2023-08-23 11:49:57
Venice is traditionally the festival with many big Hollywood stars. But because of the strike in the dream factory, this time it will probably be different than usual.
Venice.
The Venice Film Festival is facing a particularly challenging edition due to the Hollywood strike. Ahead of the August 30 launch, it’s still unclear which international movie stars will travel to Italy. “The situation is evolving,” said a spokeswoman for the dpa festival. Stars arriving are expected to include Sofia Coppola, Adam Driver, Jessica Chastain and Penélope Cruz. The German director Timm Kröger, who is represented in the competition, is looking forward to his arrival.
Kröger, Rogowski and Schick: Germans in competition
Kröger is showing his film “The Theory of Everything” in Venice. When asked what he felt about his participation, the 37-year-old told dpa: “Excitement, a little pride and anticipation.” His thriller starring Jan Bülow, Olivia Ross and Hanns Zischler is in black and white. Set in the 1960s, it tells of a physics congress in the Swiss Alps where mysterious things happen.
Kröger describes this year’s film selection as “impressive”. It consists mostly of films that he would like to see himself. He is particularly looking forward to the new and last work by William Friedkin, which is out of competition. The filmmaker (“The Exorcist”) died in early August at the age of 87. His last film “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” with Kiefer Sutherland will be shown in Venice.
Franz Rogowski is also among the Germans in the competition. In the historical film “Lubo” by Giorgio Diritti, he plays a nomadic street musician who is drafted into the Swiss army in 1939 and has to fight for his family. Clemens Schick appears in Luc Besson’s “Dogman”. The film tells about a young man and his special love for dogs.
The strike and the stars – who comes to Venice?
Venice is traditionally the festival with many big Hollywood stars. This year, 23 entries compete for the main prize, the Golden Lion. These include films by well-known US filmmakers such as Sofia Coppola, David Fincher and Michael Mann. Numerous stars are involved in the competition entries. Among them Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton.
Because of the Hollywood strike, many of them are still unclear whether they will travel to Venice. Bradley Cooper, who plays the leading role in the competition film “Maestro” about the composer Leonard Bernstein and also directed it, has already canceled.
The more than 11,000 unionized screenwriters in the US have been on strike since early May. Tens of thousands of members of the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA have also been on strike since mid-July. However, film crews can apply to the union for interim agreements, for example to promote their films. That was successful for the competition films “Dogman” and “Ferrari” (Michael Mann), reported the US industry magazine “Variety”. This would bring Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz to Venice, for example – they play in “Ferrari”.
The festival’s spokeswoman said the teams from “Bastards” (directed by Nikolaj Arcel), “Priscilla” by Coppola and “Memory” by Michel Franco are also expected to come to Venice. Then film fans could expect Mads Mikkelsen, Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard at the Lido di Venezia.
What to talk about this year
Works by two controversial filmmakers are screened this year without competition. Woody Allen comes to Venice with the Parisian relationship drama “Coup de Chance”. Allen’s late work is overshadowed by earlier allegations of abuse. His adopted daughter Dylan Farrow accuses him of molesting her when she was seven. Allen has always rejected the allegations, a court decades ago largely agreed with him. But some actors have distanced themselves from the multiple Oscar winner in recent years, and his films are more difficult to market in cinemas.
Roman Polanski’s new film will also be shown in Venice. German actor Oliver Masucci stars in ‘The Palace,’ a dark comedy set in a luxury Swiss hotel. Since the rise of the #MeToo movement, several women have accused Polanski of sexual abuse, particularly in the ’70s. allegations which he denies. In the United States, a case of sexual abuse against the 90-year-old has been going on for over 40 years. Polanski’s last film also ran in Venice in 2019 – and won the Grand Jury Prize there.
Last but not least, a big music star could cause a stir in Venice. US rapper Travis Scott stars in Harmony Korine’s “Aggro Dr1ft”. The film – which has a very special look due to the use of a thermal lens – tells of criminal machinations in Miami. But here, too, there is still a question mark over the journey to Venice. (dpa)
#Venice #Film #Festival #German #question #marks #free #press