VENICE: The ongoing strikes in Hollywood means it’s still unclear which stars will travel to Italy for the 80th Venice Film Festival, which gets under way on Aug 30.
Adam Driver, Sofia Coppola and Mads Mikkelsen are likely to be among them, according to a festival spokeswoman.
The film festival starts at 7pm (1700 GMT) on Wednesday, opening with the film ‘Comandante’ by Italian director Edoardo De Angelis. It tells the story of an Italian submarine commander in the World War II who makes a daring decision on a voyage in the Atlantic, said German news agency (dpa).
‘Comandante’ is one of the 23 films competing for the festival’s main prize, the Golden Lion, which will be awarded on Sept 9. German director Timm Kroeger is also represented in the competition. His film ‘The Theory of Everything’ will premiere on Sept 3.
In addition, the new films by David Fincher (known for ‘Fight Club’ ‘Seven’), Luc Besson (‘Léon – The Professional’), Sofia Coppola (‘Lost in Translation’), Michael Mann (‘Heat’), Pablo Larraín (‘Spencer’), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (‘Drive My Car’) or Bradley Cooper (‘A Star Is Born’) can all be seen in the competition.
Hollywood writers have been on strike since May 2. Actors represented by SAG-AFTRA walked off the job July 14. Both unions are looking for improved residual payments for streaming and protections against the use of artificial intelligence.
Some observers expect Hollywood’s hot labour summer to stretch well into autumn, upending the new season on broadcast TV and deepening the economic fallout for Los Angeles and its cornerstone industry. – BERNAMA-XINHUA
