Adnkronos has dropped their annual round of Venice Film Festival speculation — always a fun read, even if most of the titles are already on everyone’s radar by now. Their track record remains solid.
Among the usual suspects (Lanthimos, Guadagnino, del Toro, Bigelow), one name stood out: Olivier Assayas’ “The Wizard of the Kremlin.” The film has barely been whispered about in fall festival previews, but it could be a sleeper.
Adapted from Giuliano da Empoli’s bestseller, Wizard chronicles the rise of Vladimir Putin in post-Soviet Russia. It starts in the early ’90s and centers on TV producer Vadim Baranov, a fictionalized version of real-life spin doctor Vladislav Surkov, who helps engineer Putin’s rise from KGB nobody to Kremlin mainstay.
Jude Law plays Putin (yes, really), with support from Paul Dano, Alicia Vikander, Zach Galifianakis, and Tom Sturridge.
Assayas, of “Carlos,” “Irma Vep,” “Personal Shopper” fame, hasn’t exactly been headline material in recent years, but this could be the one that puts him back in the conversation. NYFF, where he’s been a staple for decades, feels like a lock for this.
As for the rest of Adnkronos’ list: Lanthimos’ Bugonia, Guadagnino’s After the Hunt, del Toro’s Frankenstein, Schnabel’s In the Hands of Dante, Bigelow’s House of Dynamite, Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, and Pietro Marcello’s Duse. All likely, all expected.
Surprisingly, there’s no mention of Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly,” which I continue to hear is practically a lock for Venice. Ditto Park Chan Wook’s “No Other Choice,” and Jim Jarmusch’s “Father Mother Brother Sister.”