Venice Film Festival heats up with George Clooney and Emma Stone premieres

Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’s new film “Bugonia,” which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, presents a “funny” vision of the contemporary world, its star Emma Stone said on Thursday. Lanthimos and Stone have become one of the strongest director-actor duos in the movie industry and last joined forces in Venice in 2003 with their hit “Poor Things,” which won the main Golden Lion award, as well as four Oscars.

Their new film is a dark, comic thriller that offers a savage vision of our age of paranoia, delusion and decay. “I think it is reflective of this point in time in our world, and is told in a way that I found really fascinating and moving, funny and fucked-up and alive,” Stone told reporters.

The thriller follows two conspiracy-driven cousins, played by Jesse Plemons and newcomer Aidan Delbis, who kidnap a powerful pharmaceutical CEO, portrayed by Stone, convinced she is an alien plotting humanity’s destruction. As bizarre as the plot sounds, Lanthimos said his film was not a tale of a dystopian future but rather a mirror of present-day disconnection and disaster. “Unfortunately, not much of the dystopia in this film is very fictional,” Lanthimos said.

Eve Hewson. Associated Press

“I don’t know how much time we have with everything that’s happening in the world, with technology, with AI, with wars, climate change and the denial of all these things.” An English-language remake of South Korean director Jang Joon-hwan’s 2003 “Save the Green Planet!”, the film questions whether there might be intelligent beings out in the universe interfering with life on Earth. Stone said she didn’t believe we were alone. “So yes I’m coming out and saying it, I believe in aliens.”

The film puts huge physical demands on Stone, including having her hair shaved off as she lies unconscious. But the actor shrugged off having to go bald. “It’s like so much easier than any (other) hairstyle,” she said. Stone, who has collaborated with Lanthimos on at least five projects, said the frequent overlap of cast and crew on their films had fostered a rare sense of camaraderie.

“What it ends up feeling like is a really comforting and safe environment,” she said. “It does really feel like that when you’ve made so many things together, you’ve sort of been in those trenches together.” “Bugonia” is one of 21 films competing for the prestigious Golden Lion prize, alongside works by Guillermo del Toro, Kathryn Bigelow and Jim Jarmusch. The festival runs through to September 6.

Adam Sandler (left), his wife Jackie Sandler and their daughters Sunny and Sadie attend 'Jay Kelly' red carpet. Agence France-Presse

Meanwhile, George Clooney plays to type in his latest movie “Jay Kelly,” which premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday, taking on the role of a Hollywood legend who has to count the cost of a lifetime in the spotlight. US director Noah Baumbach told reporters that as he worked on the project with British actor-writer Emily Mortimer, he realised the role was tailor-made for the charismatic Clooney.

“Early on, we just started to say, this is going to be George,” Baumbach told reporters, saying it was important for the lead actor to be a global superstar whom audiences could instantly relate to, like the character on the screen. Clooney has a long relationship with Venice, making his first appearance at the world’s oldest film festival 27 years ago.

However, he missed Thursday’s press conference after coming down with what organisers described as a severe sinus infection. “Even movie stars get sick,” said Baumbach, who is entering the main Venice competition for the third time after “Marriage Story” in 2019 and “White Noise” in 2022. The film tells the story of a celebrated actor stricken by self-doubt while journeying across Europe with his devoted manager, played by Adam Sandler, as the rest of his entourage melts away, including his publicist portrayed by Laura Dern. The movie weaves sharp humour with poignant self-reflection as the protagonists grapple with lingering grudges, missed opportunities and fractured family ties, pushing them all to confront the compromises and choices that shaped their lives.

Noah Baumbach (left) and Greta Gerwig. Agence France-Presse

The film shows Clooney’s character demanding enormous sacrifices from his army of helpers, expecting them to subordinate their lives to his whims without hesitation. Sandler and Dern said the film made them appreciate even more their own backstage staff. “(Do) I know if my publicist has a family? I definitely did, but I definitely want to be that much more mindful now,” said Dern.

“Jay Kelly” is one of 21 films competing for the prestigious Golden Lion prize, which will be awarded on Sept.6. The picture is one of three films put forward by giant streamer Netflix. The other two, Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” and Kathryn Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite”, will be shown later in the festival.

Agencies