Luca Guadagnino and Daniel Craig present ‘Queer’ to Venice Film Festival

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Venice Film Festival regular Luca Guadagnino was back on the Lido to debut his new Daniel Craig film “Queer” on Tuesday night.

A festival favorite, Guadagnino had to forgo a splashy red carpet premiere for the sexy tennis drama “Challengers” last year, when the studio delayed its release amid the actors strike. But the filmmaker is returning with another highly anticipated project, adapting a William S. Burroughs novel about an American expat in Mexico City in 1950 who develops an obsession with a young, male student.

Guadagnino, 53, first read the book when he was 17 and it made a profound impact on him. He didn’t know who Burroughs was, or his significance in his time, but he fell into its world at the same time he was dreaming of building worlds of his own in movies.

“It really transformed me and changed me forever,” Guadagnino said. “Because I want to be loyal to that young boy, I want to bring this to the screen.”

A longtime fan of Craig, an actor who he said is unafraid to be fragile on screen, Guadagnino also said he never thought he’d be able to get him in a movie. But Craig’s “yes” came immediately.

“If I wasn’t in this movie, I would want to be in it,” Craig said. “These are the kinds of film I want to see, I want to make, I want to be out there…they’re challenging but they’re incredibly accessible.”

A few hours before the premiere, Craig spoke to The Associated Press about the role, which included nudity and sex scenes. His character, William Lee, spends his days drinking tequila in sweaty bars and his nights pursuing men, or doing heroin alone. It’s a raw and exposing performance, but Craig trusted his director’s vision.

“I think if it was wrong, (Luca would) say something, but if it was right, he’d just say, you know, move on. Let’s do it. Let’s go. We have it,” Craig said. “Which can be a little disconcerting, but I think after a while you just go, ‘I’m in his hands.’”

“Challengers” screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes wrote the script for “Queer,” adapting a novel that was written in the 1950s but not published until 1985. It’s a story that others have tried to adapt over the years, including Steve Buscemi and Oren Moverman. Kuritzkes also went beyond the slim text, adding a third act that isn’t there, and weaving in some of Burroughs’ own biography into the main character.

This gave Craig opportunities to study Burroughs himself for inspiration.

“I always felt that Burroughs had a very public face, and I wanted to know what the private part of him was like,” said Craig, who spoke to a few people who knew him. “I think in ‘Queer’ you sort of see more of that than you do in his other books.”

To play the young object of his affection, Eugene Allerton, Guadagnino cast rising actor Drew Starkey, who said he devoured the novel in a day. Starkey said he was intimidated to work alongside Guadagnino and Craig.

“I was familiar with both their work. I was fans of both their work,” he said. “I think coming into any situation is nerve-wracking. And there was an extra layer on top of that.”

Starkey and Craig did dance classes together to get comfortable with one another and the choreography of the intimate scenes.

“There’s nothing intimate about filming a sex scene … we just wanted to make it as touching and as real and as natural as we possibly could,” Craig said. “Drew is a wonderful, beautiful, fantastic actor to work with. We kind of had a laugh. We tried to make it fun.”

Craig and Starkey star alongside Lesley Manville and Jason Schwartzman in the film, which is playing in the main competition and will be released in theaters by A24. Guadagnino also reunited with composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the score, as well as designer Jonathan Anderson for the costumes.

“Luca is the only person I could work with in this medium because he’s the only person who gives trust to everyone and lets them paint their part of the picture,” said Anderson, who ensured that every item they used was from the period.

Instead of filming on location in Mexico City, Guadagnino chose to create the world of Burroughs’ mind inside Cinecittà Studios. He wanted to evoke the spirit of Powell and Pressburger in doing it.

Reviews for “Queer” praised Craig in particular for his vulnerable performance.

“’Queer’ is this emotional thump. It’s this tiny book. And it is about love but it’s about loss, it’s about loneliness, it’s about yearning,” Craig said. “If I was writing myself a part with all of the things I want to do this would fulfill all of them.”

The 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival has entered its final week, with the premiere of “Joker: Folie à Deux” to come on Wednesday. There have been many movie star moments, with the likes of Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton and Michael Keaton having graced the red carpet outside the Sala Grande theater.

Though no clear favorite has emerged, the films have inspired debate and discussions: “Babygirl’s” depiction of sexuality and desire; the authenticity of “Maria” and Jolie’s performance; the merits of Almodóvar working in the English language; what we really want out of a Pitt and Clooney reunion; and whether “Disclaimer,” Alfonso Cuarón’s seven-part Apple TV+ miniseries, which is not in competition, can reasonably be considered the best film of the festival.

Awards will be presented on the final day of the festival, Sept. 7.

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