Venice Film Festival Chief on ‘Challengers’ Dropping Out Against Luca Guadagnino’s Wishes and Premiering Polanski and Allen Films: ‘I Don’t See Where the Issue Is’
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.
And though it remains to be seen how many U.S. stars will make the trek, Barbera, in a conversation with Variety, vows that the Venice red carpet won’t be bare. Below, he also addresses showing films by controversial directors Roman Polanski and Woody Allen at this year’s edition of the festival.
Did you see the possible impact of the actors’ strike coming?
Not before it was officially called. The day after it was called, conversations started about the negative repercussions it could have on festivals. At first, it seemed it was going to be devastating. Everybody was panicking. Even more than us, it was all the producers, the studios, the streamers. For the first few days there was total silence, we were unable to speak to anyone. We understood that the situation was very complex and threatening. There was a real risk that all the American movies could be pulled. I had closed the lineup, so you can imagine with what spirit I faced the following week. I was ready to throw everything up in the air and rethink everything.
Then, luckily, I started getting positive signals. First from Searchlight [which is behind Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things”], who said: “We want to support the festival and release the film. Too bad Emma Stone won’t be able to come. But we are confirming our participation.” The same happened with Netflix [which has David Fincher’s “The Killer” and Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro,” among other titles.] They said, “Our titles are in. The only problem is Bradley Cooper, who is not just the director but also the protagonist. He doesn’t want to go against SAG. He’s super tormented. He’s not sleeping at night. He will make the right decision. But for the other films, no problem.” So, that was reassuring. The following days there were no defections from anyone else. The real ongoing discussion was with Amazon over “Challengers.”
Tell me about that discussion, starting from the fact that Luca Guadagnino pushed very hard to go to Venice, right?
I should not speak for Amazon, MGM and Warner Bros., but I will tell you briefly how things went. They were the ones who panicked the most. They suffered the most from the strike, and they are the ones with whom I had the most back and forth. The one who was in touch with them daily was Luca, who was furious and did everything to try to convince them not to make the wrong choice. He fought like a lion, up to the bitter end. Last Thursday, I got a call from Sue Kroll [Amazon Studios head of marketing] telling me, “Unfortunately, I have to tell you that the upshot of this infinite discussion is that we have decided to postpone the film’s release to spring 2024.”
Let’s delve into the stars on the red carpet situation. Who will be able to come?
The stars who will certainly not be coming to Venice are the ones in Bradley Cooper’s film [“Maestro”], the Lanthimos film [“Poor Things”] and the Fincher, because those are streamer or studio films. All the others, which are indie movies, starting with Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” [which stars Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz] all the way up to Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” [with Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi] and Ava DuVernay’s “Origin” [which stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Vera Farmiga, among other talents]. All the other films are asking SAG for waivers. SAG right now is giving priority to waivers for productions, but I’m told they will be taking these into consideration very shortly. I hope there are no problems because the films are truly independent, so theoretically all the actors in these films will be able to come. Of course, this will only be confirmed when we have the waivers list.
So we are also talking about Michel Franco’s “Memory” with Jessica Chastain and “In The Land of Saints and Sinners” with Liam Neeson, among others?
Yes, I know these films have already asked for waivers.
Have you had any direct contact with SAG-AFTRA?
No, it’s being done through the production companies.
The issue that’s raging right now is the presence of movies by Roman Polanski and Woody Allen, and there is some clamour also about Luc Besson. What’s your response?
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. With them, I don’t see where the issue is. In Polanski’s case, it’s paradoxical. It’s been 60 years. Polanski has admitted his responsibility. He’s asked to be forgiven. He’s been forgiven by the victim. The victim has asked for the issue to be put to rest. I think that to keep beating on Polanski means seeking a scapegoat for other situations that would deserve more attention. That aside, there is a cultural debate underway about Polanski with less rigid positions being taken. I am on the side of those who say you have to distinguish between the responsibilities of the individual and that of the artist. Also, I am a festival director, not a judge. I judge the artistic qualities of films. And from this perspective, I don’t see why I should not invite Polanski’s film to Venice.
I don’t think Polanski will be coming, but I heard it’s likely that Allen will. Can you confirm?
Yes, I’m not sure he will be doing press, but Woody Allen is coming to the film’s premiere for sure.