Bradley Cooper鈥檚 Leonard Bernstein drama 鈥淢aestro,鈥� Sofia Coppola鈥檚 Priscilla Presley movie, Michael Mann鈥檚 鈥淔errari,鈥� David Fincher鈥檚 鈥淭he Killer鈥� and Ava DuVernay鈥檚 鈥淥rigin鈥� will make their world debuts at the this fall.
Organizers announced the lineup Tuesday for the 80th edition of the festival, which 鈥� despite the flashy names behind the films 鈥� could have a little less Hollywood glamour than usual gracing its picturesque docks and red carpet come September if the stretch on. As part of the strike, actors cannot promote projects from the studios and streamers with whom the union is negotiating.
The prestigious film festival already lost one high-profile premiere to the labor disputes in the U.S. in 鈥� starring Zendaya, which had been set to play in the opening night slot but has now been pushed to 2024. But Alberto Barbera, the director of the Venice Film Festival, said Tuesday that the strikes' effects on the festival lineup had otherwise been minimal.
鈥淧riscilla,鈥� an A24 film based on Priscilla Presley鈥檚 memoir 鈥淓lvis and Me,鈥� stars Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi and was widely expected to be in the festival. Coppola also launched 鈥淪omewhere鈥� in Venice in 2010. 鈥淧riscilla鈥� will be competing for the Golden Lion alongside 鈥淔errari,鈥� the buzzy racing drama starring Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari, and Pen茅lope Cruz as his wife Laura, based on Brock Yates鈥� biography.
Yorgos Lanthimos' highly anticipated 鈥淧oor Things,鈥� with Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo, will also have its bow on the Lido. Lanthimos previously launched 鈥淭he Favourite鈥� at Venice in 2018; it would go on to score 10 Oscar nominations and win one.
DuVernay鈥檚 film, 鈥淥rigin,鈥� meanwhile, is based on the book 鈥淐aste鈥� and the life of its author, Pulitzer winner The movie stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.
Netflix will once again have a big presence at the festival with 鈥淢aestro,鈥� directed by and starring Cooper as the legendary composer, opposite Carey Mulligan as Felicia Montealegre, and Fincher鈥檚 鈥淭he Killer,鈥� with Michael Fassbender playing an assassin. The streamer is also bringing Pablo Larra铆n鈥檚 鈥淓l Conde,鈥� a dark comedy in which Augusto Pinochet is a vampire, as part of the competition titles.
Another high-profile competition title is Michel Franco鈥檚 鈥淢emory,鈥� with Jessica Chastain and Peter Skarsgaard, as is 鈥淒rive My Car鈥� director Ry没suke Hamaguchi's 鈥淓vil Does Not Exist."
Venice has never been a festival to shy away from controversial directors and has programmed new films from both and
Polanski is back for the first time since 2019 with 鈥淭he Palace,鈥� about a New Year鈥檚 Eve in 1999 in a Swiss hotel, with John Cleese and Mickey Rourke. Allen is debuting his first French movie, 鈥淐oup de Chance.鈥� Luc Besson, who was recently cleared of charges in a rape case, will also be on the Lido with 鈥淒ogman,鈥� starring Caleb Landry Jones.
The jury presiding over the main competition this year is full of high-profile directors, including Damien Chazelle, Jane Campion, Martin McDonagh and .
In addition to the Polanski and Allen films, also playing out of competition are Wes Anderson鈥檚 Roald Dahl-inspired 鈥淭he Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar鈥� with Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel and Ralph Fiennes; Harmony Korine鈥檚 鈥淎ggro Dr1ft鈥�; Richard Linklater鈥檚 鈥淗it Man鈥�; Frederick Wiseman鈥檚 鈥淢enus Plaisirs 鈥� Les Troisgros鈥�; and William Friedkin鈥檚 鈥淭he Caine Mutiny Court-Marshall.鈥�
Venice is a top launching ground for awards hopefuls and has, in recent years, debuted Oscar-nominated films like 鈥淭he Whale,鈥� 鈥淭he Banshees of Inisherin,鈥� 鈥淭谩r,鈥� 鈥淭he Power of the Dog,鈥� 鈥淎 Star is Born鈥� and 鈥淟a La Land.鈥� It鈥檚 also the first major stop of the busy fall film festival season, with , Telluride and the New York Film Festivals close behind.
Like the Cannes Film Festival, celebrity is a huge part of the Venice iconography: Think of Lady Gaga perched on the side of a water taxi in her black Jonathan Simkhai bustier dress, or Timoth茅e Chalamet vamping in that backless red halter top by Haider Ackermann. Last year there were also viral moments aplenty thanks to the cast of 鈥淒on鈥檛 Worry Darling鈥� and the alleged 鈥渟pit-gate," in which internet spectators wondered if Harry Styles had spit on his co-star Chris Pine at the film's premiere.
It remains unclear whether any Hollywood talent will be able to make the journey this year. Barbera said at this point that some actors and actresses will not be able to attend but, without getting specific, said that talent from independent fare will be able to grace the red carpets and press conferences.
The Venice Film Festival runs from Aug. 30 through Sept. 9.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
