Rome (EFE).- The 82nd Venice Film Festival, opening Wednesday on the Lido Island, will welcome a dazzling lineup of international stars, including Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Emma Stone, and Bad Bunny.
Roberts, making her Venice debut, headlines the program with After the Hunt, a Luca Guadagnino thriller inspired by the #MeToo movement. Screening out of competition, the film co-stars Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri.
Clooney, a frequent on-screen partner of Roberts, will compete with Jay Kelly, directed by Noah Baumbach. He plays a washed-up actor on a road trip with his agent, portrayed by Adam Sandler. The cast also includes Greta Gerwig, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, and Eve Hewson.
Another all-star project is In the Hand of Dante, with Oscar Isaac as the author of The Divine Comedy, alongside Jason Momoa, Al Pacino, Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, John Malkovich, Franco Nero, and Martin Scorsese. Isaac will also appear in one of the festival’s most anticipated films: Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, competing for the Golden Lion. A win would mark Del Toro’s second, following The Shape of Water (2017).
Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, who won last year’s Golden Lion with Poor Things, is back in competition with Bugonia, once again starring Emma Stone, one of the festival’s most eagerly awaited guests.
Music stars are also set to make waves in Venice. Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny makes a cameo in Barrio Triste, competing in the Horizons section, directed by Colombian-American filmmaker Stillz. Meanwhile, British singer Charli XCX features in 100 Nights of Hero, co-starring Emma Corrin and Felicity Jones, which will open Critics’ Week.
Other high-profile appearances include Jude Law and Paul Dano in The Wizard of the Kremlin; Amanda Seyfried in the musical The Testament of Ann Lee; Rebecca Ferguson and Idris Elba in Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite; and fashion designer Marc Jacobs, the subject of Sofia Coppola’s documentary Marc by Sofia.
The festival will also honor Hollywood legend Kim Novak, the unforgettable star of Vertigo (1958), who at 92 will receive the Honorary Golden Lion on Sep. 1. EFE
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