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Aug 17, 2023

Venice: Damien Chazelle Wears Writers Guild On Strike T Shirt

Venice Film Festival jury head Damien Chazelle arrived at the opening press conference sporting a Writers Guild on strike t-shirt and badge today. The La La Land and Whiplash director-writer said of

Venice Film Festival jury head Damien Chazelle arrived at the opening press conference sporting a Writers Guild on strike t-shirt and badge today.

The La La Land and Whiplash director-writer said of the two Hollywood strikes: “Today is the 121st day the writers have been of strike and the 48th the actors have been on strike. I think there is a basic idea that each work of art has value unto itself, and is not only a piece of content to be put into a pipeline. That basic idea has been eroded in the past years. That’s the core issue for me. That issue of residuals and people being remunerated for each piece of art is key. A lot of people who would ordinarily be here aren’t able to be here. It’s a difficult time, particularly for crew and writers in Hollywood.”

Jury members Martin McDonagh and Laura Poitras, sitting in the front row, also sported the same t-shirt as Chazelle.

Venice chief Alberto Barbera was asked to clarify which actors would be able to attend the festival, noting that Adam Driver, Lea Seydoux and Jessica Chastain are among actors set to be there with movies.

Barbera confirmed that Penelope Cruz had been due to attend but now won’t be on the Lido for Ferrari (Driver and director Michael Mann will be here for the film) due to a “personal matter”. We revealed many of the attending U.S. actors in our piece on Friday.

Chazelle was asked about his thoughts on Venice as a festival. He called it the “best festival in the world.”

The international jury also includes Saleh Bakri, Jane Campion, Mia Hansen-Løve, Gabriele Mainetti, Santiago Mitre, Laura Poitras, and Shu Qi.

The jury will award the following official prizes to the feature films in Competition, with no joint awards allowed: Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Special Jury Prize, Award for Best Screenplay, and “Marcello Mastroianni” Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.

Also heading Venice juries this year are filmmakers Alice Diop and Jonas Carpignano.

The 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival got underway yesterday and runs until next Saturday September 9.

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