New York (AP) — The strike by North American actors is also impacting the opening of the Venice Film Festival. The American film “Challengers”, which was actually planned as the opening film, will be replaced by “Comandante” by director Edoardo De Angelis, organizers announced on Friday. “Challengers” by Luca Guadagnino with star actress Zendaya “will not participate in the festival due to a decision made by the production”, he specified. The 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival kicks off at the end of August.

According to US media, the romantic tennis drama’s opening date has been pushed back to 2024, even though it has already been filmed. The reason is that the producers of “Challengers” fear that the film would be less successful without the active marketing work of Zendaya, who has more than 180 million followers on Instagram. Due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes in the United States and Canada, Zendaya is not allowed to promote her film or perform in Venice. The same goes for actors Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, also involved in the film.

Actors and actresses have been on strike across North America for the past week. The screenwriters are also on strike – the first double strike in over 60 years. These include disputes over remuneration and the use of artificial intelligence. SAG-AFTRA has 160,000 members. Filming is likely to be idle across the country indefinitely.