Mick Jagger's Desire to Play Alex in 'A Clockwork Orange' Shared by Malcolm McDowell at Beatles Vs. Stones Extravaganza in Turin

The Torino Film Festival, under the direction of Steve Della Casa, launched its 40th edition on Friday evening at the sumptuous Teatro Regio not with a film screening, but with an evening devoted to music. To discuss the links between cinema and music, a conference was held around the theme of the Beatles versus the Rolling Stones, and the groups' love for cinema, which led them to work with Jean-Luc Godard, among others. and Martin Scorsese.< /p>

Guest of honor Malcolm McDowell, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of "A Clockwork Orange," spoke about how Mick Jagger wanted to star in the film and about the time Paul McCartney almost composed the score for one of McDowell's films.

After the conclusion of the official part of the evening, which included speeches by the President of the National Museum of 'Italy of cinema, Enzo Ghigo, and the mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, the Beatles-Rolling Stones tribute was broadcast live on the Rai radio program "Hollywood Party".

In front of the crowd, the guests told some memorable and sometimes untold anecdotes about their history with the two Bands English groups. Director David Grieco had audiences laughing as he shared why, when he was initially a Beatles fan as a teenager, he became a Stones fan. He had bought his ticket a year in advance for the double concert of the Beatles at the Teatro Adriano in Rome in 1965, “but in the middle of the first song, a woman in the audience, taller than me, threw up on me. Everything was on me. I spent the whole concert in this state. That's why I became a fan of the Rolling Stones."

McDowell, accompanied in Turin by his teenage son Finn, was dressed in black and took his place on stage next to Grieco, who also translated his lyrics into Italian for the audience.

Also on stage were Italian singer Noemi, Samuel of the band Subsonica, music critic John Vignola and journalist and former television host Vincenzo Mollica. The gala was led by actor Pilar Fogliati, Della Casa, "Hollywood Party" host Claudio De Pasqualis and Grieco. Singer Francesco De Gregori took part in the event via video link.

During the evening, rare snippets of early Beatles and Stones interviews were been broadcast. As well as an unreleased version of the Beatles singing "Yellow Submarine", and excerpts from the Stones' studio recording of their song "Sympathy for the Devil" from Godard's film of the same name.

McDowell spoke about Jagger's ties to film and the singer's desire to star in "A Clockwork Orange". "We were friends. We were hanging out in New York. At the time, we were the 'In Crowd' with Andy Warhol and everything. One night we were hanging out at someone's apartment on the east side of Central Park. We We were sitting in a window seat and talking because Jagger wanted to play Alex in "A Clockwork Orange. Before Kubrick took over the property, Mick Jagger and the Stones wanted to do it! Well, I wish see this!"

Since that night, McDowell has shared two other things with the Italian public: "Mick Jagger say, you know Malcolm, I can't see myself doing this at 50!" McDowell said, mimicking the Stones singer's moves. "50? And what are they now? 80? Fantastic!" Looking out into the dark void of Central Park that evening, Mick Jagger pointed to the Dakota Building where John Lennon lived, McDowell also recalled, "And he said to me 'the king lives there'. By then, of course, they knew what John was, and he was the king, and that was it, end of story!"

The legendary actor who, like the Beatles, grew up in Liverpool, also had a long history with the group: he had seen them many times on stage, in their home town, when they were still called The Silver Beatles and only sang covers. "My girlfriend took me to see them," McDowell said. "I was amazed because I had never heard a public speaker use such profane language. But I kept coming and going...