Neil Young’s Jigsaw Lounge has released its annual Venice odds for the Golden Lion. I’m in agreement with the top three (Diop, Panahi, Field) but this is obviously pure speculation given that almost none of these films have even been screened.
Alice Diop’s “Saint Omer” is indeed getting good traction. Its selection by the New York Film Festival has really intrigued me further. It was already a Venice lock a week or two before Cannes announced their lineup. Something about Fremaux waiting too long to choose it and then it just decided to accept Venice’s competition invitation.
Jafar Panahi’s “No Bears” is obviously a political statement, but it could also very well be a great movie as well, especially given that Panahi’s filmography is astoundingly impressive. He will obviously not be at Venice given that he is currently incarcerated in Iran for the sheer act of protesting.
As for Todd Field’s “Tár,” we already know all about the buzz surrounding that movie and the Cate Blanchett performance leading it. It’s the most anticipated US title of the fall festival season — even if it’s skipping Toronto.
4/1 Saint Omer — Alice Diop
5/1 No Bears — Jafar Panahi
7/1 Tár — Todd Field
8/1 The Banshees of Inisherin — Martin McDonagh
9/1 Monica — Andrea Pallaoro
10/1 Bardo…. — Alejandro González Iñárritu
11/1 Blonde — Andrew Dominik
12/1 The Eternal Daughter — Joanna Hogg
12/1 The Son — Florian Zeller
12/1 Other People’s Children — Rebecca Zlotowski
14/1 All the Beauty and the Bloodshed — Laura Poitras
14/1 Beyond the Wall — Vahid Jalilvand
16/1 Love Life — Koji Fukada
16/1 Bones and All — Luca Guadagnino
The Venice Film Festival runs from August 31st to September 10th.
While James L. Brooks teased last year that "we'll soon be seeing" Jack Nicholson, 89, act again, and that he was "reading scripts," that idea has now been shut down by his close friend Michael Douglas, 82.