Venice 2026 debuts first AI doc; Schrader ovation and Malkovich Oscar push — SkimNews
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- Lorenzo Mieli and Francesco Carrozzini premiered 'Be Brave' at Venice, the first AI-generated documentary in official selection, built over 18 months on a proprietary model trained on Carrozzini's own image and voice libraries.link ›
- Paul Schrader's 'The Basics of Philosophy' earned a 4.5-minute Venice ovation, with Martin Scorsese executive producing and Jack Huston starring as a philosophy professor confronting past sexual abuse.link ›
- Sandra Hüller is set to star as Wolfgang Herrndorf in Maria Schrader's 'Arbeit und Struktur,' with Studiocanal releasing in Germany, France, and Italy in 2028 after filming begins early 2027.link ›
- John Malkovich's 'Wild Horse Nine' drew a 13-minute Venice ovation before a Telluride patron screening, positioning the actor to end an Oscar drought stretching back to his 1993 'In the Line of Fire' nomination.link ›
- Andrew Haigh wrote and directed 'A Long Winter,' a Colm Tóibín adaptation starring Caitríona Balfe, Fred Hechinger, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as a queer awakening unfolds inside a collapsing rural family.link ›
- MAD Solutions and IRTH announced a pan-Arab production pact at Venice, pairing MAD's distribution and MAD Celebrity talent infrastructure with IRTH's Egypt-Saudi drama pipeline led by screenwriter Haitham Dabbour.link ›
- Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh's Cold War action-comedy 'Mayday' debuted as the #1 film on Apple TV+, directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein with an Easter Island-adjacent 'Top Gun' twist.link ›
Venice 2026 made history when Lorenzo Mieli and Francesco Carrozzini premiered 'Be Brave,' the first AI-generated documentary in the festival's official selection — an 18-month build using a proprietary model trained on Carrozzini's own image and voice to recreate Diesel founder Renzo Rosso's life shot by shot with Italian VFX firm Blackstone. Paul Schrader added a 4.5-minute ovation for 'The Basics of Philosophy,' with Martin Scorsese executive producing and Jack Huston leading as a philosophy professor confronting past abuse. Searchlight's 'Wild Horse Nine' parlayed a 13-minute Venice ovation into a Telluride surprise patron screening, putting John Malkovich in position to end a 30-plus-year Oscar drought.
The stories behind this week
Sandra Hüller To Star As Wolfgang Herrndorf In Schrader FilmThe project pairs Sandra Hüller — fresh off her Oscar-nominated turn in *Anatomy of a Fall* — with one of German cinema's most decorated directors, giving Studiocanal a prestige literary adaptation to anchor its 2028 release slate across three major European territories.
How John Malkovich’s 30-Year Oscar Drought Could Finally End With ‘Wild Horse Nine’A nomination would end a 30-plus-year absence for Malkovich from the Oscar acting conversation, and Searchlight has a documented track record of converting Venice launches into Dolby-stage contenders. McDonagh's previous films both turned festival debuts into double-digit nominations, but the source flags that this year's crowded field and the politically charged 1973 coup setting make tone — not just performance — the deciding factor for whether the film lands as a top-tier contender.
MAD Solutions & IRTH Strike Pan-Arab Production PactThis deal consolidates MAD Solutions' 15-year distribution, international sales, and talent infrastructure with IRTH's proven drama development pipeline, giving Arab projects from Egypt and Saudi Arabia a more complete pipeline from script stage to global sales. The Venice timing signals the partnership is being marketed to international buyers and festival programmers, not just regional audiences. MAD Celebrity talent now enters the creative process earlier, blurring the line between representation and project origination.
Haigh’s 'A Long Winter' Centers Queer Awakening Amid Family CollapseThe film shifts focus from conventional coming-out narratives to depict queer self-awareness emerging organically amid familial collapse, making Mikey’s internal journey the emotional counterweight to his mother’s absence—her loss becomes the condition for his beginning. This reframing gives psychological depth to both characters without reducing either to archetype.
Schrader's 'Basics of Philosophy' Gets 4.5-Minute Venice OvationSchrader’s continued exploration of moral reckoning draws directly from his formative religious beliefs, giving weight to his status as a chronicler of male guilt in cinema; this personal framing deepens the cultural resonance of a film that revisits themes audiences and critics have long associated with his work.
Sex symbol in a 70s tank top: how Richard O’Sullivan blazed a trail for funny, frisky, cheeky chappiesO’Sullivan’s career captured a pivotal shift in British TV comedy—from repressed domestic setups to stories embracing sexual freedom—making him a key figure in normalizing cohabitation and flirtation on mainstream screens. His sustained popularity across multiple hits gave ITV a reliable ratings engine through the 70s and early 80s, but his later disappearance from view underscores how few paths existed for aging sitcom stars once youth appeal faded.
‘Mayday’ Review: Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh Are Unlikely Cold War Buddies in a Pleasing Eighties ThrowbackStreaming platforms are increasingly hosting films with theatrical-scale production that risk being overlooked; 'Mayday' delivers a polished, emotionally resonant action-comedy that meets blockbuster standards yet may be forgotten amid algorithmic content churn, underscoring the growing tension between cinematic quality and discoverability in on-demand libraries.
Lorenzo Mieli Premieres AI-Generated Rosso Doc at VeniceThe film shifts the AI-in-creative-industries conversation from replacement fears to active mastery—Mieli and Carrozzini built their own system to retain ownership and artistic intent, setting a precedent for directors and producers who want to use AI without surrendering control. This hands-on approach makes ethical and aesthetic decisions central, not incidental.
Why it matters: The first AI-generated documentary landing in Venice's official selection — and the choice to build a proprietary model rather than rent commercial tools — establishes a template for directors who want to use generative AI without handing creative control to a vendor.
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