Venice 80, Woody Allen: Death? Best not to think about it.
The press greets him with applause, and in his whispery tone, Woody Allen answers questions about his film Coup de Chance, in which luck and death intersect. “As in Match Point, this is also about how capricious luck is and how it influences our lives,” he admits, “I’ve always been fortunate. I’ve had two parents who loved me, terrific friends, a wonderful marriage, children. I will be 88 soon, and I’ve never been in the hospital or had anything terrible happen to me. As a filmmaker, I got respect and attention, and I hope that will continue.” He is less optimistic when the subject turns to death. “There’s nothing you can do against death. It’s an ugly thing that exists. All we can do is not think about it and distract ourselves.” In the film, female characters are portrayed to perfection. “I’ve always written better for women. I don’t know why,” he confesses, “Maybe because the writers who influenced me like Bergman wrote for women. I’ve never been good at writing male roles, except those for me.”
The choice to shoot the film in France and in a French-speaking language was purposeful. “When I was young, the films that impressed me were all European,” he adds, “We all wanted to be European. At first, I wanted to talk about two Americans in Paris, but for my 50th film, I preferred to set it in France and in French, I felt like a genuine European director“. He has never changed his writing method. “I wake up, exercise, have breakfast, lie on the bed and write. When I finish, I type everything,” he confesses, “There are things you learn in the beginning. Then you don’t learn anything anymore because the rest depends on your inspiration”. There may still be New York in his cinematic future. “If some crazy people finance it obeying all my limitations, I will shoot it.”
Tiziana Leone
Subsonica wins the special Soundtrack Stars Award for Adagio.
It goes to Subsonica for the music of Stefano Sollima’s Adagio, the special Soundtrack Stars Award. This was decided by the Jury of the Award, inaugurating the 11th edition of an award that at the Festival emphasizes the value of music. For Subsonica, a return to cinema with “a musical invention,” reads the motivation, “that defines the world of the young protagonist of the film and, at the same time, the decline of a world with no possibility of redemption as the decadence of a city that burns in flames even its outstanding beauty. The Palmares of the 11th Soundtrack Stars Award will be announced on September 8.
Andrea Scrosati is Hollywood Reporter America’s Producer of The Year.
The Venice Film Festival hosted an award ceremony of the highest international level, which concerned a top Italian manager. Andrea Scrosati, CEO Continental Europe and COO of Fremantle Media, received the annual award from Hollywood Reporter America as “International Producer of the Year” for Fremantle’s activity in the 2022-2023 season, during which it has increased both the number of European and worldwide audiovisual productions, and in particular the production of films and series. In Italy, Freemantle owns The Apartment, Wildside, and Lux Vide. At Venice 80, it is competing in the official selection with Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, and the Italians Finally Dawn, Enea, and Adagio. “This international award, of which I am particularly proud,” commented Scrosati, until 2018 EVP Sky for cinema, entertainment, culture, Kids and information content, “is an excellent recognition of our team’s achievements, coming from one of the most prestigious titles in the Industry universe. The awards ceremony occurred during a party that attracted many stars at the Lido. It was also the occasion for Hollywood Reporter Rome’s presentation of a special print edition about the Venice Film Festival.
