VARIOUS/file: A star studded line up of actors and directors is set to hit the red carpet which promises to make the 2011 Venice Film Festival a year to remember

Record ID: 726156

  • Title: VARIOUS/file: A star studded line up of actors and directors is set to hit the red carpet which promises to make the 2011 Venice Film Festival a year to remember
  • Date: 31st August 2011
  • Summary: VENICE, ITALY (AUGUST 30, 2011) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAY WEISSBERG, VARIETY MAGAZINE FILM CRITIC, SAYING: "The other reference that we have to bring up here is the constant rivalry with Toronto which of course begins in the middle of the Venice film festival. So a lot of people leave Venice to go to Toronto early and Marco Mueller is trying desperately to stop people from doing that, so the bigger names that he has here, the bigger films that he has here the less kind of attrition there is going to be."
  • Embargoed: 15th September 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico, Italy, Germany, Usa, Russian Federation
  • City:
  • Country: Usa Russian Federation Mexico Italy Germany
  • Reuters ID: LVA9H7CQB7KOXP4CD4I3TI0F4M3R
  • Story Text: The red carpet is out and builders are putting the finishing touches to the Venice film festival venue ahead of Wednesday's glitzy opening, when George Clooney's political drama "The Ides of March" has its world premiere.
    The 2011 edition of the world's oldest film festival promises a rich line-up of eagerly awaited movies and A-list stars, many of whom will hope the high-profile launch puts them on the road to awards early next year.
    For the next 11 days, the Lido island across the water from Venice hosts the toast of global independent film making, as well as thousands of journalists and paparazzi who come to follow their every move.
    Jay Weissberg, film critic for Hollywood trade publication Variety who is a Venice festival regular believes that 2011 is set to be a classic.
    "I hate giving numbers to anything but I would say it's probably an eight (out of 10), which is very very strong particularly for me. But the line-up looks exceptionally good. There are directors who are well known, who are light. There's a nice mix -- as usual Marco Mueller does an excellent job in balancing more Hollywood types of films with more art-house films, so I think there is much more than is generally the case something for everyone."
    Donning their tuxedos along with Clooney on Wednesday will be co-stars Ryan Gosling and Philip Seymour Hoffman, followed later in the festival by Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Matthew McConaughey, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and pop superstar Madonna.
    "Certainly the George Clooney is something that people are very very curious about, said Weissberg.
    "Also the Soderbergh I think could be interesting, the Alexander Sokurov "Faust" is a film that many of us are very much looking forward to. The follow-on film from "Dogtooth" from the Greek director, it was a film that really enchanted so many people, that I think that's another film after years of not having very good Greek films, there seems to be a bit of a revival now so people are looking at that. Of course, in terms of talking points we've got the Madonna film. What that's going to be like nobody can really quite say."
    The lineup of 22 competition films and dozens more eclipses 2010's low-key event, and Venice is aiming to repeat the success of 2008 when it launched "The Hurt Locker" which went on to win six Oscars including best picture.
    Among the most hotly anticipated titles is "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," an adaptation of John Le Carre's spy novel starring recent Oscar winner Colin Firth as well as Gary Oldman and John Hurt.
    Other standout titles in competition include Briton Andrea Arnold's take on the Emily Bronte novel "Wuthering Heights," U.S. director Ami Canaan Mann's "Texas Killing Fields" and William Friedkin's "Killer Joe."
    In "A Dangerous Method," Canadian David Cronenberg explores the rivalry between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud as a young woman (Knightley) comes between them.
    Roman Polanski worked on the screenplay for his latest movie "Carnage," featuring Winslet, Jodie Foster and Christoph Waltz, while under house arrest in Switzerland last year.
    The 78-year-old was eventually freed after the Swiss authorities decided not to extradite him to the United States, where he is still wanted for sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 in Los Angeles.
    Acclaimed Russian director Alexander Sokurov brings "Faust" and Hong Kong's Johnnie To presents "Life Without Principle," a story touching on the economic crisis and its effect on ordinary people.
    Outside the main line-up, Madonna makes her second foray into feature films with "W.E.," a drama loosely based on divorcee Wallis Simpson whose relationship with Britain's King Edward VIII led to his abdication in 1936.
    Steven Soderbergh promises an all-star cast including Damon, Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Law and Paltrow in "Contagion," about a lethal airborne virus that spreads panic.
    The festival program suggests Venice can still compete with Toronto's cinema showcase, which overlaps for several days and is a cheaper alternative for Hollywood studios, Jay Weissberg explains:
    "The other reference that we have to bring up here is the constant rivalry with Toronto which of course begins in the middle of the Venice film festival. So a lot of people leave Venice to go to Toronto early and Marco Mueller is trying desperately to stop people from doing that, so the bigger names that he has here, the bigger films that he has here the less kind of attrition there is going to be."
    Other highlights will include a lifetime achievement award for veteran Hollywood leading man Al Pacino who will receive a Golden Lion for his contribution to cinema. Speaking in Los Angels ahead of the festival, Pacino told Reuters that he was thrilled to be honoured by Venice and given the opportunity to screen his latest film.
    "Well it's great (lifetime achievement award). It's great that this new movie I made called Wilde Salome which is my own little personal film is going to show there. That's like really strange, but wonderful, but strange, because going to a festival with your own home movie is funny. But I'm glad it's happening, very glad, very honoured, all that really."
    So on the eve of the 68th edition of the Venice international Film Festival all points are that the 201 program is set to woo critics and film fans alike.
    "He's pulled out all the stops. He's refurbished what he can refurbish on the Lido which is always a huge challenge. He's brought all of the Hollywood glamour back to the Lido," explained Weissberg.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register