Day 1 - August 30: Sharon Stone Woos the Public and Sinks a Parparazzi

A vaporetto ride away from the canals of Venice, Sharon Stone warmed the hearts of Italians and festival-goers alike when she sashayed down the white carpet before the screening of Clint Eastwood's Space Cowboys. The roar of the crowd could not have been better timed to match the onslaught of rain which fell right as Stone arrived with husband, newspaper mogul Phil Bronstein. In her presentation of Eastwood, she praised his acting and directing strengths, and noted that actors grow in their profession by "listening and learning his extraordinary humanity."

Although the fest officially begins today, quite a few stars arrived in town yesterday, including jury members Milos Forman, Samira Makhmalbaf, Chiara Mastroianni, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Despite the all-star lineup, none of these celebs managed to generate the same commotion as (yet again) Sharon Stone, whose arrival was marred by a crash between her bodyguard's boat and that of her stalking photographers. The Italian press reported that the crash left the paparazzi with a leaky boat in danger of sinking, and the group was forced to hit the dock.

The festival kicked into full force today at 7:30 p.m., with the official Opening Ceremony at the Sala Grande, right next to the Casino, the most majestic of the theatres here. Films at Venice are screened at four venues: the Sala Grande (for the top-line films), the Sala Volpi, the Sala Perla (in the Casino) and nearby Palagalileo. Pics that already have people curious are Robert Altman's Dr. T and the Women, starring Richard Gere as a Texan gynecologist. The director made an announcement (more like a plea) to the press to please "keep the ending somewhat in confidence" because the film's end "includes a couple of things that are a little bit unusual - and a bit of a surprise". Is this a clever publicity stunt or the message of a proud filmmaker? Everyone is waiting until the screening tomorrow night to decide. Another hot topic is Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano's film Brother, which is rumored to be worth every minute of the ticket queue.

Martin Scorcese's Il Mio Viaggio In Italia, scheduled for 8 September, has generated its own share of buzz. Unfortunately for fans of the directing legend, his film won't be ready for Venice. This marks festival director Alberto Barbera's second film casualty in less than three weeks, the previous loss was USA Films' Series 7. Scorcese's tactfully worded apology - a personal message to Barbera - reportedly explained that Scorcese and his team did "everything possible and cannot have a print ready." Perhaps this was the reason for Barbera's kind response, in which he announced to the press that he felt "complete understanding" for Scorcese. Then again, perhaps it was his Italian last name...

Although Lido has barely begun, it seems fair to say that the city will be spared the Hollywood frenzy that invades Cannes. Save for a few posters dotting the Boulevard (this town's Croisette equivalent), Lido is barely distinguishable from any other European tourist spot in the last days of summer. Baby carriages, gelato stands, and bicycles are everywhere - there are no bikini clad spokeswomen promoting a dot.com in Lido - at least not yet! Another noticeable difference from Cannes is that English has not taken over the town, and the omni-present language is most definitely Italian.

On a note of multiculturalism, the Korean group CDMI (Coalition for Cultural Diversity in Moving Images) gave a press conference to bolster support for their cause. The group aims to sustain domestic film industries so that Hollywood does not render them extinct. Led by General Director Yang Gi-Hwan and attended by Ki Duk Kim, director of The Isle (in competition), the conference was held under a tent in the Casino Gardens. CDMI pointed out that because of a Korean-government quota system to promote the national cinema industry, Korean films captured 36 percent of the domestic market share in 1999. (In comparison, Italian cinema in Italy took under eight percent of the market share). Yang Gi-Hwan also cited the success of Swiri in Korea - the film was more successful there than even Titanic - as proof that markets respond best to films which are sensitive to local cultures (ie domestic films). Afterward, the international crowd sipped champagne and nibbled on olives before heading out to watch the Sala Grande appearances.

Scheduled for tomorrow are French films Sade from Benoit Jacques and La ville est tranquille from Robert Guediguian, Estate Romana from Italian director Matteo Garrone, Tillsammans from Lukas Moodysson of Sweden, and of course, Robert Altman's Dr. T and the Women.

Kerry Shaw