Emma Stone stars in apocalyptic satire at Venice Film Festival

An apocalyptic satire starring Emma Stone and a Tinseltown road trip dramedy with George Clooney took the spotlight on Thursday at the Venice Film Festival.

The unveiling of “Bugonia” with Stone and “Jay Kelly” starring Clooney delivered a high dose of Hollywood flair on the second day of the festival, with fans camping out alongside the red carpet for hours,  despite occasional showers, to see their idols.

Clooney, however, was under the weather himself and a no-show at a press conference ahead of the premiere of his Netflix-produced film from director Noah Baumbach, due to a sinus infection.

“Even movie stars get sick,” quipped Baumbach to journalists.

Oscar winner Stone and director Yorgos Lanthimos, however, were in fine form as they appeared in front of the media.

The duo, working together for a fifth feature, are hoping to repeat their successful formula from 2023 when “Poor Things” nabbed Venice’s top Golden Lion prize.

The Greek director told journalists he hoped his “Bugonia” would “trigger people” to think more about human extinction.

His high-energy film warns of the dangers of conspiracy theories, online echo chambers, the disappearance of bees, and a host of societal ills, including rural American poverty, the opioid crisis, and worker exploitation.

Stone, who won the best actress Oscar for her “Poor Things” role, plays a powerful pharmaceutical executive kidnapped by a marginalised duo convinced she is destroying the world as an alien.

“Humanity is facing a reckoning,” Lanthimos said. “People need to choose the right path in many ways. Otherwise, I don’t know how much time we have.”

Lanthimos’s trademark absurdist humour is on display, alongside occasional graphic violence, in a work that also turns a sympathetic eye on the kidnappers.

Jesse Plemons, who plays the kidnapping mastermind in the movie, said as he built the character he had sought to understand conspiracy theorists, who are often self-radicalised online.

“I think there’s a risk in writing them off as being non-human,” he said.

– Spiralling star –

In “Jay Kelly”, Clooney plays a self-absorbed Hollywood star grappling with personal crisis over his career choices and parenting decisions. Adam Sandler plays his hard-pressed manager and Laura Dern his publicist.

The film explores the masks people wear — or try to shed — and the protagonist is seen unravelling as he embarks on a road trip through France and Italy with his overworked entourage.

Baumbach said he had wanted to work with Clooney for years.

“I felt it was really important that the audience watching the movie have a relationship with the actor who’s playing the character,” he said.

“Jay Kelly” is the first of three Netflix-produced features at the festival, with the US streaming giant keen to find a strong contender for a first Best Picture award at the next Academy Awards.

Having sat out Venice in 2024, the platform has two other productions at Venice this year: “A House of Dynamite”, by Oscar-winning thriller specialist Kathryn Bigelow, and a star-studded remake of “Frankenstein”, by Guillermo del Toro.

Another hotly awaited film, to be shown Sunday, is Olivier Assayas’s “The Wizard of the Kremlin”, in which Jude Law portrays Russian President Vladimir Putin during his ascent to power.

– Anti-war –

Alongside the glitz came protest on the festival’s opening day, with demonstrators near the red carpet unfurling a “Free Palestine” and “Stop the Genocide” banner to denounce Israel’s war in Gaza.

A group of Italian film professionals have also called on festival organisers to openly condemn Israel’s bombardment and siege of Gaza, while a larger protest is scheduled for Saturday.

Among the 21 films in the main competition is a film about Gaza, “The Voice of Hind Rajab” by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, which has attracted heavyweight Hollywood attention.

Actors Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix, and directors Alfonso Cuaron and Jonathan Glazer, have joined the movie as executive producers, according to film business news outlet Deadline.

Also premiering Thursday out of competition was “Ghost Elephants”, the latest documentary from German arthouse giant Werner Herzog, 82, who received a lifetime achievement award during the opening ceremony.

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