TV & VIDEO - June 13, 1989

Martin Scorsese has directed his first commercial for American television, and it was only another Italian who could get him to do it. Scorsese was given total creative control on the 30-second spot for Armani, Milanese designer Giorgio Armani’s signature men’s fragrance. Insiders report that the commercial is minimalist, to say the least. There’s no dialogue and the setting is spare in the extreme. Armani, for his part, told Scorsese to avoid “just selling sex” and wanted an elegant tone. Scorsese, currently filming “Good Fellows” with Robert DeNiro, told friends he found trying to tell a story in 30 seconds was the “one of the hardest things” he ever had to do. But what really convinced him to work with Armani was that he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spend some time in Italy. The commercial, filmed in Milan, debuts this week.