George Clooney and Emma Stone star in two films premiering at the Venice Film Festival Thursday. Clooney plays a famous actor on a soul-searching journey in Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly,” while Stone appears as the CEO of a pharmaceutical company in Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Bugonia.”
Both films are competing for the Golden Lion prize, which often leads to Oscar nominations. Lanthimos, who previously won the top prize for “Poor Things,” adapted “Bugonia” from a South Korean film about two conspiracy-minded men, one played by Jesse Plemons, who believe Stone’s character is an alien and kidnap her.
“Jay Kelly” focuses on a man reflecting on his life and choices. The ensemble cast includes Adam Sandler, Greta Gerwig, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup and Riley Keough. Like “White Noise,” Baumbach’s earlier film, “Jay Kelly” is produced by Netflix, which returns to Venice this year with three major films, including Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” and Kathryn Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite.”
The 82nd Venice Film Festival opened Wednesday on the Lido and will run through Sept. 6.