Venice gets surge of star power, from Lady Gaga to Brad Pitt to George Clooney

ROME – Stars from Angelina Jolie to George Clooney will gather this week at the Venice Film Festival, bringing a high dose of Hollywood pizzazz back to the watery city’s sandy Lido.

With 21 films vying for the top Golden Lion prize, the 81st edition of the prestigious festival kicks off on Aug 28, with American singer-actress Lady Gaga, English actor Daniel Craig and American actor Brad Pitt expected on the red carpet during the 10-day affair.

The dazzle is welcome after Hollywood strikes in 2023 kept most studio films and their A-lister stars away from the world’s longest-running festival, known as “La Mostra”.

In the spotlight, but out of competition, is Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-anticipated sequel to American director Tim Burton’s 1988 cult classic. It opens the festival on Aug 28, with actors Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder reprising their original roles.

High-profile contenders in the main competition include Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie A Deux, the sequel to the American director’s 2019 Venice-winning film that sees American actor Joaquin Phoenix paired with Lady Gaga; and Queer from Italy’s Luca Guadagnino starring Craig, based on the William Burroughs novel set in 1940s Mexico City.

Jolie headlines Maria, a Maria Callas biopic from Chile’s Pablo Larrain, who returns to Venice following his Diana drama Spencer in 2021. Actors Nicole Kidman and Antonio Banderas star in erotic thriller Babygirl from Dutch director Halina Reijn.

To keep the drama on the screen – and avoid it behind-the-scenes – Maria will premiere on the festival’s first full day on Aug 29, while Wolfs starring actor Pitt, Jolie’s ex, will screen out of competition on Sept 1.

Joining Pitt in the Apple TV+ film from Spider-Man (2017 to 2021) director Jon Watts is Clooney, with the actors playing rival professional fixers in the action comedy.

The main competition also includes the first full-length film in English for Venice regular, Spain’s Pedro Almodovar – The Room Next Door with actresses Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore – while The Order from Australian director Justin Kurzel sees English actor Jude Law playing a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent investigating a terror ring in the Pacific Northwest.

Weaver, Costner and Kline

The opening night on Aug 28 will feature the introduction of the international jury led by its president, French actress Isabelle Huppert, and the awarding of an honorary Golden Lion for lifetime achievement to Alien franchise (1979 to present) star, American actress Sigourney Weaver.

Also having its out-of-competition debut is the second chapter of Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga. The first part of the American actor-director’s Western epic premiered at Cannes in May.

Running until Sept 7, the international festival has increasingly become known for showcasing films that go on to Oscar glory for their directors and cast members, including former Golden Lion winners Poor Things (2023), Nomadland (2020) and Joker (2019).

Unlike at the rival Cannes Film Festival, Venice accepts films produced by streaming services in competition, especially Netflix, which has found great success launching titles such as Maestro (2023) and Roma (2018) at the Italian festival.

Besides Wolfs, Apple TV+ also produced Disclaimer, a thriller series starring actors Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline and Sacha Baron Cohen which is also having its premiere in Venice. AFP