Venice Film Festival Prepares to Welcome Slew of Stars Post-Strikes, Starting With Key ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Cast
The Venice Film Festival kicks off its 81st edition on Wednesday with the premiere of Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which key cast Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe are all confirmed to attend. For the following nine days, the Palazzo del Cinema’s red carpet will be the starriest place on the planet.
After suffering the impact of last year’s Hollywood strikes which prevented most top talents from making the trek, Venice has now outdone itself with a steady stream of big names lined up to light up the Lido and grab global headlines.
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Angelina Jolie will be disembarking Thursday for the world premiere of Pablo Larraín’s Maria Callas biopic “Maria,” in which she plays the lead. Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera has specified that Jolie will not be crossing paths with her estranged husband Brad Pitt, at a time when they are reportedly embroiled in litigation, since Larrain and Jolie will immediately segue to Telluride. Pitt will hit the Lido Sunday with George Clooney for Jon Watts-directed action comedy “Wolfs,” which pairs the two megastars as lone-wolf fixers forced to work together in covering up a high-profile crime.
Also on Thursday, Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline will be on hand for Alfonso Cuarón’s steamy TV series “Disclaimer,” in which Blanchett plays an investigative journalist who becomes the main character in a story that exposes her darkest secrets.
On Friday, Nicole Kidman, Antonio Banderas and Harris Dickinson are expected for the launch of Dutch director Halina Reijn’s erotic thriller “Babygirl,” while “Call My Agent” star Camille Cottin will be on the catwalk for French director Emmanuel Moret’s romantic comedy “Trois Amies.”
Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult and Tye Sheridan will be strutting their stuff on Saturday for Australian director Justin Kurzel’s thriller “The Order.”
Sunday, alongside “Wolfs,” will see the bow of Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” with Adrien Brody — who plays László Tóth, a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who survived the Holocaust — in tow.
In a rare crescendo for Venice – which is usually a top-heavy fest – Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton will disembark on the Lido Monday for Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature film, “The Room Next Door”; Tuesday will see fans whipped into a frenzy for Daniel Craig who, parting ways with his Bond roles, plays a wistful American expat who falls in love with a younger man, played by Drew Starkey (also attending, of course) in Luca Guadagnino’s William S. Burroughs adaptation “Queer”; and on Wednesday Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix will be present for “Joker: Folie à Deux,” Todd Phillips’ edgy musical sequel to his 2019 Golden Lion prizewinning “Joker” that went on to score a best actor Oscar for Phoenix in 2020.
With this edition, Venice looks likely to be cementing its status as the top driver in the Oscars race, especially in the acting and best picture categories. Four of the past 10 best picture Oscar winners have launched from the Lido. Two of these titles, Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” and Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water,” had previously also scored the Golden Lion. Last year’s Golden Lion winner, Yorgos Lanthimos “Poor Things,” earned Emma Stone her second best actress Oscar after winning for “La La Land,” which also launched from Venice.
In an interview with Variety right after announcing his lineup, Barbera lavished particular praise on Craig’s turn in “Queer” and Phoenix’s performance in “Joker 2.” “I would be surprised if they didn’t end up competing for the highest recognition both in Venice and at the Oscars,” he said.
Presiding over the main jury is Isabelle Huppert. It will be interesting to what choices the revered French actor and her jury panel will make and how Barbera’s predictions turn out.
The 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival runs Aug. 28-Sept. 7.
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