Chris here. Get ready for the fall film festival announcements to start rolling in at rapid speed. NYFF just announced Alfonso Cuaron's tightly guarded Netflix saga Roma as their centerpiece (not a world premiere, so likely to pop up elsewhere), but another big reveal was just announced: Damien Chazelle's Neil Armstrong thriller First Man starring Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy is our Venice Film Festival opener. This marks the second time that Chazelle has been invited to open the Lido after La La Land, but this go around looks to be a very different spectacle from the director.
Things have been quiet on the film since that first trailer, but the Venice opening spot should stir up quite a bit of attention before the film opens on October 12. The rest of the Venice lineup will be announced next week, July 25. While Venice trophies don't always translate to Oscar glory, last year's top prize Golden Lion winner The Shape of Water was our eventual Best Picture winner. Could First Man have a similarly successful launch? Oh the joys the fall festival season!