(ANSA) - Rome, April 18 - Oscar-winning actor-director Roberto Benigni and his wife Nicoletta Braschi on Tuesday sued TV news show Report for a report on government funding to the entertainment sector.

A lawyer said he had been instructed to sue journalists "Giorgio Mottola and Sigfrido Ranucci, as well as anyone who cooperated with them, in connection with the false and gravely defamatory news broadcast in (yesterday's) programme". The report on the RAI State broadcaster programme claimed that Benigni's ambitious project to turn his studios outside Terni into a hub to rival Cinecittà had caused a huge waste of public money. Benigni had vainly sought an injunction to stop the Report segment from going ahead. The segment said the project for the Papigno studios, where Benigni shot Life is Beautiful and Pinocchio, had cost an alleged 16 million euros in local, government and European funding, and claimed that Benigni had "run off" after the project allegedly foundered.

"What we are challenging," said Benignhi's lawyers," is that the business operation was based on public funds and that Benigni then 'ran off' so as to avoid footing the bill.

"In fact it's not true that the operation enjoyed public funding, because the restructuring was done at Benigni's expense.

"And it's not true that our client fled after Papigno's failure to be relaunched, because the studios were bought by Cinecittà Studios, a company of Luigi Abete, Aurelio De Laurentiis and Andrea Della Valle. "The restructuring cost Benigni 7.4 million euros; Cinecittà Studios 'bought' five million of credit; Benigni still has to get 1.1 million.

"Therefore, he made a loss. Benigni himself told Report reporters: 'It's not known how much money I lost in it'."