Malkovich Leads McDonagh's 'Wild Horse Nine' Venice Premiere — SkimNews
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- Wild Horse Nine premiered at the Venice Film Festival on the Lido with director Martin McDonagh and cast members John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi and Parker Posey fielding an adulatory press conference.
- John Malkovich was singled out for awards buzz when one journalist told the panel he should start writing his Oscar acceptance speech; the 72-year-old demurred, saying "what matters the most" is that the film gets attention.
- Malkovich has two previous Oscar nominations (1985 and 1994) and told the audience he has no plans to retire, positioning him in a deep best actor field that includes Matt Damon, Tom Cruise, Robert Pattinson, Andrew Scott, Sebastian Stan and Javier Bardem.
- Martin McDonagh arrives with seven previous Oscar nominations and one win; his last film, 'The Banshees of Inisherin,' earned nine Oscar nominations in 2023 including Best Picture.
- The film is set just before the 1973 Chilean coup, with Malkovich and Rockwell playing longtime CIA partners Chris and Lee dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island by bureau chief MJ (Buscemi).
- McDonagh told the press the production was only the second ever to film on Easter Island/Rapa Nui, and that his fascination with the CIA and the fate of Salvador Allende's government was a starting point: "we probably don't question the CIA's activities as much as we ought to."
- Searchlight has set a November 6, 2026 release date for the film, which also features Tom Waits and Mariana di Girolamo.
Why it matters: Malkovich — a two-time nominee without a win at 72 — re-enters the Oscar conversation in a stacked best actor field, while McDonagh returns from 'Banshees of Inisherin' with a Searchlight-backed November 2026 release timed squarely for awards season, and the only the second film ever shot on Easter Island adds a built-in production hook.
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