Kathryn Bigelow unveils political thriller ‘A House of Dynamite’ at Venice Film Festival
By LINDSEY BAHR
AP Film Writer
VENICE, Italy (AP) — Kathryn Bigelow tackles geopolitics in her new film “A House of Dynamite,” which has its world premiere on Tuesday at the Venice Film Festival.
The film is about an imminent missile strike on the U.S., from an unknown aggressor, and how the White House responds.
“I grew up in an era when hiding under your school desk was considered the go-to protocol for surviving an atomic bomb,” Bigelow said in her director’s statement. “Today, the danger has only escalated. Multiple nations possess enough nuclear weapons to end civilization within minutes. And yet, there’s a kind of collective numbness — a quiet normalization of the unthinkable.”
She added that she wanted to make a film that confronts this paradox — “to explore the madness of a world that lives under the constant shadow of annihilation, yet rarely speaks of it.”
It’s Bigelow’s first film since the 2017 release of “Detroit.” Her most acclaimed films have been politically themed, from “The Hurt Locker,” for which she became the first woman to win the best director Oscar, to “Zero Dark Thirty.”
“A House of Dynamite” was written by former NBC News President Noah Oppenheim, who won best screenplay at the festival for “Jackie” in 2016.
“A House of Dynamite” is one of three Netflix films playing in competition, alongside Guillermo del Toro’s classically gothic “Frankenstein” and Noah Baumbach’s Hollywood drama “Jay Kelly.” The streamer still doesn’t have a best picture win in its arsenal, and Venice has proved itself to be a solid launching pad for awards hopefuls.
The film, which will be released in theaters on Oct. 10 before streaming on Oct. 24, stars Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson, and boasts a large supporting cast, including Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos and Greta Lee.
The Venice awards, which will be decided on by the Alexander Payne-led jury, will be handed out at the close of the festival on Sept. 6.
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