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

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Venice Film Festival regular Luca Guadagnino is 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.

A few hours before the premiere, Craig spoke to The Associated Press about the challenges of 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.

“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.”

Craig had been aware of Burroughs and his Beat era contemporaries like Ginsberg and Kerouac but not the specifics of his time in Mexico.

“It was kind of nice digging into that,” Craig said.

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.”

Craig and Starkey star alongside Lesley Manville and Jason Schwartzman in the film, which is playing in the main competition. A24 recently acquired “Queer” for theatrical distribution.

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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