Venice Film Festival welcomes ‘Beetlejuice,’ ‘Joker’ and Oscar hopefuls

A-list movie stars, top-tier auteur filmmakers and a battalion of Hollywood publicists descended on the Italian island of Lido this week for the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival, one of the most prestigious celebrations of movie culture in the world — and the unofficial start of the Oscar season.

Yes, that’s right: Academy Award fever starts in August on the Venetian Lagoon, more than 6,000 miles away from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, where the Oscars will be held in March. Here’s a look at some of the buzziest screenings on the Venice marquee, including new work from masters (Pedro Almodóvar, Alfonso Cuarón) and at least two blockbusters in the making.

In alphabetical order, so no egos are bruised:

“Babygirl”

Nicole Kidman stars in this erotic thriller as a high-powered corporate executive who embarks on a risky affair with a much younger intern, played by Harris Dickinson. “Babygirl” promises to be a provocative exploration of power, consent and post-#MeToo sexual politics, though Kidman also hopes it will be “a very liberating story.”

Nicole Kidman arrives at the 81st Venice Film Festival on Friday.Marco Bertorello / AFP via Getty Images

“It was told by a woman through her gaze,” Kidman told The Associated Press. (“Babygirl” was directed by Halina Reijn, who previously helmed the bloody black comedy “Bodies Bodies Bodies.”)

“Babygirl” will be distributed stateside by A24, the independent powerhouse behind two of the unlikeliest Oscar winners in recent memory: “Moonlight” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”

Thirty-six years after Tim Burton first delighted (and repulsed) audiences with the “bio-exorcist” comedic fantasy “Beetlejuice,” the extravagant visual stylist is back with a sequel that pairs original cast members Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder with a rising star: Jenna Ortega from the Netflix series “Wednesday.” The film’s world premiere kicked off the festival Wednesday.

In recent years, Hollywood’s efforts to revive Reagan-era franchises have been hit (“Top Gun: Maverick”) and miss (“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”) at the box office. Warner Bros. is aiming to put “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” in the former category, and trade publications have reported that the sequel is tracking for a big domestic opening Sept. 6.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” was received warmly by the Venice audience, which gave the film a standing ovation that reportedly lasted for four minutes. Meanwhile, social media platforms lit up with photos of Ortega and Ryder posing for shots on the red carpet.

“Disclaimer”

The latest project from Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón (“Gravity,” “Roma”) is not, technically, a movie. It’s a seven-part miniseries slated to debut Oct. 11 on Apple TV+. But any new work from Cuarón draws wide attention in cinephile circles, and “Disclaimer” promises to be no different.

Cate Blanchett stars in “Disclaimer” as a famous documentary filmmaker who fears that revelations from her mysterious past will come to light in a new novel. The eclectic cast includes Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”) and Lesley Manville.

The first four episodes premiered Thursday, with the cast and crew taking the red carpet to promote the psychological drama. Cuarón, for his part, told reporters that he was not entirely sure how to adapt his sensibility for the small screen. But he drew inspiration from other filmmaking giants who created for TV, including Rainer Werner Fassbinder and David Lynch.

“Joker: Folie à Deux”

Todd Phillips’s “Joker” conquered the box office, delivered a career-first Oscar to Joaquin Phoenix, and unexpectedly won the top prize at Venice in 2019. (It also helped answer a key question: What if you threw DC Comics and Martin Scorsese’s “The King of Comedy” into a blender?) 

This time, Phillips and Phoenix are joined by Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, the Joker’s deranged love interest. “Folie à Deux” (French for “madness of two”) has been described as a musical and, in the words of Variety, “often plays like the MGM musicals of yesteryear on acid.” It’s a gambit that will likely pay dividends after the first “Joker” earned more than $1 billion worldwide.

But the premiere of the new “Joker” is also shadowed by industry controversy after Phoenix abruptly dropped out of a Todd Haynes gay romance that was about to begin principal photography. Phoenix’s move drew outrage from Hollywood producers, and the actor could potentially face legal action over his last-minute departure.

“Maria”

Angelina Jolie rose to stardom in the late 1990s and early 2000s, winning an Oscar for “Girl, Interrupted” (1999) and proving her commercial bonafides as the lead of the “Lara Croft” franchise. But in recent years, Jolie has been less prominent on screens as she reportedly focuses on her family and various humanitarian endeavors.

Angelina Jolie at the 81st Venice Film Festival on Thursday.Gisela Schober / Getty Images

“Maria,” a portrait of the legendary opera singer Maria Callas from the Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín (“Jackie,” “Spencer”), could set up Jolie for a spectacular comeback. The film, set to be released by Netflix, follows Callas amid her final years in 1970s Paris. Jolie is said to have spent seven months training to sing opera as she prepared for the role.

“Queer”

Italian director Luca Guadagnino already dazzled moviegoers this year with “Challengers,” a love triangle set in the high-stakes world of competitive tennis that stars Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist. He is back with “Queer,” an adaptation of a novel by Beat Generation icon William S. Burroughs that was written in the early 1950s but not published until 1985.

Daniel Craig stars as William Lee, a heroin user who falls for an ex-soldier played by Drew Starkey, best known for the Netflix series “Outer Banks.” Guadagnino, who also made “A Bigger Splash” and “Call Me By Your Name,” reunited with familiar collaborators for “Queer,” including “Challengers” screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes and the composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

“The Room Next Door”

Pedro Almodóvar needs no introduction to cinephiles who have followed his candy-colored melodramas from the ‘80s (“Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”) through the ‘90s (“All About My Mother”) and 2000s (“Talk to Her,” “Volver”). The Spanish auteur did something new in “The Room Next Door”: It’s his first feature-length film in English.

Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore co-star as old friends who reconnect after years apart, but whose relationship is severely tested after Swinton’s character makes a stunning request. (John Turturro and Alessandro Nivola have supporting roles.) “The Room Next Door” is adapted from the 2020 novel “What Are You Going Through,” by Sigrid Nunez.

“Wolfs”

George Clooney and Brad Pitt famously teamed up in “Ocean’s Eleven” and that heist classic’s two sequels, not to mention the absurdist Coen brothers satire “Burn After Reading.” The two industry veterans and friends are reuniting in “Wolfs” as two rival fixers who are hired for the same job.

“Wolfs” is playing out of the official competition for prizes at Venice, and the Lido is shaping up to be one of the relatively few places audiences will be able to catch the movie on the big screen. Columbia Pictures is slated to give “Wolfs” a limited theatrical release in the U.S. on Sept. 20 before it moves over to the Apple TV+ streaming platform a week later, starting Sept. 27.