No Brad, No Angelina, No Lady Gaga: Stars Snub Venice Film Festival Press, Drawing Protest

As a seasoned freelance film journalist with over two decades of experience under my belt, I must admit, this year’s Venice Film Festival has left me feeling like a fish out of water. The lack of access to stars for press interviews is as disheartening as a flat tire on the way to a premiere.

This year’s Venice Film Festival is attracting an unprecedented number of high-profile celebrities, including big names like Brad Pitt and George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Jenna Ortega, Daniel Craig, Joaquin Phoenix, and Lady Gaga. Just thinking about the star power heading to the Lido’s red carpet is mind-boggling!

However, international film journalists are expressing dissatisfaction as they find themselves excluded from this year’s celebrity-filled event at the festival. It appears that studios and PR agents are restricting access to stars, preventing them from conducting press interviews. Few of this year’s high-profile attendees, such as Pitt, Jolie, Clooney, Phoenix, among others, are only participating in the official festival press conference and not engaging in international press interviews or “junkets” where they would typically conduct sit-down interviews with journalists from various outlets. Tim Burton and the cast of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice attended the Venice red carpet for the world premiere of their Warner Bros. film on Wednesday, but the studio junket was held in London on Thursday.

The “no interview policy” for international film journalists, who typically work as freelancers, restricts them to asking questions to celebrities only on the red carpet, without getting a chance for an in-depth conversation. This policy prevents them from securing exclusive interviews that they could then sell to their local newspapers, digital publications, or broadcast on television and radio.

Marco Consoli, an Italian freelance film journalist, remarks, “It’s a calamity.” He explains that they financially depend on interviews with prominent figures. Their attendance and coverage of smaller, independent films also contributes to this income.

Consoli, along with over fifty journalists specializing in international film festivals, publicly voiced their dissent against the “no interview policy” on Thursday. This statement was shared on the Facebook group titled “International Film Festivals Journalists,” which boasts over 700 members, including film publicists and festival programmers.

“The Venice Film Festival has commenced, but this year, several movies premiering at the event have chosen not to grant interviews to media outlets. Essentially, nothing, or rather no interviews will take place. This choice, driven by studios and backed by numerous publicists, poses a significant threat to a specific group of journalists, notably freelancers. These dedicated individuals often play a crucial role in the success of films, amplifying directors’ and actors’ voices, bestowing prestige on their projects, and sparking discussions about Oscar, Golden Globe, and other high-profile award contenders.”

Longtime movie publicist Charles McDonald observes that major film studios and production houses have been gradually shifting away from conducting interviews and press events at international film festivals for quite some time. However, he notes that this trend is currently accelerating. He interprets this as a strategic shift in approach by the studios and distributors.

According to McDonald, some films that haven’t been distributed globally or don’t have a marketing plan yet are using film festivals as a way to gauge audience response before they officially start their marketing campaigns, which may include press interviews and other promotional activities. Moreover, actors are becoming less inclined to participate in numerous interviews.

But McDonald warns the policy risks doing real damage to the film festival ecosystem. “My feeling is, without the media, the festivals don’t really exist,” he says. “When a studio or whoever comes to Venice, to Berlin, to Cannes, the media coverage they get is absolutely necessary and essential to launching their films. And if the journalists can’t get access to those one to two big-name interviewees, their outlets won’t be able to afford to send them anymore.”

At a press conference on Wednesday about the matter at hand, Venice Film Festival’s artistic director Alberto Barbera admitted he wasn’t familiar with the issue but assured everyone he would investigate it. However, Barbera added that the festival does not have control over the marketing choices made by independent businesses like film studios.

2024-08-29 17:54

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