Julian Schnabel On Calls For ‘In The Hand Of Dante’ Stars Gal Gadot & Gerard Butler To Not Attend Venice: “There’s No Reason To Boycott Artists”; Talks “Becoming The Poem”

At a press conference for his drama In The Hand of Dante this afternoon, award-winning artist/filmmaker Julian Schnabel was asked to address recent calls by the Venice4Palestine group that certain of the movie’s stars — Gal Gadot and Gerard Butler — not be invited to the Venice Film Festival. He responded: “I think there’s no reason to boycott artists. I selected those actors for their merits as actors, and they did an extraordinary job in the film.” He also demurred on offering his opinion on the situation in Gaza: “I think we should talk about the movie rather than this issue.”

Last month, a group of Italian cinema professionals united under the banner Venice4Palestine called for Butler and Gadot’s festival invitations to be withdrawn over their perceived support of Israel. A representative for Gadot previously told Deadline that she “was never able nor was ever confirmed…