Venice film festival sets up a Hollywood invasion

A battalion of Hollywood heavyweights will lead a US invasion of next month's Venice film festival, the organisers announced Thursday.

Six big-name American films led by Mel Gibson's "Hacksaw Ridge" about a World War II army medic who was the only conscientious objector ever to win the Congressional Medal of Honor, are headlining the glitzy Italian gathering which starts on August 31.

It will also see a swathe of other much-anticipated premieres including legendary director Terrence Malick's 3D documentary about "the birth and death" of the universe, "Voyage of Time".

Fashion designer-turned-director Tom Ford's "Nocturnal Animals" starring Jake Gyllenhaal will also be wheeled out.

Distributors at the rival Cannes festival shelled out an eye-watering $20 million last year for the thriller set on the Los Angeles art scene, raising eyebrows in the industry.

And "Jackie", a much talked about biopic of late US first lady Jacqueline Kennedy starring Natalie Portman, will also be unveiled.

The film, directed by Chilean Pablo Larrain, reportedly centres on the days after her husband John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963. 

Portman also stars in the French film "Planetarium" about two sisters who talk to ghosts, which will be shown at Venice.
A battalion of Hollywood heavyweights will lead a US invasion of next month's Venice film festival, the organisers announced Thursday.

Six big-name American films led by Mel Gibson's "Hacksaw Ridge" about a World War II army medic who was the only conscientious objector ever to win the Congressional Medal of Honor, are headlining the glitzy Italian gathering which starts on August 31.

It will also see a swathe of other much-anticipated premieres including legendary director Terrence Malick's 3D documentary about "the birth and death" of the universe, "Voyage of Time".

Fashion designer-turned-director Tom Ford's "Nocturnal Animals" starring Jake Gyllenhaal will also be wheeled out.

Distributors at the rival Cannes festival shelled out an eye-watering $20 million last year for the thriller set on the Los Angeles art scene, raising eyebrows in the industry.

And "Jackie", a much talked about biopic of late US first lady Jacqueline Kennedy starring Natalie Portman, will also be unveiled.

The film, directed by Chilean Pablo Larrain, reportedly centres on the days after her husband John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963. 

Portman also stars in the French film "Planetarium" about two sisters who talk to ghosts, which will be shown at Venice.