Highbrow trumps Hollywood at Venice film festival (Reuters)

By Mike Collett-White and Silvia Aloisi Mike Collett-white And Silvia Aloisi – Sun Sep 11, 12:21 pm ET

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) – Highbrow trumped Hollywood at the Venice film festival this year, with Russian director Alexander Sokurov's demanding German-language "Faust" taking top prize and Roman Polanski and George Clooney overlooked.

Most prizes at Saturday's closing ceremony went to less-than-familiar names and faces, with the exception of rising Irish star Michael Fassbender's best actor award for "Shame."

The Silver Lion for best director was awarded to China's Shangjun Cai for his gritty "People Mountain People Sea," best actress went to Hong Kong's Deanie Ip and the jury prize went to Italian immigration drama "Terraferma."

Surprisingly overlooked was Roman Polanski's "Carnage," a comedy of manners featuring a stellar cast of Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly.

Based on a play and set in real time in a single apartment, Carnage is a stinging critique of middle class mores, but also has plenty of humor including Winslet's memorable projectile vomit scene.

Polanski was not able to travel to Venice to present the movie, given the threat of extradition to the United States where he is still wanted for sentencing in a 1977 sex crime case.

"Many feel that jury head Darren Aronofsky and his compatriot Todd Haynes, both Americans, lacked the courage to give the victory to a colleague who is not liked in the U.S." said a commentary in the La Stampa newspaper.

While Venice is not a platform for blockbusters, it has proved an effective launchpad for U.S. Oscar contenders like Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain" and Aronofsky's own "Black Swan" and "The Wrestler."

Festival director Marco Mueller succeeded in attracting a string of A-listers to the red carpet this year after a low-key 2010, although all were bypassed when it came to the prizes.

Among the overlooked contenders was Clooney's political thriller "The Ides of March," which was well received and starred Clooney himself as a governor embroiled in scandal during an election race.

La Repubblica newspaper's headline said Clooney and Polanski had been "snubbed."

"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," directed by Sweden's Tomas Alfredson, slipped beneath the radar despite rave reviews for its adaptation of John Le Carre's classic Cold War spy novel.

Gary Oldman shines as George Smiley and Colin Firth and John Hurt also appeared in the surprisingly digestible re-telling of a notoriously complex tale.

"Faust" is the fourth and final installment in Sokurov's series on corrupting power, and won praise for conjuring up a 19th century world of squalor, stench and chaos in which Faust and a mad-cap Mephistopheles play out their destinies.

Some viewers found the dialogue-heavy, German language picture that lasts well over two hours tough going.

"Taking highbrow to the edge of slapstick, Sokurov's idiosyncratic adaptation of ... Faust will intrigue some and turn off others," said Hollywood Reporter critic Deborah Young.

Faust is a less obvious fit in the series, which started in 1999 with "Moloch," about Adolf Hitler, and took in Vladimir Lenin in "Taurus" and Emperor Hirohito in "The Sun."

Outside the main competition, singer Madonna presented her second feature film as director, "W.E.," about a modern-day woman who becomes obsessed with Wallis Simpson and her love for King Edward VIII.

And Steven Soderbergh assembled an all-star cast for "Contagion," a story about the spread of disease and fear around the world featuring Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Matt Damon and Winslet.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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Le Carre, Clooney, Carnage contest Venice film prize (Reuters)

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) – The Venice film festival has largely lived up to its billing so far, providing a steady stream of A-list actors on the red carpet and a lineup of movies which has pleased most critics.

As the world's oldest film festival hits halfway Monday, an adaptation of John Le Carre's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," George Clooney's political thriller "The Ides of March" and Roman Polanski's comedy "Carnage" lead the charge for the coveted Golden Lion for best picture.

They are among 22 movies announced so far, soon to be joined by a 23rd "surprise" film unveiled Tuesday, vying for top prize, which is announced Saturday.

Although festival juries are notoriously difficult to second guess, an informal poll of critics published by trade magazine Variety puts Carnage marginally in the lead, but ratings have been generally strong.

Booing at the end of press screenings is common at film festivals, but there has been little this year, suggesting a happy ending to festival director Marco Mueller's term in charge.

Carnage is Polanski's adaptation of stage play "God of Carnage," and stars Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly in a critique of bourgeois values set in real time in a single location.

Waltz's constant Blackberry interruptions, barbed exchanges between two New York couples and in particular Winslet's "vomit scene" had journalists laughing out loud.

Polanski would not be able to collect his prize should he win, facing extradition to the United States where he is still wanted for sentencing for a crime committed in 1977, but victory would be generally popular.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which premieres Monday, also emerged as a strong contender, with early reviews glowing for the melancholic adaptation of Le Carre's 1974 classic.

Gary Oldman takes on the central role of George Smiley, famously played by Alec Guinness in a television series, and Colin Firth and John Hurt also star.

"The big-screen version of John Le Carr's 1970s spookfest is hot favorite for the ... Golden Lion," said Jason Solomons, film critic for the Observer weekly.

"Just how Swedish director Tomas Alfredson got under the skin of British behavior so intuitively is remarkable."

NO SHAME IN "SHAME"

Clooney got the 11-day cinema showcase off to a strong, starry start with opening film The Ides of March, a thriller set in the world of American politics in which he, Ryan Gosling and Philip Seymour Hoffman appear.

And Steve McQueen, a British artist-turned-director, got what many consider the performance of the festival so far from Irish actor Michael Fassbender as a sex-obsessed New York professional in "Shame."

"Fassbender...might already have the Coppa Volpi (for best actor) in his pocket," wrote La Stampa daily.

Oldman also won praise for his nuanced portrayal of Smiley, and among female leads, Aggeliki Papoulia in Greek tragedy "Alps" and Keira Knightley in David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method" impressed.

Alps and Italian entry "Terraferma," tackling the hot topic of immigration, had plenty of admirers, but "That Summer," starring Monica Bellucci, was poorly received.

Outside the main competition, Madonna presented "W.E.," her stylish re-telling of the story of American divorcee Wallis Simpson and her relationship with King Edward VIII.

Andrea Riseborough was singled out for her role as Wallis, but overall the movie got a lukewarm critical reception.

Steven Soderbergh brought with him a stellar cast in "Contagion," a slick examination of the spread of a deadly disease and the global panic it causes.

Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Laurence Fishburne all hit the red carpet, as did Hollywood veteran Al Pacino who was honored with a lifetime achievement award.

At 71, the "Godfather" actor drew big and noisy crowds on Sunday, as he presented his documentary "Wilde Salome."

(Additional reporting by Silvia Aloisi, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Venice: 'Contagion' tracks spread of lethal virus (AP)

VENICE, Italy – Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh's latest film "Contagion" can be considered a 105-minute public service announcement with a simple message: Wash your hands. Often.

Certainly audience members may look more warily at public door handles and subway hand rails after watching, perhaps in a crowded theater, the film about the global spread of a lethal surface-borne virus with a kill rate of about 25 percent.

"It is impossible, once you start thinking about it, to stop thinking about it," Soderbergh acknowledged at a news conference ahead of the film's world premiere out of competition at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday.

"I'm washing my hands a little bit more. But since I showed up in Venice I have been shaking hands, alot. I was on an airplane, which is one of the worst places you can be. This is just the world we live in."

On a filmmaking level, "Contagion" recalls in some ways the great ensemble cast of disaster films such as "The Poseiden Adventure" and "The Towering Inferno" produced by Erwin Allen in the 1970s.

"Contagion" features Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard and Lawrence Fishburne in a fast-paced drama that depicts the rapid spread of a lethal virus of unknown origin and with no available vaccine.

Damon plays Mitch Emhoff, a father trying to protect his daughter from infection after his wife Beth, played by Paltrow, succumbs to the virus after a business trip to Hong Kong.

Fishburne is Dr. Ellis Cheever, the cool-headed deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control, who dispatches Winslet, Dr. Erin Mears, to Minnesota, where the Emhoffs live, to figure out how fast the virus is spreading. Cotillard is Dr. Leonora Orantes, who heads to Hong Kong.

Law plays a muckraking San Francisco blogger, Alan Krumwiede, whose character provides 12 million unique viewers a day suggestions of conspiracy theories about the virus' spread and government efforts to contain it and develop a vaccine.

"There is a certain amount of conflicting and misinformation, and conspiracy that inevitably makes its way around the world with the same progressive force and the same spread as the virus," said scriptwriter Scott Z. Burns.

Soderbergh said the star cast makes the film with overlapping stories easier for audiences to process.

"You are throwing so many characters and so much information at the audience, that it is very helpful for them to get a reference point to hold onto," Soderbergh said. "There is a reason that movie stars have existed since the beginning of cinema. It's good for the audience."

But while disaster films may come to mind as the virus provokes food shortages, looting and kidnappings — not to mention mass graves in urban America — Soderbergh said he was actually thinking more of "All the President's Men" when he made the movie.

"Scott and I, I think, were interested in making a procedural that was realistic, obviously, in its content, but stylistically also very simple, very clean. So that's the film I was thinking of most," Soderbergh said.

Damon — who has worked with Soderbergh on six films, including the "Oceans" series, said he is especially proud of the scene early in the film when he is told that his wife has died. They wanted an alternative to what Soderbergh called "the slump," a long shot showing the guy getting the news and slumping against the way, so they talked to an ER doctor.

"This guy has delivered this news hundreds of times to people said that, there's 'the slump.' That's the one common thing that happens. The other thing that happens, that someone just can't actually absorb the information. So we literally did the whole scene based on a real conversation and how it actually goes," Damon said.

Paltrow rejected the idea that her character's death was in any way a moral judgment for cheating on her husband, a fact that emerges after her death as investigators tracked her movements.

"I think that if death by virus was a punishment for extramarital affairs, there would be about three dudes left in this room. Maybe less, because we are in Italy," she joked.

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Al Pacino honored in Venice, presents new film (Reuters)

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) – Hollywood veteran Al Pacino is honoured by the Venice film festival on Sunday with a special prize and the presentation of his latest directorial project "Wilde Salome."

Even at such a star-studded festival, where the likes of George Clooney, Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna have walked the red carpet this year, Pacino drew large crowds of screaming fans and autograph hunters to the Lido island.

He receives the Jaeger Lecoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award at a gala awards ceremony.

Wilde Salome is part documentary about the staging of Irish writer and poet Oscar Wilde's play "Salome" starring rising star Jessica Chastain, part an exploration of the author and part film version of Salome itself.

Pacino, one of the giants of cinema with eight Oscar nominations including one win to his name, admitted to being a little confused about what type of picture he had made.

"I guess what I tried to do is ... create a story," Pacino told reporters in Venice after the film was shown to the press.

"But I don't know what it is. I like to say it's a documentary because it's not a film, but then it's not a documentary either, so I'm confused too."

The 71-year-old said that making movies for himself, some of which remain hidden away never to be shown, made him fall in love with cinema years ago and become a better actor.

"As soon as I started making my own films, I actually became easier on directors," he explained.

"Because I was very difficult at first. I really didn't know the medium, I didn't know what the needs of a director were. Once I started, the magic of movies came into my life."

The star of films including "The Godfather" and "Scent of a Woman" added that, unlike Orson Welles, he did not abandon the theater once he discovered movies, but continued with both disciplines.

Pacino said Wilde, who was hounded for his homosexuality at the end of the 19th century, was a fascinating subject.

"We do know that he was ... a very liberal thinker and more than that he was a visionary in terms of his feeling for people and how he wanted society to be more humane and that he was really on dangerous ground at that time.

"Part of his sexuality was what they used against him to put him away. They wanted to silence him."

Asked what the future held, Pacino replied:

"I have movies that are still coming at me and I always say that I'm going to be selective. I always say that, but I never am.

"I'm saying again -- 'I'm going to do it only when I feel it's the thing to do for me.' I hope I follow that philosophy. That's my future. It's blank."

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Rosalind Russell)

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Madonna, Polanski films vie for Venice limelight (Reuters)

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) – The Venice film festival promises a pop superstar and a whiff of scandal Thursday, with Madonna presenting her second feature and Roman Polanski notable by his absence at the world premiere of his new picture.

Madonna, 53, is in the canal city for "W.E.," a film loosely based on the relationship between American divorcee Wallis Simpson and Britain's King Edward VIII, which eventually led him to abdicate the throne in 1936.

Starring Abbie Cornish and James Fox, it is the singer's second outing behind the camera after the 2008 comedy drama "Filth and Wisdom," which was generally poorly received by critics.

W.E. appears outside the main competition lineup of 22 films confirmed so far for Venice, but is set to dominate the second day of the 2011 festival on the Lido waterfront nonetheless.

George Clooney opened the 11-day cinema showcase with his political drama "The Ides of March," which was generally well received by critics Wednesday and seen as a solid launch of this year's star-studded event.

Madonna's track record in front of the camera has been patchy, with her performance as Eva Peron in "Evita" lauded but that in erotic thriller "Body of Evidence" broadly derided.

Competing for the attention of the thousands of journalists and fans who line the red carpet each evening for a glimpse of their idols will be Polanski's "Carnage" starring Oscar winners Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and Jodie Foster.

The Franco-Polish director worked on the script of the in-competition Carnage, an adaptation of Yasmina Reza's comedy play "God of Carnage," while under house arrest in Switzerland in 2010.

The 78-year-old behind the classic "Chinatown" was freed after Swiss authorities decided not to extradite him to the United States, where he was wanted for sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 in Los Angeles.

Unsurprisingly, Polanski will not leave France for Italy to attend the world premiere, although some members of his cast, including Winslet, are expected.

"I think he can only travel, if he leaves France ... to Switzerland and Poland, so of course ... it is sad that he is not here but three out of his four lead cast will be here and that will create a sensation because it's really a sensational film," Venice director Marco Mueller told Reuters.

The movie centers around two couples whose children are involved in a playground brawl.

According to production notes, it promises to "shine a spotlight on the risible contradictions and grotesque prejudices of four well-heeled American parents."

Also premiering Thursday is "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale," based on the true story of an uprising by indigenous people in Taiwan against Japanese rulers in the 1930s.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Clooney's latest opens Venice film festival (AP)

VENICE, Italy – George Clooney's "The Ides of March" opens a star-studded Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, and fans will also see two other Hollywood actor/directors, Madonna and Al Pacino, premiering their latest directorial efforts.

Clooney's political drama is among 23 films — five from Hollywood — vying for the coveted Golden Lion, which will be awarded Sept. 10.

The jury will be headed by American director Darren Aronofsky, a two-time Golden Lion winner whose "Black Swan" was launched to huge Oscar success after opening in Venice last year.

"The Ides of March" tells the story of an ambitious campaign press secretary, played by Ryan Gosling, who gets swept up in a political scandal in the last frantic days of a heavily contested primary race. The film, which also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti as rival campaign managers, is adapted from the play "Farragut North" by Beau Willimon.

Clooney said the movie was ready to begin filming when Barack Obama was elected U.S. president in 2008.

"Suddenly, a cynical film about politics seemed badly timed. Everyone was too optimistic," Clooney wrote in film notes. "It only took about a year before all the optimism evaporated and the timing seemed perfect."

In all, 66 films will make their world premiere at the 68th edition of the world's oldest festival. It is the first time since World War II that all feature films in the festival's three official events — in competition, out of competition and the "Horizons" avant-garde section — are world premieres.

Nearly half of the festival's lineup is high-powered English-language films, a sign of its growing prestige in the eight years that it has been directed by Marco Mueller.

The strong selection also includes Roman Polanski's "Carnage," an adaptation of the Broadway show "God of Carnage," featuring Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz; David Cronenberg's take on psychoanalysis, "A Dangerous Method," featuring Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender; and "Shame," a drama by British director Steve McQueen featuring Fassbender and Carey Mulligan.

Other American movies in competition include end-of-the-world film "4:44 Last Day on Earth" by Abel Ferrara; "Dark Horse" starring Mia Farrow and Christopher Walken and directed by Todd Solondz; "Killer Joe," a black comedy by William Friedkin starring Matthew McConaughey in the title role; and the second feature film by Ami Canaan Mann, "Texas Killing Fields," a murder drama featuring Sam Worthington and Jessica Chastain.

One of the most highly-anticipated events at Venice this year is Madonna's second feature film, the U.K. production "W.E." The movie, which premieres out of competition Thursday, intercuts between the romance of a modern woman (Abbie Cornish) and the relationship of American socialite Wallis Simpson and Britain's King Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne for love in the 1930s.

"It is very important because she is a very interesting filmmaker and very personal filmmaker," Mueller said. "She already proved that with her first feature. Even more so in her sophomore film, `W.E,' you would feel like it is such a celebrated love story, the love story of the century."

Pacino has an out-of-competition biopic, "Wilde Salome," one of seven American movies being show at side events. Featuring Jessica Chastain, "Wilde Salome" is an exploration of Oscar Wilde's work that combines documentary and film, much like Pacino did in his previous "Looking for Richard."

Mueller maintains his strong commitment to Asian film in this year's festival, with one Japanese, one Taiwanese and two Hong Kong films in competition.

Taiwanese director Wei Te-sheng's "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seedig Bale" is stirring hopes that the island's film industry is ready for a comeback after two decades in the doldrums. The four-hour epic about a 1930 aboriginal uprising against Taiwan's Japanese rulers was 10 years in the making and had a $24 million budget, which is huge for a Taiwanese film.

Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To's "Life Without Principle" was announced as a surprise movie earlier — and the festival hinted another surprise movie is yet to come.

Mueller has made surprise films a feature of the Venice festival since he took over in 2004. Often their announcement is delayed until after the festival opens, due to political sensitivity or production schedules.

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Clooney kicks off star-powered Venice film fest (Reuters)

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) – George Clooney kicks off the 2011 Venice film festival on Wednesday with the world premiere of his political drama "The Ides of March," setting the tone for a star-studded 11 days on the Lido waterfront.

The 50-year-old Hollywood heavyweight acts in and directs the movie based on Beau Willimon's play "Farragut North," and appearing alongside him is Ryan Gosling as an idealistic young press secretary to Clooney's governor Mike Morris.

The evening red carpet screening marks the opening of the August 31-September 10 event, which promises eagerly awaited movies and A-list stars who will hope the high-profile launch puts them in the frame for awards next year.

Thousands of journalists and fans are descending on the Lido island across the water from Venice to catch a glimpse of their idols and bring the glamour of the world's oldest film festival to a global audience.

The roll call of celebrities expected this year includes Clooney, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Matthew McConaughey, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and pop superstar Madonna.

It marks a significant turnaround for director Marco Mueller, who was criticized last year for a low-key festival and faces growing competition from the annual rival event in Toronto which overlaps with Venice.

"It is a program that tells you how much support we get from the artists, the film makers ... and it proves that Venice really stands as a major platform to create a special kind of visibility," Mueller told Reuters.

Among the most hotly anticipated titles is "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," an adaptation of John Le Carre's spy novel starring recent Oscar winner Colin Firth and Gary Oldman.

Other standout titles in competition include Briton Andrea Arnold's take on the Emily Bronte novel "Wuthering Heights," U.S. director Ami Canaan Mann's "Texas Killing Fields" and William Friedkin's "Killer Joe."

In "A Dangerous Method," Canadian David Cronenberg explores the rivalry between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud as a young woman (Knightley) comes between them.

Roman Polanski worked on the screenplay for his latest movie "Carnage," featuring Winslet, Jodie Foster and Christoph Waltz, while under house arrest in Switzerland last year.

The 78-year-old was eventually freed after the Swiss authorities decided not to extradite him to the United States, where he is still wanted for sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 in Los Angeles.

Acclaimed Russian director Alexander Sokurov brings "Faust" and Hong Kong's Johnnie To presents "Life Without Principle," a story touching on the economic crisis and its effect on ordinary people.

Outside the main lineup, Madonna makes her second foray into feature films with "W.E.," a drama loosely based on divorcee Wallis Simpson whose relationship with Britain's King Edward VIII led to his abdication in 1936.

Egyptian documentary "Tahrir 2011" covers the revolution and overthrow of the old regime, Philippe Faucon explores radical Islam in "La Desintegration" and Al Pacino plays himself and King Herod in "Wilde Salome."

Steven Soderbergh promises an all-star cast including Damon, Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Law and Paltrow in "Contagion," about a lethal airborne virus that spreads panic.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White)

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US movies headline Venice Film Festival (AP)

ROME – American filmmakers dominate the lineup of this year's Venice Film Festival, where George Clooney and four others will be competing for the Golden Lion, while Madonna, Al Pacino and Steven Soderbergh will premiere their latest directorial efforts.

The strong lineup also includes Roman Polanski, presenting "Carnage," an adaptation of the Broadway show "God of Carnage" featuring Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz; David Cronenberg's take on psychoanalysis in "A Dangerous Method," featuring Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender; and "Shame," a drama by British director Steve McQueen featuring Fassbender and Carey Mulligan.

All 22 movies in competition at the world's oldest festival are world premieres, organizers said Thursday. One of the 22 titles was kept secret and will be announced in coming weeks.

"We have looked for and strengthened a relationship with American cinema each year," said festival director Marco Mueller. However, he stressed that the guidelines for selecting the movies were just "to take beautiful movies, movies that would make one think and dream."

He cited Clooney's political drama "The Ides of March" as an example of a "sharp film that takes a look at today with a critical eye." The film about corruption and idealism in American politics, which stars Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman, will open the festival on Aug. 31.

The other American movies in competition are: the end-of-the-world film "4:44 Last Day on Earth" by Abel Ferrara; "Dark Horse" starring Mia Farrow and Christopher Walken directed by Todd Solondz of "Happiness" fame; "Killer Joe," a black comedy by William Friedkin starring Matthew McConaughey in the title role; and the second feature film by Ami Canaan Mann, "Texas Killing Fields," a murder drama featuring Sam Worthington and Jessica Chastain.

Chastain, who had previously starred in "The Tree of Life," also appears in Pacino's "Wilde Salome."

The lineup suggests a star-studded red carpet, though Mueller would not say which stars will attend the festival.

Among the most highly-anticipated events is Madonna's second feature film, "W.E." The movie intercuts between the romance of a modern woman (Abbie Cornish) and the relationship of American socialite Wallis Simpson and Britain's King Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne for love in the 1930s.

The festival runs through Sept. 10. The jury awarding the Golden Lion and other official prizes is headed by American director Darren Aronofsky.

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Clooney, Madonna, Pacino set for Venice film fest (AFP)

ROME (AFP) – George Clooney, Madonna and Al Pacino will grace the red carpet at this year's Venice film festival but cult director Roman Polanski is staying away out of fear of extradition, organisers said on Thursday.

Twenty-two films -- all world premieres -- will compete for the prestigious Golden Lion award including an adaptation of manga classic "Himizu" by celebrated Japanese director Sion Sono.

Clooney's fourth film, "The Ides of March", will open the 68th edition of the festival in a glittering premiere expected to draw actors Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Evan Rachel Wood, as well as the director himself.

The Hollywood heart-throb's movie "Goodnight and Good Luck" won best screenplay and best actor awards in Venice in 2005.

Clooney doubles as the star in his latest thriller about a US presidential campaign, where a fresh-faced aide helping the Democratic governor campaign in the Ohio primaries discovers just how dirty politics can be.

Fans eagerly attending the premiere are already speculating about who will accompany the rakish 50-year old down the red carpet after he announced he had split from his Italian girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis last month.

Canadian director David Cronenberg -- known in his early horror film days as the Baron of Blood -- brings his "A Dangerous Method" to the competition, with stars Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender and Vincent Cassel.

The film, adapted from a 2002 stage play, is set on the eve of World War II and is based on the tempestuous relationship between psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, his pupil Carl Jung and a bewitching woman who comes between them.

Roman Polanski's "Carnage" will see stars Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet besieged by paparazzi, though the controversial Polish director "cannot be present for legal reasons," festival director Marco Mueller told journalists.

The acclaimed filmmaker is wanted in the United States for alleged sexual assault dating back to 1977.

Polanski has stayed in France since he was detained for months in Switzerland in 2009 and 2010 and fears extradition from other European countries, notably Italy, which has a long history of such cooperation with the United States.

While "Carnage" is set in Brooklyn in New York, it was shot in Paris. Based on an acclaimed French play, the comedy-drama follows two sets of parents who meet up to talk after their children get into a fight at school.

The films have been chosen because they "move and challenge viewers with captivating images which inspire both fantasy and reflection," said Mueller, who has been at the helm of the oldest cinema festival in the world for a decade.

The five US films taking part in the competition include Ami Cannan Mann's "Texas Killing Fields" and Todd Solondz's "Dark Horse" -- while the three British works include Steve McQueen's "Shame", starring Fassbender.

For Asia, co-productions between China, Taiwan and Hong Kong -- Te-Sheng Wei's "Seediq Bale" and Ann Hui's "Taojie" -- are also competing alongside Japan's "Himizu", a pscghological drama based on the famous manga series.

Out of competition screenings are also expected to draw large crowds with Madonna hoping for a better reception from the critics for "W.E.", a film about King Edward VIII's romance with American divorcee Wallis Simpson, than she had for her first effort as a director, "Filth and Wisdom."

"The Godfather" star Al Pacino meanwhile will be presenting his third film as a director, with a version of Oscar Wilde's once-banned "Salome", a grisly tale of lust and greed.

Part documentary, part drama, the film stars Pacino as King Herod.

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New George Clooney movie to open Venice Festival (AP)

VENICE, Italy – George Clooney's highly anticipated new movie about a U.S. presidential campaign will open this year's Venice Film Festival.

"The Ides of March" stars Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Festival organizers said Wednesday that the movie will be competing for the coveted Golden Lion award. The film will have its world premiere screening on Aug. 31 following the festival's opening ceremony.

The festival runs through Sept.10.

The Oscar-winning Clooney has often attended the Venice film fest. The Hollywood star has a villa on Lake Como and an Italian girlfriend.

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