Buongiorno, my good reader. It’s a Venice-heavy Insider this week, as the A-lister festival got underway amid the cameras and gondolas of the canal-strewn city. Back here in the UK it’s Jesse Whittock taking you through the biggest stories of the week. Sign up for the newsletter here to experience the full Insider package.
Ever heard of kakistocracy?: This year’s Venice Film Festival rolled into action on Wednesday with a star-studded opening: George Clooney was in town to receive the festival’s honorary career award. His official press conference and acceptance speech at the opening ceremony were both eloquent and comprehensive, and he even introduced us to a new word, kakistocracy, used to describe a system of government run by the “least suitable, able, or experienced people in a state or country,” per the Cambridge Dictionary. That was his assessment of the U.S. right now… The 65-year-old actor has still got it. You can read our coverage of his presser and speech here and here. The opening film was Danny Boyle’s Ink, which received a healthy five-minute ovation following its debut screening. The film, starring Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy, charts the rise of the UK’s notorious tabloid newspaper The Sun in the 1970s under the editorship of Larry Lamb. There’s some good buzz around it. Deadline’s Pete Hammond called the pic “sensational,” and you should read this fantastic story from Baz Bamigboye, once of The Sun parish, on what it means in a historical sense. Filmmaker Werner Herzog has also garnered some buzz with Bucking Fastard, which screened on Thursday. The film stars Kate and Rooney Mara as two real-life sisters who were so close that they spoke in unison and loved the same man. Deadline’s Damon Wise described the film as a “bittersweet tale of unrequited lovers.” However, nothing so far has matched the rapturous reaction Martin McDonagh landed with his latest dark comedy, Wild Horse Nine. The film received a 14-minute ovation, and media pundits have already begun discussing its awards chances. Still to come in Competition, we have a new feature from the Korean master Lee Chang-dong and Primetime starring Robert Pattinson. Plenty more Venice content for you to consume, including this cool interview with Paul Schrader and lots of red carpet photos. Everything can be found here.
Chartered boats and bitter quotes: If only the single controversy around the return of The Great British Bake Off (The Great British Baking Show to our U.S. readers) was whether new judge Nigella Lawson truly does think Paul Hollywood arriving to set by helicopter is a bit uncouth. Instead, Jake went deep into the bitter row right at the top of production over the weekend, where Letty Kavanagh, the former Managing Director of format creator and producer Love Productions, has twin-sued Love’s parent company Sky Studios for interfering with the UK show and attempting to move it from Channel 4 to Sky as part of something titled ‘Project Rise.’ She’s claiming wrongful dismissal and unpaid severance, which Sky rejects. Comcast-owned Sky hit back by accusing Kavanagh of false accounting and misuse of a company credit card – including double-counting Love’s costs for her own benefit and charting a private boat (a source close to her naturally denies the charges). As Jake notes, British TV is a polite world, even when it gets nasty, so seeing this aired in public is a shocking development. There are whipped cream pies flying all over the Bake Off tent and someone is going to get hit. Watch this space.
One of the most prescient movies at Venice this year is Falling House, an Iranian drama from Mohsen Gharaei dealing with what the long-term oppression of women in the country will ultimately mean. Using the device of three generations of women from the same household ruled by the father as an allegory, the film is a searing critique of Iran’s patriarchal society. Given the binary nature of the government there, Gharaei has been widely criticized by officials and is living in exile abroad. Four years after the Women’s Life Freedom protests, he tells Melanie about his desire to make the film, clandestine filming in the country, and why the pic quietly points to an inevitable coming conflict. >>>Read The Interview
‘Hamilton’ hankerings: Leslie Odom Jr.’s performance as Aaron Burr in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton is considered one of the great modern stage acting feats, earning him a Tony in 2016. He has now returned to the role ten years later with a limited run in the West End. As Nada, our social media and red carpet hotshot, noted, Deadline was in the room where it happened on August 6 to catch his barn-burning performance, and she later caught up with him to talk all things Hamilton and landed the scoop that he has been filming the run-up to his return to the Broadway version. A doc is being readied for the fall festival. “It’s a beautiful time, a beautiful season, and somebody sat outside of it and put a frame around it,” said Odom Jr., with a lyrical flourish of which Miranda would surely approve.
🌶️ Hot One: Cameron Lamb’s Alexander has acquired all rights in English-speaking territories to Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo’s debut feature Ben’imana, as a first acquisition for its new dedicated film arm.
🌶️ Another One: Lots more Heated Rivalry casting news for you – the returning cast and some new faces.
🔥 Hot, Hot, Hot: Ireland’s RTÉ will explore one of the most talked-about murders of recent Irish history in The Murder of Mr. Moonlight, a drama series from Conker Pictures and Samson Films that has already been pre-bought by the BBC.
🥵 Go on, One more…: P-pop star Taneo Sebastian and actress Ymeiliza Tabora will lead Philippine filmmaker Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan’s debut feature Hum.
⛏️ Breaking the law, breaking the law: Amazon MGM Studios‘ new Tomb Raider series breached UK safety laws during production earlier this year, a health and safety body ruled.
🫵 It could be you: Another update on the submissions for the Best International Feature Film Oscar.
👑 Royal omission: He may play a Duke in The Gentlemen, but Theo James isn’t convinced he’ll be acting opposite the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, in Season 3 of the Netflix show.
Fest latest: The full line-ups for this month’s Seriesly Berlin and October’s Rome get-together MIA were unveiled.
😆 Funny guy: Saturday Night Live UK will return to Sky on September 12 with Jurassic Park and Wicked star Jeff Goldblum presiding over the debut episode.
⚖️ Rendez-Vouz: France’s annual domestic TV get-together is set to get underway and Stewart had not one, but two handy scene-setters.
🚀 Launches: India’s JioStar is debuting its JioHotstar streaming brand in UK, Canada and Singapore, replacing the existing Hotstar service.
🎞️ Trailer: For the finale season of Maxton Hall – The World Between Us… and a December release date was set.
Jury Service – There was confusion over the opening Jury press conference at the Venice Film Festival. First it wasn’t happening, then it was. Ultimately, Jury President Maggie Gyllenhaal and co spoke to journalists and called for empathy in these highly charged political times.
International Insider was written by Jesse Whittock and edited by Jake Kanter. Zac Ntim contributed. Send any tips, comments or ideas for international coverage to jwhittock@deadline.com and mgoldbart@deadline.com
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