Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment Appoints Head Of U.S. Film Production & Distribution

Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment Appoints Head Of U.S. Film Production & Distribution

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran producer Richard Salvatore has been appointed Head of US Film Production and Distribution at Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment (ILBE) as the Italian company looks to grow its stateside footprint.


Salvatore steps into the newly created post immediately and will report into CEO Andrea Iervolino. He will operate in LA and Rome and will be responsible for the development, cast selection, production, sales and distribution of ILBE Group’s films for the U.S. and Canadian markets.


Production veteran Salvatore has worked on more than 60 features. Between 2020 and 2022, he was a producer or exec producer on Vanquish with Morgan Freeman, Ruby Rose for Capstone, Hard Matter with Tyrese Gibson and Harvey Keitel for WonderFilms, and Muti, to be released in the coming months, with Cole Hauser, Morgan Freeman and Peter Stormare for ILBE. In 2020, he was a producer on Robert De Niro comedy The Comeback Trail.

ILBE is currently part of the production team on Michael Mann feature Ferrari starring Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Patrick Dempsey and Jack O’Connell.


Iervolino said: “We are excited to launch our North America expansion initiative with Richard, an industry veteran and expert in production and distribution. I am very pleased to welcome him to our group in this new role. Alongside our growing operations throughout Europe, we want to leverage the North America presence to build a seamless, intercontinental film development, production and distribution business and create world class content for global audiences.”


“I am thrilled to be able to begin working in full partnership with ILBE. Considering our past successes, joining the company is a crucial recognition for my journey,” commented Salvatore. “I am confident that we will be working on phenomenal scripts and hiring top-notch actors, while always keeping the quality of filmmaking high, as evidenced by the solid schedule we have already prepared for next fall.”


As we revealed, ILBE recently closed a U.S. deal with Samuel Goldwyn Films for female-powered anthology feature Tell it Like A Woman. Previous family and animated titles include Arctic Dogs and Puffins. Johnny Depp feature Waiting For The Barbarians debuted in 2019 at the Venice Film Festival.