How the Hollywood strike has kept the Venice Film Festival 2023 unfazed | Explained

The Venice Film Festival 2023 is all set to take place from August 30 to September 9. This happens at a time when Hollywood is at the center of the writers and actors’ strike. Priyanka Chopra’s film with John Cena Head of State has come to a halt owning to this reason, even Ali Fazal said in an exclusive interview with Firstpost how the work in the West is at standstill. But the festival is all set to happen and excitement among fans and critics could be expectedly palpable. Right from the dates to the line-up to the panel of judges, almost everything is curated and aligned so far. It’s now for the globe to see how the festival unravels amid the crisis. Zendaya’s film pulled out Luca Guadagnino’s “ Challengers,” starring Zendaya, has been pulled from the Venice Film Festival, where it was to be the opening night film, due to the actors strike. The R-rated “Challengers,” in which Zendaya stars as a tennis coach involved in a love triangle, had been planned to kick off the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 30 before opening in theaters Sept. 15. But with actors striking from working or promoting their films — including walking any red carpets — distributor MGM, which is owned by Amazon Studios, will instead open “Challengers” in theaters April 26 next year. This year’s opening film Venice organizers announced Friday that Edoardo De Angelis’s “Comandante” will instead open the 80th Venice Film Festival next month. Several films set for release in August have also been delayed due to the strike. A24’s “Problemista” has been taken off the release schedule. The film, by Julio Torres and starring Tilda Swinton, had been set to open Aug. 24. And Lionsgate is delaying Marc Foster’s “Wonder” spinoff “White Bird” from Aug. 18 until later in the year. The 2023 line-up Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein drama “Maestro,” Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla Presley movie, Michael Mann’s “Ferrari,” David Fincher’s “The Killer” and Ava DuVernay’s “Origin” will make their world debuts at the  Venice International Film Festival this fall. Less of Hollywood this year Organizers announced the lineup Tuesday for the 80th edition of the festival, which — despite the flashy names behind the films — could have a little less Hollywood glamour than usual gracing its picturesque docks and red carpet come September if the  Hollywood actors and writers strikes stretch on. As part of the strike, actors cannot promote projects from the studios and streamers with whom the union is negotiating. Netflix’s presence Netflix will once again have a big presence at the festival with “Maestro,” directed by and starring Cooper as the legendary composer, opposite Carey Mulligan as Felicia Montealegre, and Fincher’s “The Killer,” with Michael Fassbender playing an assassin. The streamer is also bringing Pablo Larraín’s “El Conde,” a dark comedy in which Augusto Pinochet is a vampire, as part of the competition titles. Controversial directors  Venice has never been a festival to shy away from controversial directors and has programmed new films from both  Roman Polanski and  Woody Allen. Polanski is back for the first time since 2019 with “The Palace,” about a New Year’s Eve in 1999 in a Swiss hotel, with John Cleese and Mickey Rourke. Allen is debuting his first French movie, “Coup de Chance.” Luc Besson, who was recently cleared of charges in a rape case, will also be on the Lido with “Dogman,” starring Caleb Landry Jones. The jury presiding over the main competition this year is full of high-profile directors, including Damien Chazelle, Jane Campion, Martin McDonagh and  last year’s Golden Lion winner Laura Poitras. Other titles In addition to the Polanski and Allen films, also playing out of competition are Wes Anderson’s Roald Dahl-inspired “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” with Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel and Ralph Fiennes; Harmony Korine’s “Aggro Dr1ft”; Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man”; Frederick Wiseman’s “Menus Plaisirs – Les Troisgros”; and William Friedkin’s “The Caine Mutiny Court-Marshall.” With added inputs from agencies