By Lindsey Bahr, AP Film Writer
The Venice International Film Festival unveiled a starry lineup of world premieres for September — including Pablo Larrain's "Spencer," starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana, and Ridley Scott's medieval drama "The Last Duel," featuring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Adam Driver.
The oldest film festival in the world is kicking off its 78th edition Sept. 1 on the Lido with the premiere of Pedro Almodóvar's "Madres paralelas," starring Penelope Cruz. "Spencer" and "Madres paralelas" are among 21 features premiering as part of the official competition, which has often helped guide eventual Oscar best picture nominees and even winners.
Other films competing for the Golden Lion include Ana Lily Amirpour's fantasy "Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon," with Kate Hudson and Craig Robinson; Maggie Gyllenhaal's adaptation of Elena Ferrante's "The Lost Daughter," starring Olivia Colman and Dakota Johnson; Paul Schrader's crime drama "The Card Counter," with Oscar Isaac and Tiffany Haddish, and Paolo Sorrentino's "The Hand of God."
Edgar Wright's stylish psychological thriller "Last Night in Soho," with Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy, will also have its premiere in Venice out of competition before heading to the Toronto Film Festival.
Jane Campion's "The Power of the Dog," with Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons; Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of "Dune," starring Timothée Chalamet, and "Halloween Kills" were all previously announced as part of the slate. Campion's film, about brothers in 1920s Montana, is another competition title, and one of two Netflix films debuting at the festival.
Last year, Chloe Zhao's "Nomadland" premiered at the scaled-down but still in-person festival and was awarded the Golden Lion. This year, Zhao will help decide who gets that prize as a member of the main jury led by fellow Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho, who directed "Parasite."
Following on the heels of the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival is expected to mostly return to its full glamour in September. The festival runs through Sept. 11.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More