The ongoing strike action in Hollywood has created uncertainty regarding the attendance of celebrities at the 80th Venice Film Festival, scheduled to commence on Aug. 30.
Adam Driver, Sofia Coppola and Mads Mikkelsen are likely to be among them, according to a festival spokesperson.
The film festival starts on Wednesday, opening with the film "Comandante" by Italian director Edoardo De Angelis. It tells the story of an Italian submarine commander in World War II who makes a daring decision on a voyage in the Atlantic.
"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 ("Leon – The Professional"), Sofia Coppola ("Lost in Translation"), Michael Mann ("Heat"), Pablo Larrain ("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 on July 14. Both unions are looking for improved residual payments for streaming and protections against using artificial intelligence.
Some observers expect Hollywood's to stretch well into the autumn, upending the new season on broadcast TV and deepening the economic fallout for Los Angeles and its cornerstone industry.
The head of the Venice Film Festival also told Agence France-Presse (AFP) it was "absolutely incomprehensible" why U.S. opinion had turned so strongly against director Woody Allen. The festival has been criticized for its inclusion of several directors with past sexual assault allegations in this year's line-up, including Allen, Roman Polanski and Luc Besson.
But its boss, Alberto Barbera, said the controversy around Allen, who is set to present his 50th film "Coup de Chance" at the festival on Monday, was particularly baffling to him. "He has been completely absolved. Twenty-five years have passed and, for me, the hostility towards him, especially in the U.S., is absolutely incomprehensible," Barbera told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday.
Allen, 87, was investigated for an alleged assault on his adopted daughter in the early 1990s, but police brought no charges. He accuses his ex-partner Mia Farrow, who faces her own allegations of mistreating her children, of orchestrating the accusations. In the #MeToo era, many have refused to accept the initial investigation findings and Hollywood has effectively blackballed Allen.
Barbera added that the case of Polanski, who remains a fugitive from the U.S. over a conviction for raping a minor in the 1970s, was "more complex." "Not only has he been found guilty, but he has recognized his guilt and asked for forgiveness. The victim has forgiven him and asked for forgiveness on this affair," he said.
Polanski's new film "The Palace" is screening at the festival, though the 90-year-old is not expected to attend. "We must make a distinction between the man and the artist," Barbera said. "The history of art is full of artists who were criminals, and we nonetheless continue to admire their work."
France's Besson, who presents "Dogman" in competition this week, had rape allegations against him dropped in June.
