The Venice Film Festival is set to kick off in just a few weeks, and with no end in sight for the SAG-AFTRA strike, the usual parade of celebrities in glamorous looks is likely to be absent. There are, however, at least a few stars in sight. Late last week SAG-AFTRA began issuing interim agreements for publicity for certain companies that are not part of the ongoing strike negotiations; among them is Neon, which is releasing the Michael Mann-directed biopic Ferrari, starring Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz. Both stars are now cleared to promote the film’s Venice premiere — and if visions of the two of them in couture on a gondola are already dancing through your head, we’re right there with you.
What remains unclear, however, is the gulf between stars who are allowed to promote and who are willing, given that their colleagues are still very much on strike. Many productions have been given agreements to continue productions, including starry projects like the Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel-led Mother Mary, currently in production in Germany. But then, as Viola Davis indicated when she declined to move forward on filming her political thriller G20, it’s not as simple as merely having permission from the guild. “I do not feel that it would be appropriate for this production to move forward during the strike,” Davis said in a statement in late July. “I appreciate that the producers on the project agree with this decision. JuVee Productions and I stand in solidarity with actors, SAG-AFTRA, and the WGA.”
As Deadline reported last week, Ferrari is the starriest production to be granted an agreement thus far, but it’s not hard to extrapolate projects that could be next. Ferrari’s distributor Neon is also backing Oscar hopeful projects like Palme d’Or winner *Anatomy of a Fall—*whose star Sandra Hüller is German and not a SAG member anyway— as well as Eileen, starring Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie. And then there’s A24, which is also not part of the AMPTP and has already secured production agreements for multiple projects. Its fall festival-bound efforts include Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, slated to premiere at the Venice Film Festival alongside Ferrari, and the Nicolas Cage-starring Dream Scenario, which will debut at TIFF. Even if the strike is not resolved by the time their wrestling drama Iron Claw premieres, its stars Zac Efron, Harrison Dickinson, and Jeremy Allen White may be free to promote it.
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