Venice Chief Alberto Barbera On Potential Oscar Contenders, Why ‘Challengers’ Dropped Out, The “Useless” Polanski Debate & The Call He Had With Bradley Cooper About ‘Maestro’ & The Strikes

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender.

SAG-AFTRA on Thursday named NEON’s Michael Mann-directed Ferrari as one of its latest recipients of an interim agreement for publicity.

Italian production designer Tonino Zera, whose credits include Roman Polanski’s upcoming drama The Palace, will be feted with the Campari Passion Award at the 80th edition of Venice Film Festival, running from August 30 to September 9.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay will be honored by international AIDS organization amfAR with its Award of Inspiration during the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 3. The black-tie gala and dinner, taking place at La Misericordia, will include performances by singers Rita Ora and Leona Lewis.

Arthur Schmidt, the film editor whose decades-long collaboration with director Robert Zemeckis on classics such as Forrest Gump, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Cast Away, Contact and all three Back to the Future films won him two Oscars, has died, Deadline has confirmed. He was 86.

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival has cancelled its swanky Women in Cinema gala event at the upcoming Venice Film Festival in response to the ongoing actors’ strike.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Wes Anderson will be honored at the 80th Venice Film Festival, which runs Aug. 30-Sept. 9.

Wes Anderson will be honored with the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, running from August 30th to September 9.

Sophia Scorziello editor “Dicks: The Musical,” the first film musical from A24, has everything: Megan Thee Stallion, a “Parent Trap” plotline, a pair of twins singing penis euphemisms, Nathan Lane and a cage full of mutant sewer boys. The independent banner released the first trailer for the R-rated comedy on Thursday morning, shortly following the announcement by the Toronto International Film Festival that the film will play in the event’s Midnight Madness section.

Earlier this week, the Venice Film Festival announced the line-up for its 80th edition, including new films from Michael Mann, Bradley Cooper, David Fincher, Woody Allen, and more. Now it’s time for Venice’s parallel section, Giornate Degli Autori (previously known as Venice Days), to promote the line-up of its 20th edition.

Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera is refusing to row back on his decision to invite controversial movie-biz bigwigs Roman Polanski, Woody Allen and Luc Besson to the late summer event, which will take place despite the potential disruption by the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. “Luc Besson has been recently fully cleared of any accusations. Woody Allen went under legal scrutiny twice at the end of the ’90s and was absolved,” Barbera said in a new interview with Variety.

Mad Max: Fury Road has been crowned the best film of the past 25 years on a list compiled by Rotten Tomatoes.To mark its 25th anniversary, the website asked approved critics to choose their top five films released in the last 25 years. The votes were then tallied and compiled into a top 25 list.George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road beat runners-up Parasite and David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. which placed second and third respectively.

The Venice Film Festival on Tuesday released a star-studded and A-list heavy lineup of films that will debut at the 2023 Biennale, including the films vying for this year’s Golden Lion. This was done despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors and WGA writers strike.

Earlier today, the full lineup of films selected for this year’s Venice Film Festival was announced. Some of the highlights include new films from David Fincher, Ava DuVernay, Wes Anderson, and Bradley Cooper.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera is in a good mood after Tuesday’s lineup announcement managed to stave off the impact of the SAG-AFTRA strike, something which could have been “devastating” to the event, he says. In the end, the only U.S. film that skipped the Lido is Luca Guadagnino’s Zendaya-starrer “Challengers,” which Barbera says was against Guadagnino’s wishes.

The Venice Film Festival confirmed to us today it is hopeful that movies with SAG-AFTRA ‘interim agreements’ will bring their casts to the Lido.

Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera has shown once again that he is not scared to court controversy.

The red carpet may not have as many stars as in previous years, but the 2023 edition of the Venice Film Festival will feature a slew of highly anticipated films. And, likely, their directors taking center stage.

The Venice Film Festival revealed the lineup for its 80th edition Tuesday morning, and its Official Competition featured works by five women filmmakers, including Ava DuVernay, who makes history as the first African American woman in selection.

Refresh for latest…: Venice Film Festival chief Alberto Barbera is announcing the lineup for the event’s 80th edition this morning. We’ll be updating the list as the films are revealed, so check back for more below. You can also watch the livestream here.