Entertainment
Ranking 2023 Venice Film Festival Screenings by Length of Standing Ovations on September 7, 2023 at 7:48 pm Us Weekly

A24 Flims
The Venice Film Festival is all about the stars, the screenings and the standing ovations.
Over the years, Cannes, Venice and Berlin’s respective film festivals have made headlines for how long the audience claps for each screening, with the majority of movies receiving applause that lasts for minutes on end.
Cannes director Thierry Fremaux addressed the cultural phenomenon in September, telling IndieWire, “I consider it as part of my job. I pay attention to the screening, how long to keep the room in the dark, whether to cut the credits or not, the best moment to turn on the light, et cetera. Every screening is a celebration, and the participation of the audience makes that celebration much better. People want to participate!”
Fremaux also discussed the recent increase in participation, adding, “Since COVID, being in a movie theater with a great film in the presence of artists is a beautiful privilege. That explains the recent generosity.”
Scroll down to see the ranking of screenings from the Venice Film Festival:
‘Aggro Dr1ft’ (10 Minutes)
More than a dozen audience members left while the experimental action film was still playing in the theater. Director Harmony Korine still received a 10-minute ovation after Aggro Dr1ft finished.
‘Poor Things’ (8 Minutes)
Atsushi Nishijima/20th Century Studios
The film, which is based on a novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray, earned an eight-minute standing ovation at its world premiere. Poor Things stars Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott and Jerrod Carmichael.
‘Priscilla’ (7 Minutes)
Sofia Coppola’s adaptation of Priscilla Presley‘s book about her romance with Elvis Presley received a seven-minute standing ovation. Priscilla was visibly emotional after watching the A24 indie film alongside cast Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi.
‘Maestro’ (7 Minutes)
The film which tells the story of stage composer Leonard Bernstein’s life got a seven-minute standing ovation. Bradley Cooper, who plays Bernstein, was not in attendance at the event along with his costars due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
‘Dogman’ (6 Minutes)
Youtube
Director Luc Besson was honored with a six-minute ovation during his Venice Film Festival debut with Dogman.
‘Origin’ (6 Minutes)
Ava DuVernay made history as the first African American woman with a movie in competition at the Venice Film Festival while debuting Origin. Audience members were in tears while watching an adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste: The Origin of Our Discontent — which led to a nearly six-minute ovation.
‘Ferrari’ (6 Minutes)
Youtube
Adam Driver got teary-eyed after his performance in Michael Mann’s Ferrari earned a six-minute standing ovation.
‘Hit Man’ (5 Minutes)
Director Richard Linklater handed out high fives after getting a five-minute standing ovation for his film, which stars Glen Powell.
‘The Killer’ (5 Minutes)
The Netflix film received a five-minute standing ovation at the prestigious festival.
‘Henry Sugar’ (4 Minutes)
Wes Anderson appeared thrilled by the four-minute standing ovation in response to his 40-minute short film.
‘Coup de Chance’ (3 Minutes)
Audience members delivered a three-minute standing ovation for Coup de Chance before director Woody Allen exited the theater.
‘The Palace’ (3 Minutes)
Roman Polanski‘s return to Venice Film Festival earned him a three-minute standing ovation by film fans.
‘Comandante’ (90 Seconds)
The World War II drama, which took the opening slot that was originally bestowed to Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, received a brief 90-second standing ovation. Challengers was originally planned to open the film festival but the SAG strike rules dictated that the movie’s stars including Zendaya wouldn’t be able to attend and promote the project.
A24 Flims The Venice Film Festival is all about the stars, the screenings and the standing ovations. Over the years, Cannes, Venice and Berlin’s respective film festivals have made headlines for how long the audience claps for each screening, with the majority of movies receiving applause that lasts for minutes on end. Cannes director Thierry
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Entertainment
South Park’s Christmas Episode Delivers the Antichrist

A new Christmas-themed episode of South Park is scheduled to air with a central plot in which Satan is depicted as preparing for the birth of an Antichrist figure. The premise extends a season-long narrative arc that has involved Satan, Donald Trump, and apocalyptic rhetoric, positioning this holiday episode as a culmination of those storylines rather than a stand‑alone concept.
Episode premise and season context
According to published synopses and entertainment coverage, the episode frames the Antichrist as part of a fictional storyline that blends religious symbolism with commentary on politics, media, and cultural fear. This follows earlier Season 28 episodes that introduced ideas about Trump fathering an Antichrist child and tech billionaire Peter Thiel obsessing over prophecy and end‑times narratives. The Christmas setting is presented as a contrast to the darker themes, reflecting the series’ pattern of pairing holiday imagery with controversial subject matter.
Public and political reactions
Coverage notes that some figures connected to Donald Trump’s political orbit have criticized the season’s portrayal of Trump and his allies, describing the show as relying on shock tactics rather than substantive critique. Commentators highlight that these objections are directed more at the depiction of real political figures and the show’s tone than at the specific theology of the Antichrist storyline.
At the time of reporting, there have not been widely reported, detailed statements from major religious leaders focused solely on this Christmas episode, though religion-focused criticism of South Park in general has a long history.
Media and cultural commentary
Entertainment outlets such as The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, Forbes, Slate, and USA Today describe the Antichrist arc as part of South Park’s ongoing use of Trump-era and tech-world politics as material for satire.
Viewer guidance and content advisory
South Park is rated TV‑MA and is intended for adult audiences due to strong language, explicit themes, and frequent use of religious and political satire. Viewers who are sensitive to depictions of Satan, the Antichrist, or parodies involving real political figures may find this episode particularly objectionable, while others may view it as consistent with the show’s long‑running approach to controversial topics. As with previous episodes, individual responses are likely to vary widely, and the episode is best understood as part of an ongoing satirical series rather than a factual or theological statement.
Entertainment
Sydney Sweeney Finally Confronts the Plastic Surgery Rumors

Sydney Sweeney has decided she is finished watching strangers on the internet treat her face like a forensic project. After years of side‑by‑side screenshots, “then vs now” TikToks, and long comment threads wondering what work she has supposedly had done, the actor is now addressing the plastic surgery rumors directly—and using them to say something larger about how women are looked at in Hollywood and online.

Growing Up on Camera vs. “Before and After” Culture
Sweeney points out that people are often mistaking normal changes for procedures: she grew up on camera, her roles now come with big‑budget glam teams, and her body has shifted as she has trained, aged, and worked nonstop. Yet every new red‑carpet photo gets folded into a narrative that assumes surgeons, not time, are responsible. Rather than walking through a checklist of what is “real,” she emphasizes how bizarre it is that internet detectives comb through pores, noses, and jawlines as if they are owed an explanation for every contour of a woman’s face.
The Real Problem Isn’t Her Face
By speaking up, Sweeney is redirecting the conversation away from her features and toward the culture that obsesses over them.
She argues that the real issue isn’t whether an actress has had work done, but why audiences feel so entitled to dissect her body as public property in the first place.
For her, the constant speculation is less about curiosity and more about control—another way to tell women what they should look like and punish them when they do not fit. In calling out that dynamic, Sweeney isn’t just defending herself; she is forcing fans and followers to ask why tearing apart someone else’s appearance has become such a popular form of entertainment.
Entertainment
Netflix’s $82.7 Billion Warner Bros Deal Signals the Rise of a New Hollywood Power

For years, Netflix was the outsider—the tech disruptor knocking on the studio gates.
With its $82.7 billion move to acquire Warner Bros, it is no longer knocking; it is taking the keys and changing the locks.
The deal transforms Netflix from pure‑play streamer into a full‑scale studio‑streamer hybrid, fusing Silicon Valley’s data obsession with a century of Hollywood storytelling muscle.
From red envelopes to studio gates
Netflix’s journey from DVD‑by‑mail upstart to owner of a legacy studio is not just a growth story; it is a generational power shift. Warner Bros once embodied the old studio system, with backlots, soundstages, and iconic franchises like DC, “Harry Potter,” and “Game of Thrones.” By absorbing that machine, Netflix is effectively buying time—decades of brand equity and infrastructure it could never build from scratch at the same speed.

The move also closes a chaotic chapter for Warner Bros Discovery, which has wrestled with streaming strategy, debt, and identity since its last megamerger. Selling the studio and streaming assets while spinning off cable networks is a tacit admission that the future of this business is on‑demand, not in linear bundles.
What this new giant actually controls
Once the ink is dry, Netflix will not just host Warner content; it will own the pipes that create it. That means control of blockbuster IP, a deep catalog, HBO’s prestige engine, and global distribution to hundreds of millions of subscribers. In practical terms, one company will decide where and how a massive portion of premium film and TV reaches audiences worldwide.
This is where the “new Hollywood power” language earns its weight.
Disney may still be the benchmark for franchise dominance, but Netflix plus Warner tilts the axis of competition. The question is no longer whether streaming can rival studios; it is whether any traditional studio can rival a platform that has become a studio.
The upside—and the anxiety
For viewers, the upside is obvious: more of what they love in one place, fewer log‑ins, and the thrill of seeing HBO‑level shows and Warner‑scale films flowing through Netflix’s global pipeline. For creators and competitors, the mood is more complicated. Labor groups are already warning about reduced competition for scripts and talent, while regulators eye the merger as another test case in how far media consolidation can go.

The Trump administration’s stance on large media deals adds another layer of uncertainty, with analysts openly debating whether political pressure could reshape or stall the transaction. In other words, this is not just a business story; it is a power story, with cultural, economic, and political stakes colliding in one headline‑ready package.
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