Venice Boss on Paul Thomas Anderson’s Absence: “I Never Got a Clear Response from Warner Bros”

Of all the films arriving this fall, “One Battle After Another” is the one I’m most looking forward to. Why? Because it’s directed by Paul Thomas Anderson — arguably the greatest American filmmaker of the past 25 years.

A few weeks back, I reported how “One Battle After Another” opted to bypass all the major fall festivals, including Venice, Telluride, and Toronto.

Still, the move no doubt raised some eyebrows. With a reported $150M+ price tag and Anderson’s name above the title, “One Battle After Another” had all the makings of a Lido splash. Skipping the fall circuit has inevitably left a vacuum, and invited speculation.

A recent interview with Venice Film Festival chief Alberto Barbera seems to have further muddied the waters; He’s telling ScreenDaily that Anderson and Warner Bros. were not very forthcoming in their replies after he requested to screen the film.

We succeeded in getting most of the films we wanted. The only one that we are really missing you can say easily is the Paul Thomas Anderson film […] I have to confess I couldn’t get a clear response either from him or from Warner Bros about the fact that I was wishing to see the film. This is the only missing film that I regret not being able to show.

Meanwhile, speaking with Deadline, Barbera admits that Warner Bros ghosting him might have to do with a hybrid of reasons, but he’s still puzzled by their lack of engagement:

It’s probably a combination of factors. I don’t think Paul loves to travel with his movies. Perhaps the ‘Joke’r experience was a factor, I don’t know. You’ll need to ask Warners. It’s true that bringing it here would have been very expensive.

Is the film unfinished? Possibly. Is WB still smarting from last year’s “Joker: Folie à Deux” fiasco in Venice? Probably. Or maybe Anderson himself simply doesn’t care for the festival grind anymore, and a quiet release, on his own terms, is maybe what he prefers.

Neither Warner Bros. nor Anderson’s camp are commenting. But, make no mistake, skipping the fall fests means deliberately avoiding the oxygen of early buzz, critical discourse, and awards momentum. That’s a risky move when you’re launching such a pricey film, one filled with talent, including Leonardo DiCaprio, and helmed by one of the truly great filmmakers around.

It remains to be seen if this strategy will likely pay off for Warner Bros. “One Battle After Another” opens wide on September 26.