NO wonder why Rachel Bilson is cast in the movie Jumper which made Hayden Christensen’s female and gay fans confused on whether to adore him as Jumper or Anakin Skywalker. That’s because Rachel Bilson is Italian-American and most of the scenes in the movie Jumper are set in Italy. My parents are all Italian immigrants but I’ve never been to Tuscany, hometown of both sets of my grandparents. But I will surely be there during spring break.

Of course, I will also be visiting Rome on my trip with my parents. In fact, my parents have already bought through Expedia the Alitalia airline tickets for the four of us (including my younger sister Monica). I am not just a movie buff and as a fan of economic studies, I am glad that we Italian-Americans have contributed in our own little ways to help steer the United States economy from recession and being patriotic by spending a few bucks through our one-week vacation to Italy. By spending in hotels in Rome and Tuscany during spring break, we also play ode to our Italian heritage and contribute to the economy there.

My Italian actress idol is Monica Bellucci. I first saw her convincingly perform as Jesus’s mother in The Passion of the Christ. Later, I saw her playing opposite Bruce Willis as a missionary in Africa in Tears of the Sun. She must be a good actress because she has captured the fancy of Hollywood producers. And they are not just B-rated movies that Monica is hired, they are big-budgeted productions such as The Passion of the Christ and Tears of the Sun. Remember that Tears of the Sun has been handpicked by West Point as a supplemental tool in teaching their students how to do a covert Special Forces military operation accurately.

Monica Bellucci really did justice to the producers of all the Hollywood movies that she has starred in and that’s what makes her my idol. In one of the saddest movies I have ever seen, Irreversible, she played the role of a pregnant woman who was mercilessly raped and killed. And that’s why I adore Monica Bellucci as an actress. But then again, Monica is pure Italian. I also want to throw my moral support to actors of Italian descent in the United States like Anthony LaPaglia who is an Australian-Italian but now in the United States as a mainstay in Jerry Bruckheimer’s Without a Trace.