HOLLYWOOD’s elite were nowhere to be seen yesterday at the opening of the usually star-studded Venice Film Festival.
The red carpet events have been hit by an actors’ strike over pay and the use of artificial intelligence in filmmaking.
So instead of the silver screen’s big names posing for eager photographers, it was the likes of rocker Mick Jagger’s model daughter Georgia May Jagger and 2019 Love Islander Jourdan Riane who tried to fill the celebrity vacuum.
A-listers would normally be there to promote their new films for the big movie studios at the start of the awards season.
But only independent productions saw their talent show up to the event.
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British singer Rita Ora was a star guest, arriving by boat before changing into a sheer black outfit.
The top prize, the Golden Lion, has seven new films vying for the title, including Bradley Cooper’s Maestro and Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla.
But it is expected Bradley — who wrote and stars in the film — will not promote it in Venice out of solidarity with the strikers, which also includes movie script writers.
Similarly, Emma Stone’s new film Poor Things will also be shown at Venice, but she will not be there.
Zendaya and Josh O’Connor’s new movie, Challengers, was due to open the festival, but was dropped after the strikes were announced.
Instead, Comandante, an independent Italian war film about a submarine sea battle kicked off the proceedings.
Alberto Barbera, Venice Film Festival’s artistic director, said: “We know some talent will not be attending.
“If strikes last longer, it will have a huge impact on the next season.”
Writers’ union, the WGA, went on strike on May 2, followed by Sag-Aftra, the actors’ union, on July 14, with no end in sight for the walk-out.
Brad Pitt’s new Formula 1 film and Tom Cruise’s next Mission: Impossible were put on hold.
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