everyone and congratulating with Italy for having won the World Cup.

Then he was asked the first question, which, to my horror, was if there will be a sequel to the Lord of the Rings. Can you believe it? I wonder why no one bothers to get some information about the actor himself and his works before asking such a stupid question.

But Elijah, as a veteran as he is (he must have heard a lot of stupid questions during his career), simply answered telling the man and the audience that there couldn’t be any sequel simply because the story (and the book) has ended. And he pointed that eventually there could be a prequel, The hobbit. I must say that in some press reports I’ve read that actually there is a project about The Hobbit, involving Elijah too (obviously not in the role of Frodo), but honestly I absolutely don’t remember him mentioning that. He only referred to The Hobbit as a possibility.



I have to say that my tape recorder decided to stop working right at that moment, so I didn’t have the chance to record all the conference and remember all the questions. But I’ll try to recollect the more I can. I also took some notes on a notebook, but most of the time, I confess, I stared at Elijah while he was talking. How can you have him not so far from you and not staring?

I love the way he spoke, with his pleasant tone of voice, always very polite, always smiling, sometimes pondering his words before actually saying them, sometimes gesturing.

One lady (from East Europe) asked him if ever visited Transylvania and if he would have liked to have a Dracula role. He said he was not interested in a Dracula movie (mind, Dracula in particular, not any other vampire) because there were so many already, and that he had never been in Romania but would have liked to.

Talking about Italy he said he was so grateful and honoured to be in Giffoni and that he had never seen an event like that, with so many kids and young people. He said it was the third time for him in Italy. The first one was in Venice last year, and the second time he’s been in Liguria, because he was in France and decided to go on in his journey until Liguria (maybe after Cannes?).

Then he talked, obviously, about cinema, stating that he would be interested in exploring new perspectives, that he has been studying cinema for 6 years because he would like to learn more and maybe try directing.

Watching him answering so charmingly to all the questions was for me just like watching a movie or some TV special, as I’ve done for years. I know it seems strange, but I could not actually realize that everything in front of me was real, that Lij was there, and there was interaction between him and the audience (journalists and photographers, in this case).

I know I’m saying a very obvious thing, but for me it was so strange and fascinating. I tried to capture some clips and take some pics, but the place was a bit dark and the sound horrible and without a proper camera the results are not that good.

Anyway, this is a short clip from the press conference: click here

Then I took my decision. My private interview was seriously at risk and I had to prove to myself that I could do it, so I gathered my courage, got up, asked for the microphone and …

“Hello Elijah, first of all thank you for being here ….”

My heart was beating madly because I’ve never, never spoken a word in a microphone before and never in front of everyone, least of all in front of cameras, photographers and .. Elijah!!

But I was well rewarded, because I immediately caught his attention (oh my, he’s staring at me right now! And smiling!) being the only one there talking to him in his language and the only one among journalists who thanked him. Which I think it’s a shame, since in my opinion a journalist should know a bit of English. I wanted to let him know that not all the Italian people are so hopeless about languages.

So I went on: “…You often said that you love music. How do you feel about having to play Iggy Pop in your forthcoming movie?”

Honestly, I can say that I already had an idea what his answer would be like, but, since I like to tease a bit just to get a reaction and I know that Lij gets very excited when it comes to music, I tried.

And, as I supposed, he suddenly beamed and animated and started making the loveliest faces possible. He smiled, shook his head, sighed, all in a row, while he said that he was so pleased he’d been given this chance. He was very excited at the idea of playing Iggy Pop, but very nervous at the same time, because he is a huge fan of Iggy and the Stooges. He also said it is a challenge for him, a way to push himself to the limit and explore new possibilities as an actor, a way to grow and learn more.

He was just adorable to watch, and I was so pleased that I caused all his excitement and that he seemed to appreciate the question. I thought it was my own wishful thinking, but my friend Alessandra confirmed that she had the same impression too.

Then something strange happened. After my question, during the remaining time of the conference, while he was waiting for the interpreter to translate his answers for the audience, he was constantly watching in my direction. I’m not kidding, I swear it.

So I kept nodding and smiling at him. I had the idea that he was studying me, maybe just curiosity, maybe because I’ve been speaking with him before the conference in a very friendly way.

Or maybe he connected my question about music with the fact that I gave him a music CD in London, and it was only 15 days ago. I don’t know and I’ll never know, but I was so pleased that he often looked in my direction.

Other questions were asked about his spare time and he said that he conducted a very normal life, so normal that could be considered boring.

The last question was about what suggestions he would like to give to young people willing to start an acting career. He simply said, if you have a dream, follow your dreams, be yourself and never give up.

Yes, I perfectly understand, Lij. I don’t want to start an acting career, but I had a dream (to meet Lij) and I followed it. And there I was. Yes, never give up, that’s the secret!

And then, at the end of the conference, Lij was escorted away, faster than light, to some other unknown location.

The only thing to do then was to try to know more about the private interviews. Alessandra and I went to the press office to ask and they told us that they were still trying to reschedule the interviews, but there was very little chance they actually could obtain them again. They told us to keep our cell phones on, so that they could call in case we had to go.

And so we had to wait. I had a great time until that moment, and I tried not to think too much about my chance for an interview. There still was the soirée, at 9 pm, which meant a lot more Elijah goodness to enjoy.

At about 8 pm we met the woman who organized the interviews and she said she was terribly sorry, she tried the best, but still no chance. And she said we’d better give up hope. I thanked her, anyway, because she’d been really kind to us and we knew it was not her fault.

At sunset, the weather had cooled down a bit and a fresh breeze had started to blow, which was really pleasant, after the whole day spent under the sun

We decided then to take our seats for the soirée. There was an open air arena with many seats (some reserved) and a big stage and some giant screen.

We sat there and waited until the lights went on and the live act began, with the presenters talking about the events of the day. Until it came the moment we all were waiting for.

They announced Elijah and a huge (I mean HUGE) cheer from the audience greeted him.

He walked on stage, beautiful and smiling as ever (God, I thought, this guy is a never ending dynamo, it’s the whole day he’s smiling and talking and posing and still has the strength to go on – note that it was 10 pm then).

There were a lot of banners raised up by the fans for him to see, some of them really amusing. I remember one saying “I’m the lady of the ring”, and my favourite one, which said in Italian “Nella botte piccola c’è il vino bono”, which can be translated like “in the small barrel there’s the better wine”. This is something we use to say in Italy, referring to small sized people, but I don’t know if it is used elsewhere.

When the first question was asked, Elijah ran towards the group of fans at his left and crouched in front of them on the stage. He was willing to get in touch with the fans, to sign, to let them take pics, shake hands, but his entourage asked him not to give autographs away.

There were several questions asked, the first one regarding the way Lij could separate his work and the characters he played from his private life. Then a question about Flipper and he said that he accepted that part because he so wanted to work with dolphins.

Obviously, something about Frodo: if he was bothered by the fact that everyone is remembering him for that role. Elijah said that he is not bothered, because Frodo gave him so much and it was an unforgettable experience.

About Back to the Future II: he said that for him it was just like a dream come true, since he he was a fan of the first movie and so wanted to visit that set and work with Michael J. Fox.

About reaching fame and success at a very young age: he said that he was lucky, because it was all so gradual and, thanks to his mother, he had a very normal (although different) childhood.

The last question was about the theme of Giffoni Film Festival, which for this year was “Energy”. He answered that he receives all his energy from his work, because it’s what he likes, and finds energy in people and things he likes.

At last, some very short questions from each of the presenters:

When will you consider yourself satisfied?: Never

A joy or a wish to become real tomorrow?: To swim in the Mediterranean.

A word that can describe you?: A laughter

I felt so lucky to be there, to enjoy some more of Elijah’s presence and enthusiasm. He really has this never ending energy and the smile never left his beautiful face. I can say that there was no need to turn lights on that stage, because he was glowing of his inner light himself.

Then it was the moment for the prize, given to him by a very popular Italian magazine for teen agers (under my same publisher), and the reason was that Elijah is one of the most loved actors in Italy, especially after Frodo and Lord of the Rings.



Lij was still on stage when my cell phone rang. It was Alessandra, saying that I IMMEDIATELY had to meet her at the exit and go back to the Monastery, because at last the organizers managed to have a mini private interview with Lij.

My heart jumped in my throat and I nearly panicked: OMG, I’ve been waiting for this chance for the whole day (should I say for years?), then I’ve given up hope, relaxed and enjoyed the show. So at that very moment I was totally unprepared. But there was not time to panic, no time to recollect my thoughts. I only had to RUN.

I left my seat as in a frenzy and run towards the exit, where I met Alessandra. Together we ran to the Monastery, which was a few minutes away from the arena. In the meanwhile Alessandra explained to me that the organizer told her that, after a long struggle, the agent agreed for a very short interview, just a question or two for each of the four journalists allowed, for a maximum time of ten minutes.

At the Monastery, we had to wait outside a room and, just then, Elijah arrived, walking alone in the corridor. He passed before us and entered the room. Then the organizer said that only one of us could go inside (being Alessandra and me from the same publisher) and Alessandra told me to go. I didn’t want to take advantage, but she insisted that she preferred that way, that I was more interested than her in interviewing Elijah.

I thanked her (such a sweetheart!) and rapidly had a look at the sheet with my questions, to chose one or two to ask him. A few moments later someone called us and we were admitted in the room.

It was a large room, with a few round tables and a lot of wall paintings. And there he was again, our beloved Elijah, standing in front of one of the paintings and admiring its details. Then he turned towards us and we all sat at a small, round table.

It happened that my chair was placed right in front of Elijah, who was sitting between his agent and the interpreter.

So I had to endure that flaming blue gaze again (sighs) for almost the whole time, because obviously you can’t avoid watching a person who is right in front of you at a table.

I tried to act very relaxed and natural. I was a bit (a lot!!) anxious, not for Elijah (he’s so sweet), but for the whole situation, for the presence of the agent and other journalists, all middle aged women, who appeared very serious and a bit bothered by the late hour (it was 11.30 pm).

While the first journalist asked her question (obviously in Italian, LOL. Sorry, but I really can’t remember it), I put all my stuff in front of me: my questions sheet, pens, block notes, trying to keep myself busy in order not to stare constantly at Elijah

When it was my turn, I tried music again. So I asked him his preferences about music and to talk about his own record label.

He positively reacted again, since he became very animated. You can say he really loves music. Acting is his work, but music is something very special for him. That lovely face beamed and his eyes widened while he said that it was so difficult for him to choose some amongst his favourites music artists.

He loves many kind of music and a lot of singers or groups, so it is almost impossible for him to tell. And he added that he is also very curious, so when he hear something he doesn’t know he wants to discover everything about it, to learn more.

About his record label he said that it existed since a couple of years, but unfortunately he hadn’t had the time to work on it and launch it properly, but he hopes to do this very soon. I wished him good luck for his label, he smiled and thanked me.

Then the crazy woman inside me showed up and, surprise, I took a CD compilation I made for him out of my bag, saying: Let’s try this, tell me what you think about it!

He got up and, oh my God, he was so excited and almost started squeeing while he read all the names on the CD: Steppenwolf! YEAH, GREAT! King Crimson, AWW, AWESOME, Goblin, oh yes Goblin I love them! Kansas, YES, I ADORE THEM, and so on.

I could not believe my eyes. After a few very professional questions and answers, Elijah had set the child within him free.



So there we were, seven people at a round table, Elijah standing up, excited like crazy and reading aloud all the names on the CD, making funny, adorable faces and commenting each name; me watching amused and enjoying the scene; the interpreter almost laughing in disbelief and the other four casting horrid, disgusted glances at me.

Until his agent grabbed him by the arm and almost forced him to sit again. He handed the CD back to me, but I said that he could keep it, because it was for him. He thanked me.

(anyway, if you wish to know, this was the CD content: Steppenwolf: The Pusher; King Crimson: Red; Goblin: Profondo Rosso and Death Dies (from Deep Red soundtrack); Traffic: John Barleycorn must die and Freedom Rider; Free: Be my friend and Mr. Big; Metallica: Nothing else matters; Metal Church: Gods of Wrath; Kansas: Icarus borne on wings of steel; PFM: Impressioni di Settembre)

Then things were “under control” again and everyone asked another question. I asked for a written dedication for the readers, to be published on the magazine, but the agent prevented him from doing that and said to me that I should simply write that he thanked the readers.

Elijah looked mortified and shrugged, putting on the most adorable face ever. I smiled and reassured him, saying that there was no problem.

At the end, when it was clear that we all had to go, I had another surprise ready for him: a box of Baci Perugina (which are wonderful Italian chocolates with hazelnuts).

He beamed as he took it from me and said: “For me?” I nodded and he replied: “This-is-so-special! I really love it! Thank you! Grazie”

I said that it was just a little present, a souvenir from Italy. He put his hand on his heart and bowed his head to me. Lij bowing to me?? That’s surreal! But, oh my, he is a gentleman!

He was more than pleased and I was so glad. And I could not care less if I acted “unprofessional” and “too friendly” (as I’ve been told some days later). Everyone in the room seemed horrified by my “bad behaviour”. Everyone but Lij. And that was all that mattered to me.

But why Baci Perugina? We all know Elijah loves porn and chocolate. I could not give him porn (not for my choice, of course) but I could give him chocolate. So in the afternoon, I had bought a box of Baci Perugina for him. If you don’t know what kind of chocolate this is, just go here. click here

They are very popular here in Italy, especially for Valentine’s Day, since each chocolate contains a small note with a love phrase, translated in various languages. And, in case you don’t know, Baci in Italian means “kisses”.

And since I love symbolic things and I’ve been asked several times before going to London and Giffoni to give Elijah a kiss from some of my flists, I decided to give him this gift, symbolically giving him a kiss from each one of you.

In the meanwhile, a couple of journalists had left and the interpreter said goodbye to Lij and left the room, too.

But I had to do another thing. There was something I wanted to tell Lij. So I went near him, who was standing beside another table, and let my heart speak:

“Elijah, I simply want to tell you THANK YOU. Thank you for everything you do, thank you for always being so gentle and kind with everyone. You are a great actor, but first of all you are an adorable, lovely person”.

He smiled, thanked me and hugged me. It happened so suddenly that I was caught by surprise, but after a second I responded and hugged him back. This time was just perfect. I didn’t have to ask for a hug and there was no table between us. He gave me a bear hug, laying his head on my shoulder (OMG!!!).

He was so near that I could kiss his neck if only had I wanted to. And surely I wanted to, but how could I do that? (oh my, my self control was severely put to the test!). That hug only lasted a few seconds, but my brain registered all the sensations: his warmth, his strength (he’s stronger than you may think), his head so near I could feel the tickling of his hair on my neck.

This time I had the chance to notice that he smelt so good, a very pleasant, fresh fragrance, some sort of cologne that I could not identify but that I could recognize immediately if I smelt it again. Then I stroked his back and he did the same with me.

When the hug was over I knew that I had to let him go. That was the hardest moment. The moment of leaving, knowing that you’ve just lived the most memorable experience in your life, and you don’t know if you have to feel over excited or sorry because it was going to end.



Before going I kissed him, two little kisses on his lovely cheeks and he kissed me back. Well, I’m the kisses bearer, I had to do it, don’t you agree?

Then I thanked him once more and waved him goodbye. With my gifts in his hands he left the room.

Back at the hotel, I spent the night on my bed, staring at the ceiling, in a state of trance or something … Trying to recall all the details of the most exciting day in my life, I had this sort of mantra rolling in my head: a smile is a gift, a hug is just perfect, a kiss is pure bliss …