{"id":566086,"date":"2026-07-24T14:45:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T14:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/566086\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T14:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T14:45:13","slug":"international-insider-venice-film-festival-lineup-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/566086\/","title":{"rendered":"International Insider: Venice Film Festival Lineup Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWe\u2019re back again, Insiders. Greetings from Europe, where the traditionally quiet period for the industry feels anything but this year. Jesse Whittock on the buttons. Sign up for the full, expanded Insider newsletter experience here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tVenice Line-Up Analysis<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Alberto<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAlberto Barbera at the closing ceremony of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival last year<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlessandra Benedetti \u2013 Corbis\/Corbis via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tStudios stay away (again): The summer slowdown may be upon us in Europe and the U.S., but in the backdrop the fall festival season is revving up. Venice unveiled the lineup for its 83rd edition<\/a> and TIFF dropped its Gala, Special Presentation, Discovery and Primetime lineups<\/a> this week. There was much talk over the lack studio fare at Venice, a festival that has previously helped launch pictures such as Dune, Joker and Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, in a trend also seen in Berlin and Cannes. Talking to Deadline after the announcement<\/a>, Venice\u2019s Artistic Director, Alberto Barbera, confirmed he had chased titles such as Digger, The Adventures of Cliff Booth, Artificial and Dune: Part 3, but for one reason or another they had not come through. He said, however, it is too early to suggest that Hollywood has turned its back on festivals. Let\u2019s see. There is still much to look forward to in the zeitgeisty, political selection. Competition highlights include South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-Dong\u2019s Possible Love, Hirokazu Koreeda\u2019s Look Back, Martin McDonagh\u2019s Wild Horse Nine and Lance Oppenheim\u2019s Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson. Further stars due to hit Venice\u2019s red carpet include Pen\u00e9lope Cruz and Javier Bardem in Florian Zeller\u2019s Bunker, Rooney and Kate Mara and Orlando Bloom in Werner Herzog\u2019s Bucking Fastard, and Alicia Vikander and Susan Sarandon in The Echo Chamber. Russell Crowe will also touch down with documentary What Love Builds, while Britpop rockers Noel and Liam Gallagher will make an appearance for Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace\u2019s documentary, Oasis: Don\u2019t Look Back in Anger, about their recent reunion tour. Further talking points this year include the dearth of women in competition with Danish-Egyptian director May-el Toukhy the only woman making it into the 20-picture competition, with post-World War II drama Woman Unknown. Barbera told Deadline that he and his selection team had worked hard to scout potential female-directed Golden Lion contenders, but the quality and submissions were not there. \u201cThis year it\u2019s decreased,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know why. It\u2019s inexplicable because the pursuit of gender equality seemed like an unstoppable trend.\u201d Our handy talking points guide<\/a> provides more and all Venice stories are pooled here<\/a>. Fall festival reveals continue next week with San Sebastian announcements.<\/p>\n

\n\tRebel\u2019s Legal Victory<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStephane Cardinale \u2013 Corbis\/Corbis via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\n\tCase dismissed: Rebel Wilson<\/a> will be celebrating this weekend. The messy court battle over whether she\u00a0had defamed the lead actress in her directorial debut,\u00a0The Deb<\/a>, ended this week in a win for the Pitch Perfect star<\/a>. A judge ruled Wilson had not besmirched Charlotte MacInnes\u2019 reputation by alleging the actress had been sexually harassed by\u00a0Deb producer Amanda Ghost before the pair colluded to cover it up. MacInnes and Ghost had bathed together in a Sydney apartment after Ghost experienced a medical issue. Wilson claims MacInnes said this made her feel uncomfortable, but withdrew her complaint after Ghost gave her more career opportunities. It\u2019s been long and strange case in Australia, and there are more legal issues to resolve before it\u2019s totally done, including a formal appeal from MacInnes lodged today<\/a>, but a judge ruled MacInnes had changed her story and that she had not proven Wilson harmed her career by making the allegations public. Ironically, a debut trailer for coming-of-age comedy The Deb dropped this week<\/a>. Somehow, it\u2019s hard to imagine Wilson, MacInnes and Ghost got together for a viewing party.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Insider Interview: James Goldston<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty<\/p>\n

\n\tJames Goldston, the veteran doc producer and Candle True Stories boss, this week reflected on making two documentaries about the late Michael Jackson. The first,\u00a0Living with Michael Jackson, was among the catalysts for the singer to be charged with child molestation. Goldston was \u201creluctant\u201d to revisit the complicated megastar\u2019s story 20 years later, but was ultimately swayed by the notion there was \u201cactually something to say now\u201d in a world where attitudes to celebrity have changed. He therefore went on to make the hit Netflix doc Michael Jackson: The Verdict.\u00a0>>>Read The Interview<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tLisa Nandy<\/a>: Troublemaker-In-Chief<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Lisa<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJerod Harris\/Getty for Greater Together Los Angeles<\/p>\n

\n\tGrandee Nandy: A few months ago, you could have said the name \u2018Lisa Nandy\u2019 to almost anyone in American media and would have been met with blank stares. However, circumstance means that the UK\u2019s Culture Secretary is now playing a pivotal role in everything from Paramount\u2019s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, to whether American streamers will have to help collect the BBC licence fee, and even how far the ban on British teenagers\u2019 social media use stretches. As Max outlined in this snappy analysis<\/a>, Nandy could now become the most consequential British politician in U.S. entertainment. Many in the States would have hoped she was handed a new brief under new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, but it was confirmed she remains in post<\/a>, and her to-do list is extremely significant.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Essentials<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Esther<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAnna Wolf<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\u00a0Hot One: Apple TV has recruited couples therapist Esther Perel to lead<\/a> dating-meets-doc series The Last Person on Earth, which is from UK producer Boldprint Studios.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f Another One: Top British presenter Holly Willoughby is swapping the TV screen for YouTube<\/a>, launching lifestyle series Holly Willoughby Together.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udd25 A third: Sony LIV has quietly greenlit <\/a>The Legend of Karna, an animated series from Sharad Devarajan and Jeevan J. Kang and their production house, Graphic India.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 Brits are coming: Plimsoll rebranded as a studio<\/a>, Sister turned a profit<\/a> and Left Bank Pictures got new managers<\/a> in a busy week for big British producers.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udfe2 Greenlight: Paramount\u2019s $110 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery may be on pause but it has secured approval<\/a> from the European Union\u2019s antitrust authority.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udcd6 Investigation: UK children\u2019s acting firm Mark Jermin Management could have broken agency law<\/a> by effectively charging training fees for the opportunity to secure representation, according to legal experts.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83e\udd1d New role: Isabel Davis has been appointed<\/a> Director of the BFI Filmmaking Fund.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udfea New shop: Four Canadian entertainment industry veterans have pooled resources to launch a production house<\/a>, Paper Route Studios.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udf7f\u00a0Box office: Christopher Nolan epic The Odyssey blitzed the global box office<\/a> and is continuing to post record numbers daily.<\/p>\n

\n\tPhoto of the Week<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDavid Ramos\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tTop of the World<\/a> \u2013 Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in a bad-spirited FIFA World Cup Final to be crowned champions for the second time in their history.<\/p>\n

\n\tInternational Insider was written by Max Goldbart and edited by Jesse Whittock. Melanie Goodfellow contributed. Send any tips, comments or ideas for international coverage to jwhittock@deadline.com<\/a> and mgoldbart@deadline.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019re back again, Insiders. Greetings from Europe, where the traditionally quiet period for the industry feels anything but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":566087,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[321,93,61,60,239008,239009,527,30683,802],"class_list":["post-566086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-james-goldston","tag-lisa-nandy","tag-rebel-wilson","tag-the-deb","tag-venice-film-festival"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=566086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/566087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=566086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=566086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=566086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}