After a year in which Hollywood strikes robbed festival red carpets of their stars, the 81st Venice Film Festival marked a return to glamour on Wednesday night with an opening night featuring A-list actors.
Venice fans, many of whom spent up to 10 hours in the scorching Italian heat to catch a glimpse of him, rarely stopped roaring as star after star zoomed past the paparazzi into the Sala Grande for the opening ceremony and world premiere of Tim Burton's film. Beetle Juice Beetle Juice.
Burton and the all-star cast of his highly anticipated sequel, including Jenna Ortega, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Willem Defoe, Justin Theroux and Monica Belluci, grabbed most of the attention, but there was no shortage of applause and cheers for the other celebrities in attendance, including French acting icon Isabelle Huppert, president of this year's Venice Film Festival jury, and Cate Blanchett, in Venice for the premiere of her AppleTV+ series. Disclaimer.
But the biggest star of the evening was Sigourney Weaver, who received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement for her film career. After a music video tribute to her film career — set to Amy Winehouse's “Back to Black” — French actress Camille Cottin, who appeared with Weaver in the hit satirical series Call my agent!, they sang his praises.
““She's dealt with everything from aliens to ghosts to gorillas to oversized soldier pillows to glass ceilings to gender stereotypes,” Cottin said, noting that when she first met Weaver, she was surprised to find her “so sweet, so gentle. I was struck by the fact that I wasn't some strangely powerful woman, but just a woman. who doesn't care about the male gaze.”
Weaver's frequent collaborator James Cameron sent a video message to his friend “Sig.” He noted that he had “the incredible privilege of working with her many times over the years, starting with Aliens in 1985, for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. She has since received two more nominations and, if you ask me, is very overdue for that Oscar, if there's any justice. So, if there are any Academy members in the audience…”
Weaver had previously become emotional when reflecting on her pioneering role as a female action hero in Aliens film and the impact it had in inspiring young women. She was equally emotional at the awards ceremony, reflecting on her career: “I've been able to move around the world and this industry like a hummingbird, soaring through space, time and gender.”