Entertainment

VENICE, Italy — Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine” earned the first rapturous reception of the 2026 Venice Film Festival on Thursday, drawing a standing ovation of about 14 minutes — and by some clocks 14 minutes 44 seconds — after its world premiere in the Sala Grande, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

Set shortly before Chile’s 1973 military coup, the dark comedy-drama follows CIA agents Chris and Lee — John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell — sent from Santiago to Easter Island by their bureau chief (Steve Buscemi). Mariana di Girolamo and Ailin Salas play rebellious students who complicate the assignment; Parker Posey and Tom Waits round out a deep supporting cast in the United Kingdom-United States-Chile co-production.

Malkovich looked visibly moved during the ovation as he and Rockwell embraced repeatedly while the audience roared. McDonagh attended with partner Phoebe Waller-Bridge; Rockwell’s partner Leslie Bibb was also in the theater. The film is McDonagh’s first feature since “The Banshees of Inisherin,” which won Venice acting and screenplay prizes in 2022 en route to nine Oscar nominations.

Searchlight Pictures will release “Wild Horse Nine” in U.S. and U.K. theaters on Nov. 6 after further festival stops including Telluride and Toronto. It is one of 21 titles competing for the Golden Lion; the Maggie Gyllenhaal-led jury announces winners Sept. 12. Early reviews singled out Malkovich’s performance for awards attention while praising McDonagh’s blend of personal drama and political backdrop.

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter; Deadline.

VENICE, Italy — Werner Herzog’s “Bucking Fastard,” starring real-life sisters Rooney and Kate Mara as siblings who speak and act in unison, premiered Thursday at the Venice Film Festival to a standing ovation of nearly seven minutes, The Associated Press reported.

The 83-year-old German filmmaker said the idea traced to twins Greta and Freda Chaplin, who spoke in unison and became British tabloid figures decades ago, but the story became pure invention once someone suggested casting the Maras instead of actual twins. Herzog said he wrote the script in five days. The Maras play Jean and Joan Holbrooke on a literal and spiritual journey; Orlando Bloom plays the object of both sisters’ affections, with Domhnall Gleeson also in the cast. It is the first time the sisters have appeared together on screen.

“At first it was very daunting, the idea that we were going to be playing the same person,” Rooney Mara said. “But I think we found pretty quickly that having a lifetime together and all this history and a childhood of playing together, there was just this unspoken world between us.” Kate Mara likened speaking in unison to something musical. Herzog cut a planned two-week rehearsal to five days and told them he would meet them in Ireland “in front of my camera.”

Herzog dedicated the film to the late David Lynch, saying he wished Lynch could have been the first audience. The picture is competing for the Golden Lion after Herzog declined a non-competition Cannes invitation; it does not yet have a U.S. release date. Trade coverage timed the Sala Grande ovation at about six and a half to seven and a half minutes as Herzog wiped away tears and blew a kiss to the crowd.

Sources: AP News; The Hollywood Reporter.