Festival goers pass the red carpet of the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Aug. 27, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer\/Invision\/AP, File)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-08-30T06:03:26Z<\/p>\n
August can be a dreary month for Hollywood glamour, but the Venice Film Festival is on the horizon to kick off the busy fall film festival season in style. <\/p>\n
There will be plenty of stars gracing the red carpets when the 83rd edition of the festival<\/a><\/span> kicks off Wednesday on the Lido: Noel and Liam Gallagher, Robert Pattinson, Rooney Mara, George Clooney and Pen\u00e9lope Cruz are among those expected to attend. Some of the films may even become Oscar nominees.<\/p>\n But the mood feels a little different this year. There will always be a spotlight for the Hollywood contingent and the awards hopefuls posing on boats and docks in designer duds. Yet, in a lineup featuring Pattinson as \u201cTo Catch a Predator\u201d host Chris Hansen, Dakota Johnson as Marilyn Monroe, Guy Pearce as Rupert Murdoch and Clooney as, well, himself (he\u2019s getting a lifetime achievement award<\/a><\/span>, as is Ellen Burstyn), it\u2019s possible that much of the attention will be on a man who (probably) won\u2019t be there: Elon Musk<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n Alex Gibney\u2019s nearly four-hour documentary about the world\u2019s richest man has been in the works for almost four years. The Oscar-winner wasn\u2019t sure about taking it on at first, but a good friend convinced him it would be a worthy portrait of 21st-century power \u2014 and this was before the 2024 presidential campaign and DOGE<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n When the documentary was announced, Musk called it a \u201chit piece\u201d on social media. Gibney replied, \u201cHow would you know?\u201d<\/p>\nDocs feature Musk, Russia and Gaza<\/h2>\n