Venice to Still Have Predicted U.S. Titles: Mann, Lanthimos, Cooper and Coppola All Going

The impact of the actors' strike, according to Venice director Alberto Barbera, will be very limited.

Yes, Luca Guadagnino's ”Challengers” pulled out, but the green light has been given for Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things,” Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro,” Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” and Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” to be unveiled on the Lido this September.

So, “Challengers” will be one of the only American titles to be pulled due to the strike. The other films will be there, the directors as well, not the stars. No word on David Fincher’s “The Killer,” which was not mentioned by Barbera or THR. Maybe that could be another casualty.

Now, here’s the latest developments that I’ve heard. Cannes regular Abderrahmane Sissako’s “Black Tea” might be ready for Venice. The rumor is a February release date in France, so it might very well be skipping Cannes 2024 in favour of Venice.

Agniezka Holland’s “The Green Border” might be another surprise addition to the competition. The film was shot in May, but rushed for the Lido. It’s really an impressive feat of speedy production-making if this does indeed occur.

Fien Troch’s “Holly” will be a surprise female-directed entry in the Venezia competition. Her last film was in the sidebars, it sounds as though she’s been promoted to contend for the Golden Lion.

Speaking of female directors, the one that I have absolutely no intel for is Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn.” I had reported a few months ago that Venice, Toronto and Telluride were all fighting for its world premiere, we’ll know in the next few days who won the sweepstakes.

And so, based on all of the intel I could gather up the past few weeks, these will be my final predictions for the 80th Venice Film Festival competition lineup. This is 24 titles, Venice competition is usually 20-22, but I don’t really know which ones to axe.

Ferrari (Michael Mann)
Maestro (Bradley Cooper)
Priscilla (Sofia Coppola)
Strangers (Andrew Haigh)
Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos)
Dogman (Luc Besson)
Le Successeur (Xavier LeGrand)
The Royal Hotel (Kitty Green)
Limonov (Kiril Serebrenikkov)
Commandante (Edoardo De Angelis)
The Theory of Everything (Tim Kroger)
Hors Saison (Stéphane Brizé)
Lubo (Giorgio Diritti)
Enea (Pietro Castellitto)
Finalmente L’Alba (Saverio Costanzo)
Adagio (Stefano Solima)
El Conde (Pablo Larraín)
Holly (Fien Troch)
The Palace (Roman Polanski)
Io Capitano (Matteo Garrone)
Memory (Michel Franco)
Black Tea (Abderrahmane Sissako)
The Green Border (Agniezka Holland)
The Beast (Betrand Bonello)

The full lineup for the 80th Venice Film Festival will be announced this Tuesday, July 25th.