John Malkovich grew emotional as his new film Wild Horse Nine received what will likely be one of the longest standing ovations of this year’s Venice Film Festival.
The US actor stars with Sam Rockwell in the black comedy action thriller written and directed by Martin McDonagh, with Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits and Parker Posey also featuring.
At its world premiere in Venice on Thursday (3 September), Wild Horse Nine galloped into the Oscars race with a 13-minute standing ovation, also drawing applause twice during the screening – including at a moment when Malkovich’s character goes on a rant about cheese, Variety reported.
Set in 1973, the movie follows two CIA officers (Malkovich and Rockwell) who have been dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island shortly before the Chilean military coup that overthrew socialist president Salvador Allende.
open image in galleryMalkovich, 72, said he had previously been forced to turn down projects by McDonagh (Banshees of Inisherin; In Bruges) due to other commitments, but fortunately had a clear schedule when the “beautiful” script for Wild Horse Nine was sent to him.
The actor also played down early speculation that the film would be an Oscar contender, stating: “I’ve had really spectacular collaborators and collaborations with directors, writers and actors. So I never feel in competition with any of them because generally I love them too.
“So for me it’s a very nice thing, but the nicest thing is that the film gets attention – the film has several terrific performers and it’s beautifully written and beautifully directed and that’s what matters the most to me.”
open image in galleryMcDonagh’s previous two films, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshees of Inisherin, both premiered at Venice and went on to receive multiple Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
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Three Billboards won two Academy Awards, for Rockwell (Best Supporting Actor) and Frances McDormand (Best Actress).
During his appearance at Venice, Malkovich also addressed speculation that he might be planning to step back from Hollywood.
“As far as what I want to do – carry on. I mean, I’m pretty much doing, and I’ve been doing what I love my whole life, and I plan to carry on doing that,” he said, People reported.
He added: “I don’t plan to retire because I think they will retire me when it’s time. That seems to be the natural course of things.”