The Man Who Definitely Didn’t Steal Hollywood tells the inside story of a scandal that rocked Hollywood

“In 25 years of making documentaries, Giancarlo Parretti is one of the most fabulous storytellers I’ve come across – he and Hollywood were made for each other,” claims Dower. “It’s an utterly bonkers tale.”

In 1989, Parretti took over Cannon Group Inc, snapping it up when it faced bankruptcy following a string of box office disappointments. He then turned his attention to another struggling studio, the historic MGM/UA. MGM had been formed in 1924, eventually merging with the even older United Artists (UA) in 1981.

MGM was, of course, one of Hollywood’s biggest names, having backed the likes of The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind and the James Bond franchise. The last on that list was one of the first titles to suffer under Parretti’s whirlwind reign – its 17th movie, which should have been Timothy Dalton’s third as 007, was scrapped.

In fact, it transpired that very few films would be released during Parretti’s tenure, but he did hit the headlines for other reasons, including firing most of the accounting staff but giving his 21-year-old daughter a job in the finance department, and his efforts to impress various girlfriends. His behaviour became so well known, it’s said that it ended up being the inspiration for Elmore Leonard’s book Get Shorty and the subsequent film adaptation which, ironically, was released by MGM.

Things really started to go wrong when a cheque for Dustin Hoffman bounced and the FBI closed in, prompting Parretti to flee the US, just days before he was due to be sentenced for perjury and falsifying documents. As international arrest warrants were issued, he fled to his native Italy.

The documentary, filmed in LA, Rome, Melbourne, London, New York and Orvieto, examines exactly what happened, and features interviews with figures from all sides, including actors, directors, MGM insiders, the federal prosecutors investigating him for alleged financial irregularities and, rather gloriously, Parretti himself.

As Alistair Pegg, Commissioning Editor for BBC Arts, says: “John Dower’s wonderful film is a brilliant addition to BBC Arts’ slate of films unpacking contemporary culture – a fable about the magnetic allure of Hollywood, and a true insider account of one of the strangest stories that ever unfolded behind the cameras.”

“John Dower’s entertaining and intelligent feature documentary tells the story of an enigmatic former waiter who both beguiled and bewildered Hollywood,” adds Samantha Anstiss, chief creative officer at production company Wonderhood Studios. “The film is playfully and profoundly peppered with cinematic references and is a provocative and mischievous love letter to the crazy world of entertainment we inhabit.

“It’s also a story about the fame machine and money with dire consequences as the story ends with the collapse of the French national bank.”

You see? We told you – life truly can be stranger than fiction.