With the 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival lineup officially out, artistic director Alberto Barbera has entered his annual press tour phase. Interviews with Deadline and Variety have already dropped, giving a bit more context behind this year’s selection—and a glimpse into the usual behind the scenes drama.
One of the more eyebrow-raising revelations? Edward Berger’s “The Ballad of a Small Player”—a major Netflix title—was submitted, but ultimately turned down. Why? Barbera claims he only wanted to slot in three Netflix films and felt a fourth would be a tad too excessive.
In less diplomatic terms: Berger’s film was likely his #4, and it didn’t make the cut. A festival has its quotas, and Berger, despite coming off “Conclave,” didn’t fit into Barbera’s final jigsaw puzzle.
Coincidentally, or not, it was around this time last year that Barbera admitted “I didn’t think “Conclave” was a competition film for Venice,” adding that he offered it an out of competition slot, which Focus refused.
When it comes to Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” after subtly mentioning that he got 95% of the films he wanted, Barbera states that he “couldn’t get a real response” from Warner Bros.
Furthermore, the film that Barbera can’t stop talking about? Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine.” In both the Variety and Deadline interviews, he zeroes in on the A24 production as not just a standout in competition, but a potential Oscar player.
There are a lot of great performances and many films that will contend, you’ll see. Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson are fantastic in ‘The Smashing Machine,’ for example. The Bigelow is another amazing film. Guillermo’s [del Toro] film will probably be in contention…
He doubles to Variety:
Dwayne Johnson is amazing in the film, as is Emily Blunt. Their performances really blew us away. At the start of the year I went to New York to meet Benny Safdie, who showed me some scenes from the film shot in Tokyo on his cell. I expected it to be a very spectacular film destined for out-of-competition. Instead, I discovered that this is a really great movie about two great characters that manages to reconstruct not just the life and the problems of wrestling champion Mark Kerr, but also to depict a world and a particular time [the aughts]. So as soon as we saw it we had no doubts that this was a film for competition that is destined to make its mark. I don’t know if it will make its way to the Oscars, but I certainly think that A24 is going to go that route.
High praise. A grungy, character-focused sports drama with career-best work from its two stars? It screams “Oscar play,” even if test reactions have hinted at a far stranger film than the recent trailer advertised.
Still, Barbera’s Oscar track record is mixed. Each year, he handpicks a handful of presumed contenders that end up dead on arrival. Case in point: in 2024, he dubbed Joker: Folie à Deux “one of the most daring, brave, and creative films in recent American cinema.” It barely made a dent. And in 2022… well, we all remember what happened then.
Venice remains the unofficial kickoff to awards season, and Barbera has masterfully shaped it into Cannes’ most viable rival. Whether The Smashing Machine lives up to the hype—or joins the long list of Barbera’s overhyped darlings—remains to be seen. But for now, it’s clear: he’s placing his chips on Safdie.
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