VENICE, Italy (AP) 鈥� and Brad Pitt are returning to the for the world premiere of 鈥淲olfs.鈥� In the crime-thriller directed by Jon Watts, the two Hollywood stars play lone wolf fixers mistakenly hired for the same job to cover up a crime.
The film, which is not in competition, will debut for festival-goers Sunday evening on the Lido. 鈥淲olfs鈥� will have a limited theatrical release, starting Sept. 20, before hitting Apple TV+ on Sept. 27.
Though both regulars at the picturesque festival on their own, with Clooney鈥檚 premieres including 鈥淕ravity鈥� and 鈥淕ood Night and Good Luck,鈥� and 鈥淎d Astra鈥� and 鈥淭he Assassination of Jesse James鈥︹�� among Pitt鈥檚, only once have they walked the carpet together. No, it wasn鈥檛 for an Ocean鈥檚 film. It was in 2008, for the premiere of 鈥淏urn After Reading,鈥� the madcap Coen brothers鈥� farce in which they share one memorable scene.
Apple TV+ acquired 鈥淲olfs鈥� in a competitive bidding war, beating out both traditional studios and rival streaming services. Deadline reported in 2021 that the understanding was that it would come with a robust theatrical release, something the stars may have also forfeited money to ensure, the trade publication said. Then, several weeks ago the streamer announced different plans: Theatrical would be limited. Streaming would be quick.
Watts, who catapulted from indies to the Tom Holland Spider-Man films, said in a director鈥檚 statement that this film is him trying to get back to street level after 鈥渟even years of swinging from skyscrapers and jumping through multiverse portals.鈥�
鈥淚 love films about solitary professionals dedicated to their craft and always wanted to see what would happen if two of those guys were forced to work together,鈥� Watts wrote. 鈥淚 wanted to put as many of my favorite things all in one place. New York. All-one-night. Impenetrably complex crime plots. David Mamet. Buster Keaton. Snow. And above all else the pure cinematic joy of watching two incandescent movie stars face off on a giant screen.鈥�
Pitt arrives at the festival just days apart from his ex, , who received praise for her turn as opera singer Maria Callas in Pablo Larra铆n鈥檚 鈥淢aria鈥� and left Italy for another festival soon after.
Pitt and Jolie had been romantic partners for a decade when they married in 2014. Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, and a judge declared them single in 2019, but the divorce case has not been finalized with custody and financial issues still in dispute. , a Los Angeles court granted a petition from the third-eldest child of the former couple to legally change her name from Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie.
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For more coverage of the 2024 Venice Film Festival, visit .
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
