International Desk (EFE).- Hollywood icons and acclaimed filmmakers took center stage Monday at the Venice Film Festival, where Dwayne Johnson, Amanda Seyfried, Kim Novak, Willem Dafoe, and Marco Bellocchio unveiled projects and shared deeply personal reflections.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson premiered “The Smashing Machine,” directed by Benny Safdie, in competition at Venice.
Known for box-office blockbusters, Johnson said the role of 1990s wrestling star Mark Kerr allowed him to finally live his own dreams.
“I had a burning desire to see what else I could do because sometimes you don’t know what you’re capable of when you’re typecast,” Johnson told reporters. “Now I live my dreams and do what I love.”
For Johnson, the film is less about wrestling than about love and transformation.
“It’s a love story between Mark and Dawn [played by Emily Blunt], and also between Mark and wrestling,” he said.
Drawing from his own family history in professional wrestling, Johnson highlighted the sacrifices made by women behind the scenes: “I know what it’s like to see the woman you love sacrifice her life and dreams… that’s what Emily represents in the film.”
Blunt, who prepared for her role by meeting Dwan Kerr, called the shoot “a more complete spectrum of what a relationship really is, with all its highs and lows.
She praised Safdie’s “visceral and spontaneous” filmmaking style.
Amanda Seyfried brings Shaker leader to life
Actress Amanda Seyfried dazzled in “The Testament of Anne Lee,” directed by Norway’s Mona Fastvold, a film about the 18th-century English missionary who led the Shakers in America.
Seyfried described the project as “illuminating, therapeutic, full of passion and cathartic.”
She said the support of Fastvol and her creative team gave her courage: “The reason I could face this challenge is because I felt totally protected and surrounded by artists who knew the value of doing this.”
Fastvold emphasized the importance of sharing stories about women leaders.
“Ann Lee believed in equality for all, men, women, people of color, even children, at a time when that was unthinkable,” she said.
With a budget of 10 million dollars, the director said she wanted to give Lee the kind of grand cinematic treatment usually reserved for male icons.
Critics at Venice have already tipped Seyfried as a contender for the Volpi Cup for Best Actress.
Kim Novak honored, Dafoe and Bellocchio premiere works
Legendary actress Kim Novak, 92, received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, earning a standing ovation at the Palazzo del Cinema.
“We need to unite and work together to save our democracies,” she urged the audience.
Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, presenting the award, praised her as an “unforgettable actress” whose legacy continues to inspire.
Elsewhere, Willem Dafoe starred in Argentine filmmaker Gastón Solnicki’s enigmatic “The Souffleur”, set in a decaying Viennese hotel. Dafoe plays an aging owner battling an Argentine businessman, played by Solnicki himself, seeking to demolish the property.
The film, part of the Horizons section, blends improvisation with surreal comedy.
Italian master Marco Bellocchion, 85, presented “Portobello,” a six-part HBO Max Series recounting the 1982 wrongful arrest of TV host Enzo Tortora, accused of mafia ties.
“It surprised me how the whole country condemned him instantly,” Bellocchio said.
Actor Fabrizio Gifuni added: “The Tortora case embodies universal themes—envy, success, and the barbaric desire to see the mighty fall.”
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