(In a way what's happening right now is some kind of recognition maybe by a broader public.)
Exactly, that's what I meant in fact. For many, many years, Morricone was one of the very few composers known by name by almost everybody on the planet, but it's not the case anymore in the younger generatiions, so IMHO the recent media coverage (since Hateful 8) helped a lot to get them to know how important he is.
I find it a little baffling that he was offended by being asked about Rome. If he's lived there all his life, when he could have lived anywhere, surely that's a fair question for someone so closely identified with Italy, just like people interviewing Woody Allen talk about New York.
It's disappointing that he didn't respond in a more courteous way given his special significance with Rome & Italian cinema.
