Venice Just Got Weird—And Hollywood's Losing Its Mind
Daniel Day-Lewis is officially unretired—and insiders say his acting comeback, Anemone, directed by his own son Ronan, is locked for Venice. Add to that Benny Safdie's A24 MMA drama The Smashing Machine, starring Dwayne Johnson as a coked-out, broken Mark Kerr, and we're talking about a festival lineup that might punch TIFF straight in the jaw.
Oh, and Netflix? After giving Cannes the cold shoulder, it's suddenly eyeing the Lido again with Edward Berger's The Ballad of a Small Player—a Macau-set mystery with Colin Farrell and Tilda Swinton. Because when you ghost one fest, you better show up at the next wearing sequins and chaos.
This Isn't Just a Comeback. It's a Bloodsport.
Let's be real: the film festival circuit is an arms race dressed in Armani. And Venice, typically the stylish elder statesman, is now moonlighting as a UFC ring. Dwayne Johnson's turn as a drug-addicted MMA icon in The Smashing Machine is Safdie's first solo directing gig post-Uncut Gems—and it's apparently so raw it smells like locker room regret. (Venice loves a sweaty man meltdown.)
Meanwhile, Daniel Day-Lewis stepping back into the ring—after saying goodbye with Phantom Thread in 2017—isn't just prestige bait. It's a declaration of war. Especially with Ronan Day-Lewis directing (cue Oedipal film school essays).
Throw in Netflix's strategic reentry, Yorgos Lanthimos reuniting with Emma Stone for the mysteriously-titled Bugonia, and Paul Thomas Anderson possibly ghosting the whole circuit (classic PTA move), and Venice starts to look like a cinematic Hunger Games—with better tailoring.
The Lido's New Rule: Go Big or Fade Away
This is shaping up like a greatest hits album from the art-house Avengers. Luca Guadagnino (After the Hunt, starring Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield), Chloé Zhao (Hamnet, with Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley), and Park Chan-wook (No Other Choice) are all gunning for Venice slots. Add in the dark horse: Romain Gavras's English-language debut Sacrifice, starring Chris Evans and Charli XCX—yes, seriously—and things get deliciously unhinged.
If this feels familiar, it's because 2019's Venice lineup also blurred the lines between auteur cinema and awards bait: think Joker, Marriage Story, Ad Astra. But this year's rumored list is wilder, riskier, weirder. Less “Oscar buzz,” more “acid trip with subtitles.”
And then there's Chocobar—Lucrecia Martel's long-rumored doc on Indigenous activist Javier Chocobar. If it lands, it could bring some much-needed political teeth to a lineup otherwise obsessed with ghosts (emotional or literal).
So, Who Wins Venice?
Let's play armchair bookie. If star wattage wins headlines, The Smashing Machine crushes. If critical love wins trophies, Hamnet or Bugonia might float to the top. If sheer WTF energy wins Twitter, Sacrifice has it in the bag.
But the real question: Can Venice out-chaos Cannes? Because that's the vibe. It's not just about premieres anymore—it's about dominance.
Would you rather see Daniel Day-Lewis fight for his son's film—or watch Dwayne Johnson literally fight? Choose your fighter.
