A year ago, the Venice Film Festival had enough stars to bring even the celebrity-worshipping Cannes to the spotlight. Highlights were soon broadcast around the world, including the infamous “Don’t Worry Darling” kickoff that fueled endless speculation about the film’s director, Olivia Wilde, and its stars Florence Pugh and Harry Styles; the press conference where an unexpectedly astute Timothée Chalamet predicted imminent social collapse; and Brendan Fraser’s tearful comeback that began at the Lido and culminated in his Best Actor Oscar win.
But can Venice still go viral without all those celebrities?
The festival’s 80th edition, which begins Wednesday, will be significantly affected by ongoing strikes from the Screen Actors Guild (or SAG-AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America as the actors’ union has instructed its members not to engage in press activities. for all studio films until the strike against these companies is resolved. That gets Venice in trouble, as it’s considered one of the best places for Hollywood to unveil star-studded season titles. Few major actors will be present this year.
The actors’ strike has already cost Venice its original opening film, Luca Guadagnino’s sexy tennis novel ‘Challengers’, as MGM delayed the film from September to spring in the hopes that its lead actor, Zendaya, will be allowed to promote the film for several months. from now on, when the strikes could be resolved. (An unremarkable Italian film is premiering instead.) And I’ve heard of a few more star-studded fall films that were destined for Venice, but chose the Telluride Film Festival instead, since that event is less defined by stills and news. conferences that are no longer feasible in Italy.
Despite some of those tweaks, the Venice lineup is still enticing, with a roster of many authors, with directors almost as famous as their leading actors. And Venice has already proven its ability to adapt to adverse restrictions: during the pandemic in August 2020, the festival opted for a smaller, partly open-air edition, which nevertheless premiered the eventual winner of the Best Picture Oscar, ‘Nomadland’ . ”
This year’s schedule includes two hit-man movies: David Fincher’s new thriller, “The Killer,” starring Michael Fassbender, while Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man” features the breakout from “Top Gun: Maverick,” Glen Powell, who also as a co-writer. I’m curious about the bizarre comedy “Poor Things,” directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (“The Favorite”) and starring Emma Stone as a sexually curious Frankenstein monster. Ditto ‘Maestro’, Bradley Cooper’s second directing, after ‘A Star Is Born’. He has cast himself as the composer Leonard Bernstein, opposite Carey Mulligan as Bernstein’s wife, Felicia, and his decision to wear a prosthetic nose has already sparked controversy.
Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ was a big hit last year, but what will that story look like through the lens of Sofia Coppola? The director of “Lost in Translation” and “Marie Antoinette” spotlights Elvis Presley’s wife with “Priscilla,” starring Cailee Spaeny as teen bride Priscilla Presley and “Euphoria” star Jacob Elordi as singer. Ava DuVernay has adapted Isabel Wilkerson’s book “Caste” for her new film “Origin,” starring Oscar-nominated Aunjanue Ellis in an investigation of racism and systemic oppression. And while Michael Mann has been awarded a guild exemption allowing the cast of “Ferrari” to promote the film in Venice, I wonder if his new film’s press-shy protagonist, Adam Driver (as racer and car magnate Enzo Ferrari), is willing to give a full media blitz for the movie, which hot indie studio Neon releases in theaters on Christmas Day.
Two years after the release of his Oscar-winning breakthrough ‘Drive My Car’, director Ryusuke Hamaguchi returns to the festival circuit with ‘Evil Does Not Exist’, which started as a dialogue-free short film and evolved into a feature film about ecological collapse. And two months after the release of his feature film “Asteroid City,” director Wes Anderson opts for something shorter with “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” a 37-minute Roald Dahl adaptation for Netflix.
Harmony Korine premiered his biggest movie, ‘Spring Breakers’, in Venice in 2012, and he returns with the mysterious ‘Aggro Dr1ft’, starring rapper Travis Scott and shot exclusively using infrared photography. He’s not the only director taking risks: Pablo Larraín, the director of “Jackie” and “Spencer,” has put aside the divas for a while to make “El Conde,” a black-and-white supernatural fable that reimagines the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet as a bloodsucking vampire.
And then there are the chances Venice itself is taking when it comes to three authors: the premiere of “Dogman” by Luc Besson, who was charged with sexual assault but acquitted by prosecutors; “The Palace” by Roman Polanski, who was convicted of unlawful sex with a minor but fled before he could be sentenced; and “Coup de Chance” by Woody Allen, who has denied allegations of sexual abuse by Dylan Farrow, his adopted daughter.
Venice will also serve as an elegy of sorts for director William Friedkin, who died earlier this month and whose latest film, the naval drama “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,” will premiere posthumously at the Lido. Adapted by Friedkin from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Herman Wouk, starring Jake Lacy and Kiefer Sutherland.