Venice Review: Nancy Buirski’s ‘Desperate Souls, Dark City And The Legend Of Midnight Cowboy’

Leonardo DiCaprio's ex-girlfriend Kristen Zang, who dated the actor for four years in the 90s, slammed media outlets and online critics for jumping to conclusions about the reason for his recent split from Camila Morrone. The 48-year-old former model and actress penned an essay for People magazine, in which she called out detractors for speculating that the 47-year-old Oscar winner, who is known for dating much younger women, had ended his relationship with Morrone because she turned 25.

Hugh Jackman’s latest film, “The Son”, premiered Wednesday at the Venice International Film Festival, where the screening’s conclusion was greeted with a thunderous standing ovation that went on for a full 10 minutes.

Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern devastated the Venice Film Festival with the world premiere of Florian Zeller’s “The Son,” which earned a 10-minute standing ovation. Jackman appeared visibly moved during the  film’s reception, as did the audience. Jackman hugged his young co-star Zen McGrath amid the ovation. The film, which centers on a gut-wrenching family tragedy, led to audible gasps from viewers during one dramatic scene. Based on this rapturous reception, Zeller might be back for more Oscar glory with “The Son.”“The Son” centers on “a family as it falls apart and tries to come back together again,” according to Sony Pictures Classics’ official synopsis. Jackman stars as a father whose 17-year-old son comes to live with him after deciding he can no longer stay with his mother (Dern) years after his parents’ divorce. Jackson’s character, Peter, has a new partner, Kirby’s Beth. As Peter overextends himself to give his son a better life. 

FOOTBALL hero Ian Wright has scored his first role in a major movie — a cameo playing himself. The ex-Arsenal striker, 56, was approached directly by Oscar-winning Brit Daniel Kaluuya to appear in futuristic Netflix flick The Kitchen. And the Match of the Day pundit, who was Arsenal’s record goalscorer, was quick to seize the chance.

$1 billion worldwide and earned 12 Oscar nominations, with Joaquin Phoenix winning his first Oscar for his performance as struggling comedian Arthur Fleck, aka The Joker.“Folie a Deux” roughly translates to “shared madness,” which may be a comment on how the Joker tapped into the boiling rage in Gotham City over its growing inequality, leading to the original film’s dramatic climax in which Batman’s future arch nemesis dances on top of a police car as a rioting crowd cheers him on.While specific plot details haven’t been unveiled, much of the film is expected to take place within Arkham Asylum after Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck has been sent there following the events of the prior film, and it is even expected to have musical elements throughout.Keener was most recently seen in Netflix’s “The Adam Project” opposite Ryan Reynolds and Mark Ruffalo.

Writer/Director Florian Zeller had such great success with his 2020 film adaptation of his stage play, The Father which won six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, winning for his and co-writer Christopher Hampton’s screenplay, as well as Best Actor for Anthony Hopkins, that he was able to move very quickly in getting a film version going for his next play, 2018’s Le Fils. The result, The Son, premiering today at the Venice Film Festival in competition, is the second of a three part stage and film series on stories dealing with mental health, in this case a troubled 17 year old boy who has been deeply affected by the divorce of his parents and is suffering severe problems. Of course The Father dealt with one elderly man’s devastating descent into dimentia and the effect that had on his family, and it was an intimate film production for Zeller, largely taking place in the man’s apartment, yet still managed to be cinematic despite its stage origins.

life. It’s wearing me down.”For the rest of the film, Nicholas bounces between his father’s house, which scares Beth and puts a strain on that relationship, and his mother’s place, where Kate lives in perpetual fear of what her son might do.As he did in “The Father,” which took place in an apartment that subtly and continually changed to reflect the central character’s state of mind, Zeller pays particular attention to the environments in which his characters live and work.

, but the model is apparently doing great and focused on her burgeoning acting career.Despite recently deciding to bring their relationship to an end, a source told that “Camila is doing fine.” They added, “She has a big group of friends that really care about her. She is moving on with her life.

A few years ago, Jennifer Lawrence made a movie called Mother! in which she played a character known only as “Mother.”

Tilda Swinton takes over the red carpet in a dazzling lavender gown at the premiere of The Eternal Daughter during the 2022 Venice International Film Festival on Tuesday (September 6) in Venice, Italy.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Director Paul Haggis is scheduled to face a civil trial in New York next month on an accusation that he raped publicist Haleigh Breest after a film premiere in 2013. The trial will come nearly five years after the suit was filed, and just a couple of months after an Italian court dismissed a similar accusation against the director. Breest’s lawyers are now seeking information about the Italian case, which they may seek to introduce at the New York trial. In a motion filed on Tuesday, they asked Judge Sabrina Kraus to order Haggis’ lawyers to turn over records related to the case.

Jada Pinkett-Smith and Will Smith have been one of the most recognizable power couples in Hollywood for over two decades.MORE: Jada Pinkett Smith reveals exciting update in family as Red Table Talks kicks off new seriesThe two met in 1994 on the set of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, going on to marry in 1997 and having two children together, Willow and Jaden Smith.Before Will was married to Jada, though, he was married to Sheree Zampino, the mother of his first child, Trey Smith, from 1992 to 1995, and though their marriage was short lived, not only have they maintained a friendship, but Jada and Sheree get along too.WATCH: Jada holds back tears as she addresses alopecia with grieving mother whose child died by suicide MORE: Willow Smith breaks silence on dad Will Smith's Oscars altercationAs the actress prepares to bring back yet another season of her show, Red Table Talk, she surprised fans when she revealed that one of the guests would be none other than her husband's ex-wife herself.The star took to Instagram to share a clip for the upcoming installment, which included a teaser from the episode in which the two reunite.As the trailer announced some of the upcoming guests, a preview of Sheree at the iconic red table is shown, and Jada announces her appearance, looking to the camera and saying: "Sheree… once the wife of Will."A post shared by Red Table Talk (@redtabletalk)The dramatic new season trailerThen the video montage quickly cuts to a seemingly tense conversation between them, which teases they did not hold back.MORE: Will Smith's ex praises Jada Pinkett-Smith for coparenting and 'loving' her sonMORE: Jada Pinkett Smith praises daughter Willow Smith after latest achievement"Do you think there's anything else we have

Some things we know to be true without a doubt include the sun rising every morning, water being wet, and Chris Rock not holding back on jokes.

Zack Sharf Jennifer Lawrence revealed to Vogue in a new cover story that she suffered two miscarriages before giving birth to her son. The Oscar winner said she got pregnant in her early 20s and “had a miscarriage alone in Montreal” before she could get an intended abortion. Lawrence got pregnant again during the filming of Adam McKay’s Netflix comedy “Don’t Look Up” and suffered a second miscarriage. She then had to undergo a surgical procedure to remove tissue from her uterus. Lawrence revealed the miscarriages while discussing her furor over the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. The actor’s home state of Kentucky banned abortions after the ruling, which increased a rift in Lawrence’s Republican family that started when Donald Trump became president. Lawrence was able to have a child because of a medical procedure, and she expressed outrage over the fact that young girls across America now face limited options.

EXCLUSIVE: Nancy Buirski, director of feature doc Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy, which just premiered at the Venice Film Festival, has signed a development deal with Cineflix Productions.

The Venice Film Festival audience were enraptured with “The Banshees of Inisherin”.

As the 49th Annual Telluride Film Festival comes to a close on this Labor Day holiday, it once again could be a fest that ignites the Oscar chances of a number of films that have either had their World Premieres or North American Premieres this weekend. As part of the so-called Fall Festival Trifecta of Venice/Telluride/Toronto (the latter beginning this Thursday), this is where the six month+ awards season officially starts, even if the even longer Emmy season doesn’t conclude until a week from today.

Olivia Wilde both attended the world premiere of the drama “Don’t Worry Daring” at the Venice Film Festival, but they kept their distance — almost as if they weren’t even in the same film together.Pugh had skipped the press conference for the film earlier in the day. When the audience at Venice erupted into a 4-minute standing ovation for the film, a teary-eyed Pugh — who was sitting several seats away from Wilde — turned away completely from her director, as she instead faced (and danced with) her co-star Nick Kroll.The film seemed to be well received at Venice. The audience clapped during one of the more climatic scenes and the ovation would probably have gone on longer if Pugh hadn’t made her way for the exit about three minutes into the clapping, prompting the rest of the cast — with Wilde at the end — to follow her. During the ovation, Harry Styles and Kroll quickly kissed on the lips.

Clayton Davis If Colin Farrell doesn’t get an Oscar nom this year for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” he never will. That was all I could think after watching his work in Martin McDonagh’s latest dark comedy. And who would have thought that Farrell and Brendan Gleeson would become the perfect comedic duo of our day? I thought the pair’s magic in “In Bruges” (2008) was a one-hit wonder, but with “The Banshees of Inisherin,” the two men have recaptured their old alchemy. The latest pitch black romp from “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” director and scribe McDonagh harnesses the simplest premise in recent memory: a man tries to understand why his best friend doesn’t want to talk to him anymore. What unfolds within that premise are moral complexities and refreshing takes on love and forgiveness.

The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh’s return to the Venice Film Festival after 2017’s triumphant Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, had its world premiere Monday night, getting the biggest response from fest audience so far this year with a 15-minute standing ovation.

Who would have thought that, of all the top-shelf auteurs in Venice’s big comeback year, the most constrained would be Darren Aronofsky? His new competition film The Whale opens with that very intent — the screen is cropped to 1:33 — which turns out to be most appropriate for a small and intimate movie about a very big man.

National Geographic Documentary Films has announced the acquisition of worldwide rights to Bobi Wine: The People’s President, following its Venice Festival premiere.

More than 50 years ago Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr won the Oscar for Original Song, for “Let It Be.” Tonight, they added Emmys to their extraordinary careers, for producing the Disney+ documentary series The Beatles: Get Back.

Clayton Davis At 8:45 PM mountain time, the Werner Herzog theater looked about halfway full with patrons sitting down for the North American premiere of Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu’s latest film “Bardo (or False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths)” at the Telluride Film Festival. Maybe it was the 174-minute runtime after a long day of screenings that kept viewers at bay. Nevertheless, just shy of midnight, there was a round of applause as the credits rolled. Though, it’s unclear what exactly what everyone was clapping for. Perhaps themselves for having survived this rambling opus of cinematic over-indulgence.   After debuting in Venice, where the Oscar hopeful was pummeled by critics, the Netflix awards pony was looking for a comeback stateside to at the very least lift its Rotten Tomatoes score, which currently sits in the low 50s. Those numbers are likely to remain depressed. To be frank,  Iñárritu probably doesn’t need to clear out his calendar this awards season. It would be hard to imagine “Bardo” having the chops to even represent Mexico for the international feature category, let alone make the shortlist. But it’s not clear what else the country would even choose.

The scourge of the opioid crisis has been documented in the press and in government reports; the culpability of the Sacklers, the multi-billionaire pharmaceutical family whose former company Purdue made the painkiller Oxycontin, has been successfully dramatized. The Sacklers are everywhere in Laura Poitras’ gripping documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, but they are supporting players.

No documentary has ever won the Oscar for Best Picture. In fact no documentary has ever been nominated. If ever there was an opportunity to change that statistic, at least in terms of a nomination it could be the remarkable, emotional, and uplifting Good Night Oppy which transcends the genre to become a richly rewarding cinematic experience, kind of a cross between Wall-E and The Martian. this all actually happened, but it is quite unusual in that it is truly feel-good, and it has all been brought to new life in an irresitible new film that in a time of divisiveness and negativity will remind you of the very best of us.

The Revenant actor has been known for letting his “heart go on” with a number of gorgeous women throughout his career. His next romantic interest could possibly be American model Gigi Hadid, as rumors have been swirling around about the two of them since his recent breakup. This long-awaited Oscar winner may not be single anymore following his breakup with Camila Morrone, which was confirmed on August 30th.

Liza Minnelli shocked fans as she walked out of a Hollywood eatery Thursday evening after concerns that she was wheelchair-bound.  The actress was all smiles and chatted with photographers as two men from her entourage helped her walk to the car after a late dinner at upscale restaurant Craig's. The 76-year-old icon has only been seen in a wheelchair recently, and even appeared seated in the chair on the Oscars stage earlier this year alongside Lady Gaga.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Hot off of its Venice Film Festival premiere, a concept album for Cate Blanchett’s “Tár” is set to be released on Oct. 21. The film bowed to rave reviews and a six-minute standing ovation. The Focus Features film, releasing Oct. 7, stars Blanchett as the fictional Lydia Tár, a globally renowned, gay and sometimes tyrannical conductor of a German orchestra, who finds herself in the crosshairs of a perilous #MeToo scandal. The film is director Todd Field’s first movie in 16 years, following the critically acclaimed “Little Children” (2006) and his breakout “In the Bedroom” (2001).

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Causeway,” a new drama starring Jennifer Lawrence as a soldier adjusting to life after returning home to New Orleans, will premiere on Apple TV+ on Nov. 4. The streaming service also announced that “Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues,” a documentary about one of the founding fathers of jazz, will hit Apple TV+ on Oct. 28. Both films are world premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the company is screening five features, the largest number of Apple Originals to debut at a single film festival. The Canada-bound Apple lineup also includes “Sidney,” a documentary about Oscar-winning actor and barrier-breaking star Sidney Poitier that is produced by Oprah Winfrey and directed by Reginald Hudlin; “Raymond & Ray,” which features Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke as half-brothers; and “The Greatest Beer Run Ever” with Zac Efron and Russel Crowe in a new dramedy from “Green Book” director Peter Farrelly.

Alejandro G Iñárritu‘s three-hour-long opus Bardo (False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths) received a warm reception at its Venice Film Festival world premiere on Thursday night. Six minutes of applause began inside the Sala Grande as the credits rolled, with attendees standing for the Oscar winning filmmaker for about four of those.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent British director Joe Wright, who helmed Winston Churchill drama “Darkest Hour” – which earned Gary Oldman an Oscar for his portrayal as the British prime minister – is set to change historical sides and direct TV drama “M,” which chronicles Benito Mussolini’s rise to power. The high-end series, which is based on Antonio Scurati’s Premio Strega-winning and international bestselling novel “M. Son of the Century,” traces the birth of Fascism in Italy and Mussolini’s ascent with an innovative approach that has sparked debate about the Fascist dictator’s legacy in Italy and abroad. “The writer understood and put on paper, with facts and documents and everything, that Mussolini is the guy – him and only him – who created what we now know as populism and Fascism,” said the show’s producer Lorenzo Mieli, speaking in Venice, where he is among producers of Luca Guadagnino’s “Bones and All.”

Bardo” be Alejandro González Iñárritu’s third best director Oscar in a row following “Birdman” and “The Revenant” wins? It’s a question many were asking heading into the Venice Film Festival, where the Netflix-backed “Bardo” world premiered in competition. The three-hour-long drama, which wrapped at 12:15 a.m. Venice time, earned a standing ovation of just over four minutes at the Sala Grande. A number of audience members began leaving before the movie ended given the late hour, but the vast majority stayed to applaud the helmer.Iñárritu was visibly moved by the reception to his film, certainly one of his most personal efforts to date, and had tears in his eyes as he embraced his cast and producers.

Dear Alejandro:

Cate Blanchett steps out in two chic looks at the 2022 Venice Film Festival.