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Sorry, Gladiator II (November 22) and Moana 2 (November 27), but I’m going all limited releases this month. Festival season has ended. Award season has begun (congrats to all Gotham nominees). So, while blockbuster sequels still populate most screens around town, they don’t possess the same real estate in cinephiles’ minds. We’re too busy trying to ensure we can say we knew *blank* was getting nominated all along.

Those lucky enough to live in NYC and LA can also take it one step further by hitting those one-week qualifying runs. While I’ll be holding those posters back for early 2025 when they open in more markets (if they even have official posters yet), that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a ton of quality artwork to choose from anyway.

Scrawled

Mubi is always good for a solid if familiar one-sheet and the one they’ve done for Bird is no exception.

The sweet spot for many of the best films of the year, arriving before the final month of 2024, November is packed with robust offerings of Cannes, Berlinale, and fall festival highlights, along with must-see documentaries, and even a major studio movie or two.

17. Dream Team (Lev Kalman and Whitney Horn; Nov. 15)

Following their singular take on the Western genre with Two Plains and a Fancy, filmmakers Lev Kalman & Whitney Horn returned to the festival circuit earlier this year with Dream Team, an absurdist homage to ’90s basic-cable TV thrillers. Starring Esther Garrel and Alex Zhang Hungtai, with a producing team that includes I Saw the TV Glow director Jane Schoenbrun, Leonardo Goi said in his Rotterdam review, “Like its predecessors, Dream Team hangs in a hazy, oneiric region; what the film is about is a lot easier to discuss than the entrancing feeling it evokes. As corals the world over...

El nuevo drama romántico de Guadagnino cuenta con el guionista de ‘Challengers’. © A24

A24 ya ha publicado el primer tráiler de Queer, la esperada nueva del director Luca Guadagnino y el guionista Justin Kuritzkes (Challengers). Además, también se ha anunciado la fecha de estreno de la película, que llegará a las salas de cine de nuestro país gracias a Elástica Films y Mubi.

Queer adapta la novela homónima del escritor estadounidense William S. Burroughs y se ambienta en 1950. William Lee, un estadounidense expatriado en Ciudad de México, pasa sus días casi completamente solo, salvo por unos pocos contactos con otros miembros de la pequeña comunidad estadounidense. Su encuentro con Eugene Allerton, un ex soldado expatriado recién llegado a la ciudad, le muestra, por primera vez, que puede ser posible establecer una conexión íntima con alguien.

La película está protagonizada por Daniel Craig (saga 007) y Drew Starkey (Outer Banks). Completan el...

Over the last decade, perhaps no filmmaker has expressed lust, longing, and simmering sensuality on the big screen with as much verve as Luca Guadagnino. From the May-December, sun-kissed romance of Call Me By Your Name, to the cannibals-on-the-lam love affair of Bones And All, to this year's intoxicating tennis-based ménage à trois Challengers, the Italian auteur has been bringing sexy back since long before it seemingly went away. And with his latest, William S. Burroughs adaptation Queer, the filmmaker — working from a script by his Challengers collaborator Justin Kuritzkes — looks to have done it again. The movie stars Daniel Craig as ageing, isolated American ex-pat William Lee, who finds himself seeking connection in Mexico City when he becomes infatuated with young buck Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Check out the swoon worthy first trailer below:

Set to Sinéad O'Connor's iconic cover of Nirvana's 'All Apologies', this first trailer...

Daniel Craig stars in Luca Guadagnino’s adaptation of William S Burrough’s famous novel Queer, which now has a new trailer.

Next month will see A24 release Queer, Luca Guadagnino’s adaptation of the William S Burroughs autobiographical novel about love, desire and self-loathing. Daniel Craig stars as as William Lee, the film’s protagonist, joined by Lesley Manville, Jason Schwartzman, Henry Zaga, Andra Ursuta, Michael Borremans and David Lowery.

Guadagnino’s Challengers made plenty of waves when it released in cinemas earlier this year, and the filmmaker has wisely chosen again work with that film’s composers, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who return to score Queer.

Here’s the synopsis for the new film:

‘Craig plays Lee – a self-conscious, insecure man living it up in 1950s Mexico City surviving on GI Bill benefits and part-time jobs among expat American college students. He becomes infatuated with Eugene Allerton...

The first trailer for Luca Guadagnino’s forthcoming film Queer is a sensory overload of epic proportions. Daniel Craig leads the film, set for release Nov. 27, as William Lee. He brings to the screen a tangible sense of nervous curiosity as he circles Drew Starkey’s Eugene Allerton. “I want to talk to you,” he tells him, pausing before adding a caveat: “Without speaking.”

The trailer pays close attention to movement and touch. There are centipedes that crawl across the screen, accompanied by the subtle, chilling sound of one hundred legs moving.

Award-winning director and producer Luca Guadagnino re-teamed with Challengers screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes for his latest film, a period romance titled Queer. The 1950s story stars Daniel Craig, who finds himself in Mexico City and infatuated with a younger man, played by Drew Starkey. The Queer trailer has now arrived, soundtracked by Sinead O’Connor’s cover of Nirvana’s “No Apologies.” Watch it below.

In the sun-soaked first look at the film, which was was based on the 1985 novel of the same name by William S. Burroughs, Craig and Starkey meet in a bar before striking up a physical relationship. “I want to talk to you without speaking,” Craig says, and it all feels quite Call Me By Your Name between the undeniable chemistry and gorgeous vignettes of summer in Mexico.

When Queer premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, reception was generally positive, and Craig’s performance received especially favorable buzz.

Hot off of last year’s Challengers, Luca Guadagnino returns with a new intimate story with Daniel Craig as he strays from his solitary lifestyle when he suddenly finds someone to connect with. A24 has released the melodic and, at times, surreal trailer of Queer.

The plot of Queer reads: “1950. William Lee, an American expat in Mexico City, spends his days almost entirely alone, except for a few contacts with other members of the small American community. His encounter with Eugene Allerton, an expat former soldier, new to the city, shows him, for the first time, that it might be finally possible to establish an intimate connection with somebody.” That Queer is also based on a William S. Burroughs novel adds a bit more excitement to the Guadagnino project, which has been in development since 2022.

Luca Guadagnino has assembled a strong cast for Queer, too, with Daniel Craig starring as William and Drew Starkey,...

Leave it to filmmaker Luca Guadagnino to redefine a movie star before our very eyes. The director who landed Timothée Chalamet on the map in 2017's heart-wrenching romance "Call Me by Your Name" and most recently turned a sports drama starring the triumvirate of Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, and Mike Faist into one of this year's most exhilarating theatrical experiences with "Challengers" isn't even close to being done just yet. His latest film might also be one of his most anticipated ever, taking aim at the life and times of famous American writer William S. Burroughs in what's arguably his most complicated and impressively adult subject matter yet. Not only does "Queer" live up to every unspoken promise of its title, as I reviewed for /Film here, but it also delivers what might very well go down as Daniel Craig's best performance yet.

If that sounds like impossibly high praise, just...

The first trailer for Luca Guadignino’s latest film Queer has debuted, showing off Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey in the William S. Burroughs adaptation.

Based on the novel of the same name and adapted for the screen by Justin Kuritzkes (Challengers), the story follows William Lee (Craig), who finds himself in Mexico City after escaping heroin charges in the U.S., and Eugene Allerton (Starkey), a former GI new to the city, as they establish a connection.

“A wise old queen taught me that I had a duty to live, to conquer hate with knowledge and sincerity and love,” says Craig’s William at the opening of the trailer, which shows its two stars traversing the city.

Queer, which also stars Lesley Manville, Jason Schwartzman, Henrique Zaga and Omar Apollo, debuted at the Venice Film Festival to largely positive reviews.

The Hollywood Reporter‘s review of the film out of Venice,...

It’s been quite a prolific year for Luca Guadagnino. After the strike-delayed Challengers finally arrived in April, he embarked on production on After the Hunt this summer all while readying his William S. Burroughs adaptation Queer for a fall festival premiere. Led by Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzman, Henry Zaga, and Lesley Manville, the film finally picked up distribution from A24, who will roll it out in theaters beginning November 27. Ahead of the release, the first trailer has now arrived.

Leonardo Goi said in his review, “Where’s the filth? I wrote down the question on page two of my notes, roughly about when Queer entered its second chapter, sending Lee (Daniel Craig) and his young lover Eugene (Drew Starkey) on a quest for ayahuasca in South America. Having spent the first section tracking Lee as he fritters time away in Mexico City, drinking and flirting and sleeping...

Daniel Craig is sharing what he learned from “a wise old queen.”

A24 released the first trailer for Luca Guadagnino‘s “Queer” on Tuesday. In 1950s Mexico City, William Lee (Craig), an American ex-pat in his late 40s, leads a solitary life amidst a small American community. However, the arrival in town of Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), a young student, stirs William into finally establishing a meaningful connection with someone.

The trailer shows the pair locking eyes for the first time before William awkwardly introduces himself. Sexual tensions rise and the two eventually end up in bed together. By the end, we hear a nearly unrecognizable Lesley Manville utter, “What are you so afraid of? The door’s already open, can’t close it now. All he can do is look away. But why would you?”

“Queer” is written by Justin Kuritzkes and is based on the 1985 novel from William S. Burroughs.

“Queer” is almost here.

Luca Guadgnino’s latest, which stars Daniel Craig and is based on a slender William S. Burroughs novel of the same name, hits theaters on November 27, courtesy of A24. And there’s a brand-new trailer that you can watch, right now, below.

In “Queer” Craig plays William Lee, a Burroughs stand-in, who becomes infatuated with a young man named Allerton (Drew Starkey) while careening through the underground nightlife of Mexico City in the 1940s. (Lee is there to acquire a drug that he thinks will grant him psychic abilities – because of course he is.) Jason Schwartzman, Lesley Manville and filmmaker David Lowery also star.

Burroughs wrote “Queer” while waiting to be sentences for the murder of his common-law wife Joan Vollmer, who he shot in the head while attempting a “William Tell routine.” (This incident was dramatized in David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Burroughs’ “Naked Lunch.

Can a genuine connection go beyond lust and longing? “Queer” sees two men discover something more beneath the usual facades. Luca Guadagnino helms this anticipated film based on a short novel by counter-culture legend William S. Burroughs. The “Challengers” director reunites with screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes, who wrote the popular tennis drama. This time, Kuritzkes offers a script that ventures well beyond Burroughs’ original story.

Continue reading ‘Queer’ Trailer: Luca Guadagnino’s Gay William S. Burroughs Drama With Daniel Craig Arrives In November at The Playlist.

Miss Geraldine Flower remains something of a mystery from beginning to end of this extraordinary experimental biopic. Inspired by a case full of letters, photographs and — those were the days — telexes left behind by the late Miss Flower after her untimely death, the film is essentially a song cycle, performed by Icelandic singer Emilíana Torrini and filmed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, the directing duo behind the 2014 Nick Cave documentary 20,000 Days on Earth. Like that film, The Extraordinary Miss Flower — which had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival this weekend — is an exercise in channeling its subject rather than simply showing and telling. And like that film, it is destined to find an eager cult audience for its psychedelic charms.

If the name doesn’t ring a bell, that’s no surprise. Although her writing was sophisticated, and she worked periodically in the media (broadcast...

Luca Guadagnino has already blown audiences away this year with the release of Challengers back in April, a sexy and stylish tennis movie that received high praise for its performances, direction and cinematography. His second feature of the year, Queer, stars Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey and has been adapted from the short book of the same name by author William S. Burroughs. It again sees Guadagnino collaborate with writer Justin Kuritzkes who also penned the script for Challengers. Craig plays William Lee, an American expat in his late forties who leads a solitary life amidst a small American community in 1950s Mexico City. However, the arrival of Eugene Allerton (Starkey), a young student, stirs William into finally establishing a meaningful connection with someone. A beautifully introspective and tender portrait of identity and longing, Queer boasts exceptional performances, a delightful slow-burn storyline and stunning cinematography, even if the whole picture...

Filmmakers and distributors of awards-hopefuls have until Nov. 4 to submit their category preference — drama versus musical or comedy — to the Golden Globes organization, which reserves the right to overturn any classification that it finds egregiously inaccurate.

Some of this year’s cases are inarguable — for instance, Netflix’s Emilia Pérez, in which characters spontaneously burst into song, is clearly a musical (if not a comedy), and A24’s The Brutalist, in which an immigrant faces all sorts of harrowing hurdles, is clearly a drama. There are, however, also plenty of close-calls, about which many have made assumptions, but, in most cases, not confirmed.

The Hollywood Reporter has been working the phones and can now report which way almost every contender is breaking. This intel is, of course, subject to change prior to Nov. 4, and to being overturned by the Globes thereafter — but it is current as of this writing.

Joining...

Since the academy expanded the Best Picture category at the Oscars in 2010, Best Original Screenplay has gone to writers of a wide-range of genres: dramas; comedies (“Midnight in Paris”); biopics; true-life stories (“Spotlight”); memoirs (“Belfast”); period pictures (“Django Unchained”); war movies (“The Hurt Locker”); sci-fi (“Her”), thrillers horror (“Get Out”) and fantasies (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) . (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Original Screenplay.)

Of this year’s top 10 contenders for Best Original Screenplay, nine were written, at least in part, by the directors. The exception is “Challengers,” which Justin Kuritzkes wrote for director Luca Guadagnino. He also adapted the William S. Burroughs novel “Queer” for this busy helmer and he could well contend over in Best Adapted Screenplay for that.

“Challengers” is, at its heart, a romance. Love, albeit short-lived, is also the subject of the frontrunner in this race, Sean Baker‘s “Anora.

How lucky are we to be around at the same time that Luca Guadagnino is doing his thing? The Italian director has delivered some of the boldest and most uncompromising works of the last decade and change, one as recent as earlier this year. He's also gone even further and maintained an exceptionally keen eye for finding the stories worth telling in the first place. His latest, conceptualized during filming of "Challengers" and written by "Challengers" scribe Justin Kuritzkes, sets its sights on no less a figure than wildly influential novelist William S. Burroughs. Burroughs' life and overall body of work could never be contained in a single biopic (though many have tried), so "Queer" takes the next best approach: an adaptation of his unfinished short story of the same name, reimagined as an intimate epic that almost feels designed to perplex and provoke in equal measure.

The headlines all but write themselves.

“What was it that I couldn’t stop thinking about this book since I read it [as a teenager]?” wondered director Luca Guadagnino about William S. Burroughs‘s novel that inspired his new film “Queer.” “I was fascinated both by the writing of Burroughs. In fact, after I read ‘Queer’ and I discovered Burroughs through ‘Queer,’ I went through all of his canon in the years afterwards. But probably the thing that really was fascinating to me … is that this is a very profound love story.” Guadagnino discussed the film after a special New York City screening on Sunday, October 6, along with screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes, costume designer J.W. Anderson, and actors Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey.

“Queer” tells the story of William Lee (Craig), a fictionalized version of Burroughs. The American expat, living in Mexico City in the 1940s, meets and becomes infatuated with a younger man, Eugene Allerton (Starkey). Guadagnino explained that he and Kuritzkes “both agreed,...

Mubi hat sich die Auswertungsrechte an Luca Guadagninos Venedig-Wettbewerbsbeitrag „Queer“ für einige Territorien, darunter Deutschland und Österreich, gesichert.

Luca Guadagninos „Queer“ mit Daniel Craig und Drew Starkey wird in Deutschland und Österreich von Mubi in die Kinos gebracht (Credit: A24)

Mubi wird Luca Guadagninos Verfilmung von William S. Burroughs Roman „Queer“ (hier unsere Spot-Besprechung), die im Wettbewerb der Mostra ihre Weltpremiere feierte, in die deutschen Kinos bringen. Wie das Unternehmen heute mitteilt, habe man sich für Deutschland und Österreich ebenso alle Auswertungsrechte gesichert wie für Großbritannien, Irland, Kanada, Lateinamerika, die Benelux-Staaten, Spanien, Türkei und Indien; für Italien hat sich Mubi nach eigenen Angaben alle Auswertungsrechte an „Queer“ gesichert mit Ausnahme der Kinoauswertung.

In der Hauptrolle von „Queer“ spielt Daniel Craig den US-Amerikaner William Lee, Alter Ego des homosexuellen Autors der Buchvorlage, der Anfang der 1950er Jahre nach einer Drogenrazzia in New Orleans über die Grenze nach Mexiko geflüchtet ist, um...

Mubi has acquired “Queer,” Luca Guadagnino’s trippy adaptation of the William S. Burroughs novel that recently bowed in competition in Venice, in a multi-territory deal.

In another significant statement of intent, the fast-rising arthouse distributor, streamer and production company — whose festival acquisitions spree appears to still be on a major roll — picked up all rights to the buzzy feature, led by Daniel Craig, for the U.K./Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Germany/Austria, Benelux, Spain, Canada, Turkey and India. It also acquired all rights excluding theatrical for Italy. A24 already bought the film for the U.S. The Veterans brokered the deal with Mubi.

“Queer,” which was met with positive reviews in Venice, is set in 1940s Mexico City and follows William Lee (Craig), an American expat who leads a solitary life amidst a small American community. However, the arrival in town of Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), a young student,...

Mubi has picked up rights to Luca Guadagnino’s Queer in multiple territories.

The deal with Fremantle covers the UK, Ireland, Canada, Latin America, Germany, Austria, Benelux, Spain, Turkey and India and all rights excluding theatrical in Italy. The Veterans brokered the deal with Mubi, the arthouse streamer.

This follows Queer‘s world premiere in competition at the Venice International Film Festival and North American premiere in Toronto. In August, we revealed A24 had picked up U.S. rights to Guadagnino’s film, which is an adaptation of the William S. Burroughs novel.

No release plans unveiled by Mubi yet, but the film is getting its U.S. premiere in the Spotlight Gala at the New York Film Festival and a UK screening as a special presentation at the BFI London Film Festival.

Set in 1950, Queer follows William Lee (Craig), an American expat in Mexico City, who spends his days almost entirely alone,...

Historical romance drama Queer, based on the 1985 novel by William S. Burroughs, is making a huge buzz, all thanks to Daniel Craig. The actor, known for his iconic portrayal of 007 in the James Bond franchise, is all set to enter a whole new territory with the Luca Guadagnino-directed movie. In this, he plays the role of an outcast American expat, William Lee.

Daniel Craig in Skyfall | Credits: MGM

Once again showcasing his amazing versatility, the actor is set to play a gay man to the best of his abilities. Not only that, but he has also placed one rule for playing the character that would make the audience appreciate his acting genius even more.

Daniel Craig’s Unique Approach to Playing a Gay Character in Queer

Daniel Craig, with his remarkable acting and versatility, has made a huge transition from his stage days to now being one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood.

A24 has dated Queer and The Brutalist heading into awards season after recently acquiring both Venice Film Festival world premieres.

Queer directed by Luca Guadagnino will open in limited release on November 27. Daniel Craig stars in the William S. Burroughs adaptation as a lonely, gay expatriate in 1950s Mexico City who becomes infatuated with a new arrival on the scene, played by Drew Starkey.

Queer premiered in Venice and received its North American premiere as a Special Presentation at Toronto International Film. It will receive the Spotlight Gala at New York Film Festival.

The Brutalist from Brady Corbet and starring...

A24 has dated “Queer” and “The Brutalist” for the fourth quarter of this year, officially confirming each film for the 2025 awards race.

The studio acquired both epic dramas around this year’s Venice Film Festival, where each premiered. “Queer” will debut on November 27, while “The Brutalist” will launch on December 20. Both titles will open in limited release before a presumable wider rollout.

Deadline was the first site to report the news.

Based on the book by William S. Burroughs and written for the screen by Justin Kurtizkes, “Queer” stars Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, and Lesley Manville. The official synopsis is as follows: “In 1950s Mexico City, William Lee (Craig), an American ex-pat in his late forties, leads a solitary life amidst a small American community. However, the arrival in town of Eugene Allerton, a young student (Starkey), stirs William into finally establishing a meaningful connection with someone.”

“Queer” premiered at...

The most thrilling way to experience the Voidz’s third album, Like All Before You is on vinyl, imagining it as a roulette wheel, dropping the needle like a ball and seeing what you get.

The record is the most unpredictable that the group, which features Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas, has recorded since it formed more than a decade ago. Casablancas has said that he likes the capriciousness of the Voidz compared to the Strokes’ steadfast commitment garage rock. So on Like All Before You, he and his bandmates indulgea hodgepodge of emo,...

A24 has picked up its third festival film in less than three weeks, paying what is understood to be low seven figures for US rights to Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Midnight Madness selection Friendship starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd.

The comedy from Fifth Season and BoulderLight Pictures received its world premiere in Toronto on September 8 where it was a runner-up in the People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award.

Friendship centres on Craig (Waterman), a suburban father whose life takes an unexpected turn when he befriends enigmatic new neighbour, Austin (Rudd).

The cast includes Kate Mara, Jack Dylan Grazer,...

After their critically acclaimed and audience-favorite romance Challengers earlier this year, writer Justin Kuritzkes and director Luca Guadagnino have re-teamed for Queer, and it couldn’t be more different. Surreal, funny, and most of all sexy, Queer challenges the audience in ways that will almost certainly ensure it is divisive, but are incredibly ambitious swings nonetheless.

Queer Review

Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch), Queer follows Lee, an American expatriate living in Mexico City, as he searches for connection and a drug that will unlock the power of telepathy. This is certainly Guadagnino’s most out-there film yet, sharing more resemblance with something like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas than the Italian auteur’s filmography.

Those familiar with Burroughs’s work will know his dense, surreal writing style. The most notable filmmaker to adapt his work thus far has been David Cronenberg, whose trippy...

Exclusive: One of the surprises for international buyers at the Venice and Toronto film festivals was that Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, starring Daniel Craig, didn’t have an international sales agent…

Surprise over with news we can bring you that The Veterans has come aboard to handle international dealmaking on the project.

Queer makes its North American premiere today as a Special Presentation at TIFF after a well-received world premiere on the Lido last week.

A24 recently acquired U.S. rights and will release later this year. Lucky Red will distribute the film in Italy. CAA Media Finance, which brokered the deal with A24, brought The Veterans on to represent international distribution rights.

The film was written for the screen by Guadagnino’s Challengers collaborator Justin Kuritzkes, adapted from the novel of the same name by legendary American writer William S. Burroughs.

Set in 1950s Mexico City, pic follows William Lee,...

Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door” won the Golden Lion at the 81st Venice Film Festival. The Spanish auteur’s first feature in English took the top prize at the awards ceremony on Saturday, where he accepted the honor in person. Based on Sigrid Nunez’s novel “What Are You Going Through,” the film stars Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore as friends who reunite after several years.

Though Almodóvar’s latest was not reviewed as enthusiastically as most of his films (a high bar to cross), the drama was still favored to do well at the Venice awards. When it premiered earlier this week, it was met with a lengthy standing ovation of almost 20 minutes — a warm reception even for festival audiences. And few are the cinephiles in Europe who do not consider the director of “All About My Mother,” “Talk to Her,” “Volver,” “Bad Education” and “Parallel Mothers” a living great.

This year’s Venice Film Festival lineup was not only the starriest in recent history, it was also the steamiest. Literally and figuratively. Aside from the brutal heatwave that plagued festivalgoers, the roster was filled with sexually charged movies, ranging from “Babygirl,” starring Nicole Kidman, to Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” with Daniel Craig. Elsewhere in the festival circuit, Audrey Diwan’s “Emmanuelle” is kicking off San Sebastian, while Alain Guiraudie’s “Misericordia,” which opened at Cannes, is playing at virtually every major fest this fall.

But like Kidman’s character in “Babygirl” who only gets triggered when something is at stake, erotic movies in 2024 aren’t created as mere entertainment as they once were; they exist to push boundaries and break down clichés revolving mainly around female and gay protagonists.

“Babygirl,” directed by Dutch helmer Halina Reijn (“Bodies Bodies Bodies”), tackles the complexity of female sexuality and the issue of...

Sir Edmund Hillary is reported to have said that the reason he and Tenzing Norgay climbed Mount Everest was “because it’s there.” Acting is not mountaineering (except maybe when someone’s making a movie about Everest), but longtime acting teacher Terry Knickerbocker has likened Daniel Craig’s post-James Bond career to tackling challenges not because he needs to but because they’re there. Knickerbocker founded his own studio to coach actors and has worked with Craig on multiple “Knives Out” films and on Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer,” which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 3.

The idea of acting coaching can conjure all sorts of wild ideas, from warm-up tongue twisters and diction coaching cliches from “Singin’ in the Rain” to physical and improv exercises done in an NYU black box theater. But whatever the method, the goal is always about finding a way to...

While the Telluride Film Festival this past Labor Day weekend was a launchpad for many awards contenders having a breakout moment, from Karla Sofía Gascón in “Emilia Pérez” to the co-leads of “The Nickel Boys,” the past three days marking the midpoint of the Venice Film Festival put a spotlight on world premieres for the latest projects from three alumni, featuring a bevy of A-List talent, many of whom already have an Academy Award.

Working backwards, Day 7 of the festival marked the first public screening of the highly anticipated “Queer” from Luca Guadagnino, the director’s eighth film to screen at Venice. The adaptation of the William S. Burroughs novella “Junkie” uses quite a few of his collaborators from “Challengers,” the other film he released this year, which will have its own separate awards campaign, but the Oscars category it has been pegged for from the start is Best Actor for lead Daniel Craig.

“Queer” premiered in competition at the 2024 Venice Film Festival on September 3. The highly anticipated film is the second this year from director Luca Guadagnino, who earlier this year released the provocative tennis drama “Challengers.” This one stars Daniel Craig as William Lee, a pseudonym of author William S. Burroughs, who lives in Mexico City and is drawn to a younger man named Allerton (Drew Starkey). It has been picked up by A24 for US distribution.

So far aggregator MetaCritic has logged 13 reviews of the film, which overall gets a “generally favorable” rating of 75. But the individual reviews are somewhat divided: eight are positive and five are mixed, though none are outright negative. On Rotten Tomatoes, where films are classified simply as positive or negative, the film is 80% fresh based on 10 reviews, just two of which give the film a thumbs down.

SEENicole Kidman is ‘bold,’ ‘brave’ and ‘immaculate’ in ‘Babygirl,...

The Venice Film Festival showered Luca Guadagnino’s Queer with lots of love Tuesday night at the film’s world premiere. In particular, the capacity crowd inside Sala Grande went wild for star Daniel Craig, who broke away from his James Bond persona for a provocative and challenging role opposite Drew Starkey, who also earned cheers from the capacity crowd that included Pedro Almodóvar.

The Spanish auteur, who is also in the Venice competition with his buzzy drama The Room Next Door, was seated across the row from Guadagnino and his cast. He embraced them one by one during the lengthy standing ovation. Craig looked emotional at several points as his wife, Rachel Weisz, was beaming and hollering in unison with the crowd while standing on her feet.

Queer world premiere just wrapped with huge 9.5 minute standing ovation for the wild Luca Guadagnino art film. Yes, it has racy elements...

Daniel Craig was in the Sala Grande this evening for the Venice Film Festival world premiere of Luca Guadagnino’s Queer which earned an 11-minute, 44-second ovation from the audience.

The crowd chanted Guadagnino’s name at the beginning of the ovation as he held up stars Craig, Drew Starkey and Lesley Manville’s hands separately for individual applause. The cast came down together from the gallery and bowed in unison, then one-by-one came down from the gallery again. Pedro Almodóvar was in the audience, and during the ovation congratulated Guadagnino and hugged him and Craig. You can see the video below.

Director Luca Guadagnino leads Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Lesley Manville and the rest of the cast of his film #Queer down the steps of the Sala Grande, where they all bow to the audience in unison #VeniceFilmFestvial #Venezia81 pic.twitter.com/rcU2BNTqkF

— Deadline (@Deadline) September 3, 2024

Stars of...

Daniel Craig delivers a career-best performance in Luca Guadagnino’s romantic drama “Queer,” playing a gay American expat in 1950s Mexico City. The drama, with its explicit love scenes, swept up a packed theater at its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday night, earning a 9-minute standing ovation.

When the applause began, Craig looked flushed and misty-eyed as he hugged Guadagnino. The crowd chanted “Luca! Luca! Luca!” while the ovation continued, with each actor coming down the Sala Grande steps from where they sat in the balcony to bow individually. During his turn, Craig blew kisses to the crowd as his wife, Rachel Weisz, smiled proudly.

When Craig and Starkey at last embraced, Guadagnino — and the rest of the audience — erupted in cheers as the two gripped each other in celebration. Pedro Almodóvar, whose new film “The Room Next Door” received the longest standing ovation of the fest so far with 17 minutes,...

Labor Day weekend has come and gone, and that can only mean one thing – it’s TIFF time, baby! Once again, I’ll be attending the Toronto International Film Festival on behalf of JoBlo.com. I’m looking forward to getting an early look at some of the prestigious awards fare we’ll all be hearing plenty about in the coming months. Crazy enough, this will be my sixteenth year in a row covering the festival!

Here’s what I’m most excited to check out at this year’s edition:

Conclave:

Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front was one of the biggest surprises of the 2022 edition of TIFF, as that new adaptation of the classic novel/ film proved to be one of the most dazzling war films in recent memory. It put Berger on the map in a big way, with him tipped as potentially taking...

Before the release of Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer,” the film was the subject of online chatter about its runtime. Early rumors pegged the duration at over three hours, and its announcement in Venice Film Festival’s lineup initially listed 151 minutes before adjusting to the premiere’s length of 135 minutes. The Italian director claimed one aim of adapting the titular novel by William S. Burroughs with his “Challengers” screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes was to finish the unfinished text.

Continue reading ‘Queer’ Review: Luca Guadagnino’s Burroughs Adaptation With Daniel Craig Is Fascinating But Unsettled [Venice] at The Playlist.

“Guys, let’s be adults in the room for a second,” Luca Guadagnino said, getting candid at the Venice Film Festival press conference for his new film “Queer.” “There is no way around the fact that nobody would ever know James Bond’s desires, period.”

How did we get there? A journalist posed a question to the film’s star, Daniel Craig, who played 007 in five installments and has since retired the role after “No Time to Die,” about whether there could ever be a gay James Bond. “The important thing is that [James Bond] does his missions properly,” Guadagnino joked over the question, which Craig did not answer. It was asked because, in Guadagnino’s new film, a William S. Burroughs adaptation, Craig plays William Lee, a gay expatriate wandering bars in Mexico City who falls for a discharged Navyman played by “Outer Banks” star Drew Starkey. And in a film...

Where’s the filth? I wrote down the question on page two of my notes, roughly about when Queer entered its second chapter, sending Lee (Daniel Craig) and his young lover Eugene (Drew Starkey) on a quest for ayahuasca in South America. Having spent the first section tracking Lee as he fritters time away in Mexico City, drinking and flirting and sleeping with fellow drifters in neon-soaked motels, this is when the film should get sweatier, dirtier, trippier––long, long before the couple has its first taste of yagé. It’s a chapter that promises to unleash all the pent-up carnality Queer had accrued in its opening scenes. And sure enough, the two men sweat profusely, the journey gets more and more surreal, but the drug-induced paranoias and voracious sex exude the same quality they did in the first segment: a plastic, stylized artificiality. Guadagnino’s brand of sensualism has...

Close your eyes at any point during “Queer” and you might still smell the sweat and booze and stale tobacco wafting off-screen. If not quite as seductive as the Northern Italian summer of “Call Me by Your Name,” the world director Luca Guadagnino evokes here is no less transporting, sweeping us into the tequila dives and roach motels of mid-century Mexico City for a prolonged bout of same-sex yearning. And though adapted from the book (and life) of William S. Burroughs, this carnal film builds just as much on the filmmaker’s ongoing interest in unmet desire, finding greater ecstasy in the wait than in the act.

Shedding the last of his Bond persona – while keeping the same taste for libations – Daniel Craig stars as Bill Lee, a hard-living junkie for all the squalid pleasures the world has to offer. He’s a writer of means, biding his time in...

The first and last written words of writer William S. Burroughs form the basis of this superb adaptation of Queer, a novel written in the early ’50s that, for myriad reasons, remained unpublished until 1985. At the time, its belated arrival coincided with a major resurgence of interest in Burroughs, the oldest and longest surviving member of the original Beat Generation writers, the others being Jack Kerouac (who never made it out of the ’60s) and Allen Ginsberg. By then, Burroughs had received long-overdue recognition as the godfather of the counterculture; heroin was his drug of choice, which assured his long-standing association with rock ’n’ roll, but his beatification by hard-drug fetishists often overshadowed the astonishing quality — not to mention foresight — of his writing.

Landing three years before Ted Morgan’s for-a-long-time-definitive biography Literary Outlaw (until Barry Miles’ Call Me Burroughs followed it 10 years ago), Queer was the Rosetta Stone that...

Without a doubt, one of the most anticipated films to premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival is Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer.” Not only does it have Guadagnino as a filmmaker—a mainstay at Venice—but it also stars none other than James Bond himself, Daniel Craig. And now, with the film getting screened at the event, we have our first look at a clip from the film.

Continue reading ‘Queer’ Clip: Daniel Craig Stars In Luca Guadagnino’s Adaptation Of The William S. Burroughs Novel at The Playlist.

Wait, did he really just say that?

He did, and Luca Guadagnino doesn’t care. The director got candid in front of a jam-packed room of journalists Tuesday afternoon — who were lapping up every word — at the press conference of his new film Queer.

The racy movie gets its world premiere at the 2024 Venice Film Festival early Tuesday evening, with its stars Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzman, Lesley Manville and Omar Apollo joining the Italian filmmaker to usher in his latest romp.

An American ex-pat in his mid-50s, William is isolated in Mexico City. Addicted to opiates and alcohol, and with a passion for younger men, Starkey’s Eugene Allerton sends William into a tailspin. As Craig’s character gets increasingly infatuated, Eugene agrees to go on a trip with him. It is steamy, of course — it’s Luca Guadagnino after all — and includes a couple of fairly graphic sex scenes.

Daniel Craig splashed down on the Lido today for the world premiere of Luca Guadagnino’s Queer which will screen in competition this evening. Before walking the red carpet, star and filmmaker were part of a 10-strong delegation speaking with the Venice Film Festival press corps about the adaptation of the eponymous William S Burroughs novel.

Craig plays William Lee, an American ex-pat in his late forties who leads a solitary life amidst a small working-class and collegiate community in 1950s Mexico City. However, the arrival in town of Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), a young student, stirs Lee into finally establishing a meaningful connection with someone.

Related: ‘Of Dogs And Men’ Director Dani Rosenberg & Producer Alexander Rodnaynsky Talk Making The October 7 Drama, The Petition Calling To Boycott Israeli Films & Why Their Project Is “An Important Statement About Peace” — Venice

One of the first questions raised was about filming scenes of...

Actor Daniel Craig is taking on a dramatically different character in his latest film “Queer” at this year’s Venice Film Festival. Craig, best known for playing James Bond, stars in the new movie directed by Luca Guadagnino. The festival premiered the film on Tuesday to much buzz and some controversy due to its depictions of intimate scenes between Craig and co-star Drew Starkey.

Based on a 1950s-set novel by Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs, “Queer” follows an American man living in Mexico City who develops a connection with a male student. Craig’s role marks a change from his action hero Bonds. He plays a more emotional and vulnerable character exploring queer themes. Filming intimate scenes between the two leads was challenging but important to depict realistically, Craig said. Extensive rehearsals and dance sessions helped Craig and Starkey feel comfortable together on screen.

Both leading actors said Guadagnino...

Daniel Craig opened up about filming sex scenes for Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” during the film’s Venice Film Festival press conference, saying he and co-star Drew Starkey “tried to make it fun.”

“You know as well as I do, there’s nothing intimate about filming a sex scene on a movie set. There’s a room full of people watching you,” Craig said. “We just wanted to make it as touching and as real and as natural as we possibly could. Drew is a wonderful, fantastic, beautiful actor to work with and we kind of had a laugh. We tried to make it fun.”

Based on the novel of the same name by William S. Burroughs, “Queer” is set in 1950s Mexico City and follows Lee (Craig), an American expat who “spends his days almost entirely alone, except for a few contacts with other members of the small American community,...

Daniel Craig cruised to Italy and is now on land at the Venice Film Festival for the Queer world premiere.

Ahead of the Luca Guadagnino film’s festival debut — taking place at Palazzo del Cinema’s Sala Grande in the early evening on Tuesday — Queer was toasted at a pre-premiere celebration courtesy of Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson and W Magazine’s editor-in-chief Sara Moonves. Anderson served as costume designer for the A24 release, marking his second straight collaboration with Guadagnino after Challengers. Also keeping it in the family, Craig stars in Loewe’s new campaign.

Held at Il Porticciolo, the restaurant inside Hotel Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel, Venice, the intimate affair drew a shortlist of actors from Queer, fashion insiders from Loewe and festival stars. Craig arrived arm-in-arm with actress wife Rachel Weisz, who is here to support her husband as he breaks free of his James Bond persona...