Tony Earnshaw: Pint-sized producer was a true movie giant happy to take a risk

There are very few real showmen left in today's movie industry. Dino De Laurentiis, who died last week, aged 91, was one of the great survivors from an era that gave us people like Mike Todd, William Castle and Samuel Bronston.

What set De Laurentiis apart from the pack was his love of the industry. Here was a man who adored making movies. His filmography runs to more than 160 titles and, while there a few turkeys waddling about, there are some significant winners too.

Nearly 10 years ago I was at the press junket for Hannibal, Ridley Scott's audacious sequel to Jonathan Demme's multi Oscar-winning original The Silence of the Lambs. My abiding memory is of star Anthony Hopkins giving – because I asked him – a spot-on impersonation of Tommy Cooper. As he giggled his way through a joke or two I glanced sideways at Mr De Laurentiis who smiled politely, but plainly didn't get the joke.

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But then he didn't need to. At 80 he'd made his indelible mark as an industry veteran unafraid of experimentation or failure. And he did indeed suffer some terrific failures – that put his early successes in Italy with Carlo Ponti and Federico Fellini in the shade.

But the grand disasters could have been anything but. The much-derided remake of King Kong remains a courageous attempt at updating a seminal classic. And it proved what could be done with giant animatronics courtesy of Carlo Rambaldi's innovative giant hand – the ape's mighty fist that holds onto tiny Jessica Lange. Tai-Pan should have been a massive epic movie with Steve McQueen. Instead it became a TV mini-series with Bryan Brown. And Dune... well, perhaps Frank Herbert's planet-sized slice of sci-fi was enough to defeat anybody – even with a humongous $45m budget.

De Laurentiis was of a different breed to modern producers who resemble mere accountants. He was a visionary with feet of clay – a canny ringmaster who knew that attempting tricks with wild beasts was a risky business.

His choice of projects was eclectic to say the least. He segued from Federico Fellini to Hannibal Lecter by way of Charles Bronson, David Lynch and Milos Forman. He gave us Barbarella, Flash Gordon and a slew of Stephen King adaptations. Quite simply, he was an entertainer.

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Cinema needs people like Dino De Laurentiis. It needs chancers, gamblers and opportunists. Dino De Laurentiis was only 5ft 4in tall, but over more than 60 years he proved he was one of the enduring giants of the movies. And in Hannibal Lecter he gave us one of the most immortal characters ever to grace the silver screen. Years before there had been an Oscar for Fellini's timeless La Strada. Thus De Laurentiis expertly skipped betwixt art and commerce. That's the mark of a real producer. And with his passing, there genuinely aren't that many left.