The picket lines were open as a much-improved guest list attended the amFAR gala at the 80th Venice Film Festival on Sunday evening.
While the premiere of David Fincher’s “The Killer” received a lukewarm reception at SAG-AFTRA due to Hollywood’s ongoing solidarity strikes, the annual AIDS fundraiser taking place at the same time attracted a number of high-profile attendees.
Adding a generous dose of glamor to the evening were actresses Kate Beckinsale, Milla Jovovich and Bella Thorne, who traveled to northern Italy exclusively for the charity event.
Beckinsale, 50, opted for a full, sheer dress with sparkling gold embellishments and left little to the imagination when greeting viewers.
The British star completed a rather dramatic look with towering platform heels, while statement earrings and a generous layer of makeup finished things off.
Here they come: The picket lines were open as Kate Beckinsale (l.) and Milla Jovovich (r.) attended the amFAR gala at the 80th Venice Film Festival on Sunday evening
Make way: Bella Thorne was also in attendance as the annual AIDS fundraiser began
Jovovich stood out in a striking purple satin dress with a one-shoulder neckline and silver pattern details.
Thorne looked typically stylish in a black strapless midi dress, while she enhanced her height with strappy heels.
Leona Lewis turned heads in a gorgeous red dress that hugged every inch of her sensational figure.
Leona’s dress featured a plunging neckline and shaped panels at the bodice and waist to perfectly accentuate her stunning curves.
The 38-year-old X Factor winner completed the look with dainty silver jewelry and opted for a gorgeous makeup palette with classic red lipstick in a pillar box style.
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world and its 80th edition begins earlier this week.
The festival opened with the premiere of the Italian World War II film Comandante, directed by Edoardo De Angelis. The event runs until September 9th and ends with a Spanish-language Netflix drama Society of the Snow.
The festival takes place on the Venice Lido – the so-called Venice Beach – a thin barrier island in the Venice Lagoon, just a short boat ride from the capital Venice. Unlike Venice itself, cars have access to the Lido.
The festival marks the start of awards season and regularly produces big favorites for the Oscars. Eight of the last 11 best director awards at the Oscars have gone to films that premiered in Venice.
The official selection of films shown consists of several categories, at the top of which are those competing for the coveted Golden Lion.
New films from directors including Bradley Cooper, Yorgos Lanthimos, David Fincher, Michael Mann, Sofia Coppola, Ava DuVernay and Ryusuke Hamaguchi will compete for the prestigious prize.
Film stars and directors traditionally like to travel to the lagoon city to present their films. This year, however, there will be a little less glitz than usual as a Hollywood actors’ strike will prevent many stars from promoting their work here.
Putting a brave face on the expected disruption, the festival’s artistic director Alberto Barbera has managed to attract one of the strongest line-ups in recent years, defying major studio productions’ dire predictions of mass no-shows.
Incredible: The 50-year-old Beckinsale opted for a wide, transparent dress with glittering gold embellishments and left little to the imagination when greeting the audience
Stylish: The British star completed a rather dramatic look with towering platform heels, while statement earrings and a generous layer of makeup topped it off
Bold: Jovovich stood out in a striking purple satin dress with a one-shoulder neckline and silver pattern details
Cute: Paul WS Anderson and Milla posed for snaps at the star-studded event
Strike a pose: Milla Jovovich and Kate Beckinsale posed together for a stunning snapshot
An eye-catcher: Thorne looked typically stylish in a black strapless midi dress, while she enhanced her height with strappy heels
Hot thing: The dress was perfectly cut and fit the eye-catcher like a glove
Kiss: Bella and her fiancé Mark Emms couldn’t keep their hands off each other and packed on the PDA as they hit the star-studded red carpet
Smart: Meanwhile, entrepreneur Mark cut a suave figure in a black tuxedo, which he wore with a white and dark tie
“We know that some talents won’t be able to attend… But some others will come because they work in independent films.” So everything is good. It looks very positive.’
Away from the picturesque canals of Venice, there is a sense of crisis in the film business, with strikes by both major U.S. actors and writers’ unions bringing much of the entertainment industry to a halt.
“If the strikes last longer, it will have a huge negative impact on the next (release) season and also the awards season,” Barbera said.
No one in Hollywood wants the strikers to do the wrong thing, and the entire film and television industry has come to a complete standstill.
The writers’ union WGA went on strike on May 2nd, followed by the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA on July 14th.
Ferrari actors (and writers) can attend without breaking the strikes because the film was granted an exemption because it was made by an independent company, Neon, and not a studio.
The stars of the film Priscilla, about the life of Priscilla Presley, can also attend without breaking the strike as it was filmed in Canada.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Priscilla has a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement that would allow the cast including Jacob Elordi – who plays Elvis – to come. However, it is not clear whether he will.
Priscilla Presley, whose 1985 memoir the film is based on, is expected to be in attendance. She is an actress herself and has appeared in the films “Dallas” and “Naked Gun.”
Gorgeous: Leona Lewis, 38, looked incredible as she attended the star-studded amfAR gala during the Venice Film Festival on Sunday
An eye-catcher: The X Factor winner turned heads in a beautiful red dress that hugged every inch of her sensational figure
Smoking hot: She completed the look with dainty silver jewelry and opted for a gorgeous makeup palette with classic red lipstick in a pillar box style
Related: Hana Cross and Elle Trowbridge looked incredible in black, low-cut sequin dresses
Most other stars have no choice but to stay away. Bradley Cooper, who wrote, starred in and directed the film “Maestro” about conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein, will not be in Venice for the premiere of what could be the defining film of his career. It’s from Netflix, a struggling company.
A festival spokesman confirmed last month that he would not be attending in solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA actors union strike.
The film “Challengers,” a tennis and threesome drama starring Zendaya and Josh O’Connor from “The Crown,” was scheduled to open the festival but was canceled due to the actors’ strike in July.
Prestige film Poor Things, an adaptation of a Frankenstein-like gothic tale starring Emma Stone, will premiere at the festival, but leading lady Emma Stone and the rest of the cast will not be in attendance.
Ferrari is a film by renowned director Michael Man and examines three months in the life of Enzo Ferrari, the founder of the automobile company. He has money problems, mourns his deceased son and has a child with his lover – which is discovered by his wife.
The SAG-AFTRA strike is the latest ongoing labor dispute in Hollywood.
The action has brought the industry to a virtual standstill, forcing many film and television productions to stop and marking the first time in more than 60 years that both actors and writers have gone on strike.
The WGA strike, in which writers crossed the picket lines, has been ongoing since early May.
Focus: Stars were unable to attend the 80th anniversary event due to ongoing industry strikes (pictured: Alexi Hawley, Michele Mulroney, Kieran Mulrony and Dermot Mulroney on the picket line on August 25)
Due to strike rules, all Sag-aftra members are unable to film a film or TV series – meaning almost every show and film currently in the works will be postponed indefinitely until the issue is resolved.
British union Equity, Sag-aftra’s sister organization, said in a statement in July that it was “fully committed.” [sic] behind its US counterpart.
British actors such as Brian Cox, Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis were also among those who supported the US attack.
On July 21, dozens of actors and artists gathered in London’s Leicester Square to show solidarity with their colleagues in the United States who had walked off the stage in protest at wages and working conditions in the industry.
According to CNN, the strike was approved after SAG-AFTRA was unable to reach an agreement with some of the biggest studios in Hollywood.
Striking actors are demanding higher wages and protection from artificial intelligence.