We are all highly anticipating the fall festival season, and, for most of us, it couldn’t get here sooner. The first big news of the season, is that George Clooney‘s newest directorial effort, “Ides Of March,” will open the Venice Film Festival. Clooney will also star as a presidential candidate alongside man of the year Ryan Gosling as his head of media. Philip Seymour Hoffman will take on a supporting role as a campaign manager with Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood rounding it out, making the film’s cast a star-studded one to watch.
The film is based on Beau Willimon‘s play “Farragut North,” loosely based on the 2004 Democratic primary and one of its candidates Howard Dean, and is one of the most anticipated films this year in a sea of possibly great movies. It’s also one that will more than likely garner Oscar buzz for all involved, especially Clooney who looks to be a double threat with a lead role in Alexander Payne‘s “The Descendants” unveiling later this year. And let’s not even mention that this is Gosling’s third film coming out in 2011 (which looks to be a killer year for his ascending career). Clooney hasn’t directed since 2008’s dismal failure “Leatherheads,” so he’s looking to regain lost ground with this one after being nominated for Best Director at the Oscars in 2006 for “Good Night, and Good Luck.”
Just last month we covered some locks for the Venice Film Festival, including Roman Polanski‘s “Carnage” and David Cronenberg‘s “A Dangerous Method,” as well as numerous other films by talented filmmakers. We should be hearing a final listing within the next month or so, but the fact that such a high-profile film as ‘Ides’ is opening bodes well for the rest of the fest.
“Ides of March” will go wide on October 7th — a little early for Oscar season, but its the same frame Sony used last year for “The Social Network” and the slow build did wonders for that film. The 68th Venice Film Festival runs from August 31st to September 10th. [Deadline]