Day 8- September 6: Lucas Virtually Arrives in Venice

It has been 24 hours of no-shows and virtual shows in Lido. Yesterday, George Lucas delivered a virtual press conference from nearby Caserta, where he is shooting the sequel to The Phantom Menace. The Caserta scenes will represent the planet Naboo, which is a culturally rich society, very similar to the Italian one. Lucas spoke about using only digital cameras and being the first big-budget film in history to do so. He compared the transition to digital filmmaking with the switch from fresco paniting to oils, saying that technical advances do not negate the work that preceded them. Many journalists here in Lido, who watched the conference on huge screens in front of the Casino, observed that Lucas seemed to be a in a galaxy far, far away - as his broadcast was incredibly difficult to hear. The Lucas team leaves Italy this week and heads to Tunisia to wrap up the project.

This morning, Claudia Schiffer was a no-show at her conference for The Sound, the latest from Nicolas Roeg. The crowd waited paitently for a half hour, then, began to boo and hiss. An hour after the scheduled time, Roeg appeared as a consolation prize and explained that Schiffer had just arrived in Venice and could not have made the conference in time. He took the mike with enough time left to answer only two questions. So far, Sound is the only short that has the masses curious: director Roeg chose Schiffer precisely because of her lack of sound. "She has been popular for ten years, but more than almost any other celebrity, no one really knows what she sounds like." Although people have been curious, the film has generated little sound of its own now that people have actually seen the film.

Last night's Italian premiere of Small Time Crooks from Woody Allen was another tough act to follow, as audiences loved the film about an American couple's crazy get-rich quick scheme. Crowds seemed grateful for Allen's return to comedy, for which he could not have chosen a better cast. Elaine May, Tracey Ullman, and Woody Allen deliver delightful performances in this short feature.

Today has been full of big-name world premieres: Pollock from Ed Harris, My Generation from Barbara Kopple, and Dayareh from Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi. Actor Ed Harris' directorial debut Pollock, about the 20th Century abstract painter, screened in the Cinema del Presente section. So far Venice audiences seem to enjoy this film, and Sony is betting that others will, too, as they bought Pollock yesterday.

With only three days to go in the program, the Lido crowd is still talking about Before Night Falls. If prizes were awarded today for good buzz, this film would surely take home an award, as it is hard to get anyone to say anything negative about Schnabel's feature. Lido is also shaping up to be the year of Asian cinema, as the continent established itself more here than in festivals past, with Takeshi Kitano's Brother, Seom, Currency & Blonde, and Time and Tide impressing big crowds as well. Tonight the festival crowd awaits the screening of The Cell, starring Jennifer Lopez, who is expected to make an appearance; and Xavier Beauvois' Selon Matthieu in competition.

Check out our latest interviews: Tsui Hark from Time & Tide.

Kerry Shaw