Italo-American movie legends like Francis Ford Coppola, Robert De Niro and Leonardo Di Caprio are looking to ride a US boom in Italian cuisine by picking up prime wine and food interests in the old country.
Coppola, a long-time Napa Valley winemaker who says his vineyards helped him complete his Godfather saga, is reportedly eager to snap up the famed Florio vineyards in Sicily, where one of the world's greatest Marsala wines is made.
According to the latest edition of Hollywood Star, Coppola's daughter Sofia aims to make a film about the Florios' most glamorous figure, Donna Franca, a belle epoque diva who charmed kings, emperors and czars.
De Niro, who has already made his name in the US eatery trade with trendy restaurants in New York and Los Angeles, is apparently interested in one of the finest producers of Brunello di Montalcino wine, Fattoria Dei Barbi.
The Taxi Driver, Godfather and Raging Bull star has been encouraged, insiders say, by the recent surge in Italian wine sales in the US, which recently took France's crown.
Di Caprio, for his part, is trying to get into food.
The Titanic and Departed star, who owns a Renaissance villa in Tuscany, originally wanted to buy up a premier ham maker near Parma or failing that, the producer of his fave munch Culatello di Zibello.
But he pulled out at the last minute out of respect for the dietary precepts of his Jewish-American girlfriend, top model Bar Rafaeli.
Now, Hollywood reporters say, he's fallen back on buffalo mozzarella cheese, which is taking America by storm.
Di Caprio is reportedly looking at one of the best-known mozzarella farms at Battipaglia near Salerno.
ITALY BIG WITH NON-ITALOS TOO.
The surge in big-name interest in Italy's food industry is not confined to those of purely Italian origin though.
British director Ridley Scott of Gladiator fame has been inspecting top vineyards on Mt Etna while German chef to the stars Wolfgang Puck plans to secure the best extra-virgin olive oil by snapping up a clutch of farms in Umbria and Puglia.
And American rock legend Bruce 'the Boss' Springsteen - of Irish, Dutch and Italian ancestry - is seeking new turf to plough money into, in 'Chiantishire' and Emilia-Romagna.
Making wine in Italy has already attracted a number of foreign personalities from the worlds of business and entertainment.
Time-Warner CEO Richard Parsons recently acquired the Tenuta Il Palazzone vineyard in Montalcino where he produces an excellent Brunello, mostly for his own use.
Musicians Mick Hucknall of Simply Red and Jim Kerr of Simple Minds both have vineyards on Sicily, while French actress Carole Bouquet has a vineyard on the island of Pantelleria where she produces the island's famous dessert wine 'passito'.
Legendary US singer-songwriter Bob Dylan has lent his signature to a wine produced at his request that has proved to be a hit.
Created by the Le Terrazze winery in the Marche, it was named after his 1974 album Planet Waves.
