With none of its leads available to back the film, MGM delayed the release of “Challengers” to spring 2024 and pulled it from the Venice lineup. Taking its place as the opening-night film of the festival is “Commander,” a World War II film told from the perspective of Italian submariners. Although it’s well-shot and full of exciting fight sequences, “Comandante” features exactly zero tennis hotties contemplating a threesome, which might hinder its ultimate appeal in a Venice audience promised starry romantic high jinks.
Although the festival’s artistic director Alberto Barbera admitted at a press conference Wednesday that the likes of Emma Stone (“Poor Things”) and Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”) won’t be attending Venice because of the strike, the other actors shining from more independent productions were able to get guild waivers, including “Ferrari” star Adam Driver, “Memory” lead Jessica Chastain, and the cast of “Priscilla” by Sofia Coppola. They are expected to appear at the Lido this week with a posse of high-powered directors that includes David Fincher (“The Killer”), Ava DuVernay (“Origin”) and Richard Linklater (“Hit Man”).
However, the strikes are huge. At Barbera’s news conference, the president of the jury, filmmaker Damien Chazelle (“La La Land”), dressed for the ultimate in solidarity, giving the “Writers Guild on Strike!” shirt and a similar button on the lapel of his sport coat. He noted that as of Wednesday, writers have been on strike for 121 days, with actors in the last 48 days, and he called on studios to pay those actors fairly.
“I think there’s a fundamental idea that every work of art has value in itself, that it’s not just a piece of content, to use Hollywood’s favorite word of the moment,” Chazelle told reporters, and adding that that idea “has been somewhat eroded. in the last 10 years. There are a lot of issues on the table with strikes, but to me, that’s the main issue.
Chazelle was joined by directors Martin McDonagh and Laura Poitras, both wearing shirts supporting the Writers Guild. They were part of a jury that included filmmakers Jane Campion and Mia Hansen-Love, among others.