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’
variety.comNick 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.
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.
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