'Burn' set to heat up Venice
Festival touts local fare, fewer Hollywood films
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The Lido’s 65th edition opens with Joel and Ethan Coen’s spy comedy "Burn After Reading" providing surefire sizzle. "Burn" stars Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton are expected on the red carpet. A lavish bash on Excelsior beach follows.
The Dante Ferretti-designed catwalk features three giant golden lions bursting from a gauzy white screen that covers the fest’s palazzo facade. The bold setpiece symbolizes the main Venice venue’s leap toward a new era, with refurbishment and reconstruction imminent.
"The fact that we will have a splendid Sala Grande (theater) next year will give us more contractual power," Lido topper Marco Mueller told Daily Variety.
Mueller said while Venice may have relinquished its potential Oscars-driver role to Toronto, the Lido got first dibs on the tastiest films.
"Toronto being more aggressive doesn’t mean that we missed out on anything of interest to us," he said. "In the end, the films (Toronto) wanted as world premieres are premiering in Venice first."
Besides the Coens’ latest, pics launching from the Lido ahead of Toronto include "Babel" scribe Guillermo Arriaga’s "The Burning Plain," which he wrote and directed. The film unspools Friday with stars Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger in tow.
Also making the Canuck trek after Venice are Jonathan Demme’s "Rachel Getting Married," Kathryn Bigelow’s "The Hurt Locker" and Darren Aronofsky’s "The Wrestler." These three are slotted consecutively in the Lido’s second half to ensure that the buzz level remains buoyant.
Opening the Horizons section, which is heavy on first works, is "Pa-ra-da," the feature directorial debut of Marco Pontecorvo, son of the late Gillo Pontecorvo.
On Thursday the fest will keep the flashbulbs popping when Gwyneth Paltrow and Uma Thurman are expected for biographical docu "Valentino: The Last Emperor," helmed by Vanity Fair journo Matt Tyrnauer, in the rococo La Fenice theater.
That event will be followed by a gala honoring the recently retired fashion designer at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum on the Grand Canal.
Italo multistrand drama "A Perfect Day," by Ferzan Ozpetek, will spearhead the hefty four-title domestic contingent in competish Saturday, when Hong Kong helmer Yu Lik-wai’s Brazil-set gangster pic "Plastic City" also unspools.
Reclusive Japanese anime auteur Hayao Miyazaki is confirmed to be coming to the Lido on Sunday with his "Ponyo on the Cliff" toon, which has racked up north of ¥10 billion ($93.2 million) at the Japanese box office to date.
Also on Sunday, "Vegas: Based on a True Story," a competish entry from New York-based Iranian auteur Amir Naderi, will world preem.
The Venice fest runs through Sept. 6.
