People

By Guy D. Garcia

To many in the business, his name means money out of the bank. His last film, Year of the Dragon, got mixed reviews and was a box-office flop; the one before, Heaven's Gate, wrote the book--and was the subject of one--on celluloid disasters. But that has not stopped Director Michael Cimino from undertaking yet another big-budget epic: The Sicilian, based on Mario Puzo's best-selling novel. Now being filmed in Italy, the movie centers on the short, bloody career of Italian Gangster Salvatore Giuliano, a real-life Robin Hood of the late '40s who dreamed of turning Sicily into a U.S. state. He is played by the French heartthrob (and most recent Tarzan) Christopher Lambert, 29, who unhesitatingly grabbed the chance to work with Cimino. "He is a very passionate man, a strong person. He gives a lot to his actors," explained Lambert. "I would rather work with someone who has talent than someone who has made a lot of money. You have to be stimulated when you work on a movie, otherwise it is boring."