In what will definitely be one of the biggest moments at this year's Venice Film Festival, Martin McDonagh's "Wild Horse Nine" got a huge standing ovation.The movie got 13 minutes of strong applause at its first showing on Thursday night and is now in the running for an Oscar.
John Malkovich, who stars with Sam Rockwell in the film, was really moved, and McDonagh looked touched by the cheers.
Sam's partner, Leslie Bibb, who is known from "White Lotus," was especially excited, cheering loudly and clapping a lot.In fact, it was a reunion of "White Lotus" cast members as Bibb's Season 3 co-star, Parker Posey—who also appears in the movie—was also emotional, wiping her eyes and saying something about the hot temperature in the theater.As the applause kept going, McDonagh and Rockwell went into the crowd to shake hands and sign autographs.
Set in 1973, "Wild Horse Nine" follows two CIA officers, played by Malkovich and Rockwell, who are sent from Santiago to Easter Island just before the Chilean military coup that ended the government of socialist president Salvador Allende.
Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits, and Posey also appear in the movie.During the screening, the audience cheered twice—once when Malkovich's character made a long speech about cheese and again when he said he really wanted to visit Venice, Italy.That's pretty fitting, right?
Before heading into the Sala Grande theater at the Palazzo del Cinema, McDonagh was joined by his partner, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and was swatting away mosquitoes as he posed for pictures on the famous red carpet.
The pair were laughing and enjoying the busy scene around them.Meanwhile, Bibb stood nearby with Buscemi and applauded for Rockwell, who was smiling and waving to fans.
"Wild Horse Nine," which is competing for the Golden Lion, is McDonagh's third movie to debut at Venice after "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" in 2017 and "The Banshees of Inisherin" in 2022.
"Three Billboards" won the best screenplay prize at Venice before getting seven Oscar nominations and two wins, for Frances McDormand and Rockwell.Five years later, "The Banshees of Inisherin" won another screenplay prize at Venice and earned Colin Farrell the Volpi Cup for best actor, before getting nine Academy Award nominations.
Malkovich is already getting a lot of attention for his role in "Wild Horse Nine." Known for stealing scenes in movies like "Dangerous Liaisons," "Being John Malkovich," "In the Line of Fire," and "Empire of the Sun," he has been nominated for two Academy Awards but hasn't won yet.
However, he's not ready to start thinking about an acceptance speech.
"That's an incredibly kind thing," Malkovich said at a press conference."For me, it's a very nice thing.But the nicest thing is the film getting attention.And the film has some really great actors and is beautifully written and directed.That's what matters most to me."
