Venice Without Hollywood Stars? Oscar Season’s Kick-Off Will Feel the Pain of U.S. Actors Strike

Will Smith has described the Hollywood actors and writers’ strikes as a “pivotal moment” in the industry.In an Instagram post on Friday (July 28), Smith expressed his support for the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) strikes.“I wanna talk for a second about ACTING,” Smith wrote. “As some of yall mighta heard, my guild, @SAGAFTRA are on strike along with our writer colleagues in the WGA.

Thousands of actors and entertainers are striking in Hollywood and around the country with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) for the first time in over six decades.But one actor who isn’t joining them is Amell, who said the cause is a “reductive negotiating tactic” that he simply doesn’t support.“I feel like I’m insulated in Hollywood, cause that’s where I live, like all the stereotypes that exist. I feel like a lot of people in this room aren’t aware of the strike,” the “Arrow” actor, 42, said during a Q&A at Galaxycon in North Carolina.“I support my union, I do.

Vanessa Williams has no intentions on reconstructing or repairing parts of her body.

Stephen Amell, whose Starz drama series Heels returned for its second season over the weekend, is not going to the mat for the actors strike that is currently taking place in Hollywood.

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.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Matteo Garrone, who is a two-time Cannes jury prizewinner with “Gomorrah” in 2008 and “Reality” in 2012, is set to be in competition in Venice for the first time with his immigration-themed drama “Io Capitano.” Shot over 13 weeks in Senegal, Italy and Morocco with a cast of non-professional actors, the Italian auteur’s new film – the title for which translates to “I Captain” – narrates the Homeric journey of two young African men, Seydou and Moussa, who decide to leave Dakar to reach Europe. It depicts their plight through the pitfalls of the desert, the horrors of detention centers in Libya and the dangers of the sea.

Venice Film Festival head Alberto Barbera spoke with Deadline soon after revealing his latest stellar lineup, including movies from David Fincher, Michael Mann, Bradley Cooper, Pablo Larrain, Sofia Coppola, Yorgos Lanthimos and Ava DuVernay.

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.

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.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The 80th Venice Film Festival is announcing its lineup on Tuesday from the Italian city, where artistic director Alberto Barbera and La Biennale president Roberto Cicutto are holding a press conference. The Lido’s only previously announced titles in the main selection are the opener, Italian director Edoardo De Angelis’ “Comandante” — a lavish anti-war epic featuring local star Pierfrancesco Favino as a heroic Sicilian World War II naval officer — and the closer, Netflix’s survival thriller “Society of the Snow” by Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona. “Comandante” replaced Luca Guadagnino’s sexy sports comedy “Challengers,” starring Zendaya, which had previously been set as the fest’s buzzy opener but was pulled due to promotional complications prompted by the SAG-AFTRA strike.

The Venice Film Festival will announce the lineup for its 80th edition Tuesday at 11 a.m. European time (3 a.m. PT/6 a.m. ET). Venice Artistic Director Alberto Barbera will be joined by Biennale President Roberto Cicutto to reveal this year’s titles.

Bad news out of the Venice Film Festival: Variety reports that Luca Guadagnino‘s “Challengers” will no longer be the opening film on the Lido this year. What’s more, MGM/Amazon Studios have pushed back the tennis love triangle drama’s US theatrical release to next spring, too.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Recently restored versions of William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist,” Terrence Malick’s “Days of Heaven” and Francis Ford Coppola’s “One From the Heart” feature in the Venice Classics section of the 80th Venice Film Festival. The lineup of recently restored films in Venice Classics, which is curated by the festival’s artistic director Alberto Barbera in collaboration with Federico Gironi, was unveiled on Friday. “The Exorcist” is screened, 50 years after it was produced by Warner Bros., alongside Disney’s “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,” starring Shirley Temple and directed by “the prolific and sometimes brilliant” Allan Dwan, to mark the Hollywood studios’ 100th anniversaries.

Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone have scotched plans to pick up a prestigious honor at Outfest, the Los Angeles LGBTQIA+ film festival, and it’s all down to the actors strike.

Marjaneh Ayati never expected to be watching dogs for a living.

Prime Video Italy’s scripted chief Davide Nardini took to the stage at the AVP Summit today and provided views on the actors strike, the streamer’s strategic shift towards mainstream audiences and local talent.

Fran Drescher became the "it girl" in Hollywood from the beginning of her career. From dancing with John Travolta in her first film, to creating and starring in her own, award-winning television sitcom, and then pivoting into becoming one of the most powerful people in the industry – Drescher kept her eye on the prize: success.  The New York-native had big dreams as a kid, and wanted to be a writer, hairdresser, actor or politician.

It sounds as though Broadway may be joining the strike efforts.