Radaccione Cultura, 28 Aug (EFE). – The Venice Festival, which has become Europe’s favorite showcase of Hollywood cinema in the last decade, will start its 80th edition next Wednesday because of the American actors’ strike, which threatens to eclipse it. Is. Traditional red carpet pageant.
Is any festival possible without stars? Alberto Barbera, its artistic director, seems keen to prove that he is, with a program packed with titles from great directors ranging from David Fincher to Sofia Coppola, Wes Anderson, Bradley Cooper, Woody Allen, Richard Linklater, Pablo Larrain, JA Bayona Are. Michael Mann, among others.
Some of its actors, such as Adam Driver, Jessica Chastain or Mads Mikkelsen, have confirmed their presence, as sources in the organization told EFE, but most Hollywood stars – Carey Mulligan, Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Benedict Cumberbatch or Penelope Cruz—neither have they.
Speculations have been rife about the presence of these stars due to the lack of progress in the struggle between the actors’ union (SAG-AFTRA) and the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP), which has been on strike since July 14. Big studios and platforms.
Interpreters have called for a strike by the Writers’ Union (WGA), as well as regulation of artificial intelligence, higher remuneration for “streaming”, and an increase in the minimum wage, allowing production, filming and audiovisual production in the United States. Propaganda has stopped. State.
For actors, the strike meant not only not participating in filming, but also not attending red carpets, interviews or speaking engagements.
However, the only film that has been pulled from the Venice schedule due to the strike is the opening film, “Challengers”, directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Zendaya, which was replaced with the Italian “Comandante” by Edoardo De Angelis.
The organization is assisted by the stars of AMPTP independent productions, such as “Ferrari”, a biographical film of the legendary Enzo Ferrari directed by Michael Mann, which is distributed in the United States by the independent Neon.
Of its main cast – Adam Driver, Penelope Cruz and Shailene Woodley – only the first has been confirmed.
But there are also European and Latin American productions with weighty stars like Mads Mikkelsen in the Danish “Bastarden” by Nikolaj Arcel; Léa Seydoux in French “La Bette” by Bertrand Bonello; Lily James and Willem Dafoe in the Italian “Finally L’Alba” by Saverio Constanzo or Jessica Chastain in the Mexican “Memory” by Michelle Franco.
And they have also confirmed the presence of Caleb Landry Jones for the French “Dogman” (“Pérohombre”) written by Luc Besson, and Jacob Elordi for “Priscilla”, an independent American production.
The 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival, which runs from August 30 to September 9, will keep the cinematic interest alive, but it is impossible to ignore the global influence of its red carpet in promoting films.
About Florence Pugh’s surprise appearance at the premiere of “Don’t Worry, Darling” last year (“Don’t Worry, Dear”) in full brawl with Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles, or presenting “Bones and All” by Timothée Chalamet Think. (“To the Bones”) dressed in red silk and with his back to the wind.
Also the 2021 preview of “Scenes from a Marriage” (“Secrets of a Marriage”) by Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain, which went viral, or the much-anticipated image of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck together, leading to their relationship. Went. Official, in the same year at the presentation of “The Last Duel” (“The Last Duel”).
With uncertainty in the air, the festival announced a few days ago that there will be master classes by directors such as Wes Anderson, Nicolas Winding Refn and Damien Chazelle, who will also chair the official section jury, alongside members such as Jane. Campion, Mia Hansen-Love, Laura Poitras or Argentine Santiago Mitre.
This year’s honorees will be Italian director Liliana Cavani, 90, who will present her latest film “Lordine del Tempo” out of competition, and Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai; Both will receive an honorary Golden Lion in recognition of their career as a whole.
And Wes Anderson, who will present the medium-length film “The Amazing Story of Henry Sugar,” will be honored with the Cartier Glory Award to a filmmaker for his or her original contribution to the contemporary film industry.
The night before the opening, on the 29th, will be dedicated to Gina Lollobrigida, an icon of Italian cinema who died last January. “Portrait of Gina” (1958), a documentary by Orson Welles, and “La Provinciale” (“The Provincial Woman”, 1953) by Mario Solati will be shown.
magdalena tsanis
(c) EFE Agency