Adam Driver and Michael Mann’s film crew Ferrari The Venice Film Festival revived on Thursday, giving the Biennale a boost from the stardom of one of the most anticipated films of the year.
Driver stars as legendary Italian automaker Enzo Ferrari in the new biopic, which stars Penelope Cruz as his wife Laura Ferrari and Shailene Woodley as his lover Lina Lardi. The drama, which will have its world premiere in Venice on Thursday night, depicts a pivotal point in Ferrari’s life and in the history of his car company. Jack O’Connell and Patrick Dempsey co-star as Italian racers.
Driver and Mann alternated between discussing the film and talking about the double whammy dominating the discussion among industry attendees in Venice. Ferrari He obtained a temporary waiver of the agreement from SAG-AFTRA to allow driver and co-star Dempsey to attend Venice to promote the film. Neon will release the film domestically, with a planned Christmas release. STX International is handling the film worldwide.
One condition of the waiver is that distributors must comply with SAG-AFTRA’s demands, including on the issue of subscription and residual revenue, issues that the studios and streamers have rejected in negotiations with the union.
“Why can a smaller distribution company like Neon or STX International meet the dream requirements of what SAG is asking for in this pre-negotiation but a big company like Netflix and Amazon can’t?” The driver asked. “Every time people from SAG go and support a film that has agreed to these terms — the interim agreement — it makes it more clear that these people are willing to support the people they’re collaborating with, and the others aren’t. So when this opportunity came up, it was like — they understood Interim Agreement – A no-brainer for all of these reasons why you want to support your union.
By coming to Venice to support the film, Driver said he hopes it will help “stop the bleeding a little bit” by helping people at IATSE and SAG-AFTRA be able to go to work.
“Individually and collectively we all stand in complete solidarity with the SAG and the Writers Guild strike as well,” Mann explained.
“Ferrari I got made because of the people who worked on it Ferrari “We did this by waiving large chunks of salaries, in the case of Adam and me,” Mann added. “It wasn’t produced by a major studio — and no major studio wrote us a check. That’s why we’re here, standing in solidarity.”
Returning to the subject of the film, Mann said he felt compelled to tell Ferrari’s story because he found it “deeply human.”
“When the character is dynamic and operatic e.g [Ferrari] The more specifically you delve into the man, the more universal he becomes,” Mann explained. He added that the former race car driver turned pioneering automotive engineer had “a lot of parts of him [that were] in opposition to each other [and that] It resonated with me as life is.
“So, either it’s melodramatic or profound or sad — or because I’m a contrarian like him — I don’t know,” Mann said. “But that’s what it was.”
Driver said he found Ferrari “very driven by grief” after his son’s death, which drove him as a character. He added that the opportunity to work with Mann was “a no-brainer.”
Ferrari This is the second time that Driver has played a famous Italian character in a film directed by a famous American director, after starring in Ridley Scott’s film. House of Gucci.
“Understanding a different culture is what I love most about being an actor,” Driver said. “You’re forced to empathize with someone different from you — and without judgment, look at their life honestly. It’s a strange job, but it’s what I’m interested in.”
“Lifelong beer expert. General travel enthusiast. Social media buff. Zombie maven. Communicator.”