Willem Dafoe and Greta Lee made a notable appearance at the Venice Film Festival this past weekend during the premiere of Late Fame, directed by Kent Jones. This playful drama is featured in the festival’s Orizzonti sidebar and marks a significant moment for the actors and director alike.
In the film, Dafoe portrays Ed Saxberger, a once-prominent New York poet whose life has settled into obscurity as a post office employee. The story unfolds as Saxberger is unexpectedly ‘rediscovered’ by a group of young admirers longing for the artistic spirit of late 1970s and early 1980s New York. Lee plays Gloria, an older woman embraced by this group as their “tragic heroine.” The ensemble cast also includes Edmund Donovan, Clay Singer, Luca Padovan, Jake Lacy, Tom Torn, and Clark Johnson.
A Glimpse Into the Film
Deadline has released an exclusive clip showcasing the moment Gloria is introduced to Saxberger. Their initial meeting leaves him intrigued, yet he soon discovers that her vibrant persona conceals a more complex reality. The screenplay for Late Fame was penned by Samy Burch, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter known for her work on May December, and is based on the eponymous novel by late Austrian writer Arthur Schnitzler, set in the 1890s.
This film represents Jones’ second foray into fiction after his 2019 release Diana. He has also directed acclaimed non-fiction works such as Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015) and A Letter to Elia, co-directed with Martin Scorsese. The collaboration with Scorsese continued with the documentary My Voyage to Italy (1999), showcasing Jones’ versatility across genres.
Creative Vision Behind ‘Late Fame’
Reflecting on the project, Jones expressed his reaction to Burch’s script, stating, “The very first time I read Samy’s script, so emotionally varied and knotty, so funny and so bracingly frank, the film started forming in my mind.” He envisioned the vibrant characters and the contrasting landscapes of contemporary New York and its artistic past, describing the presence of poetry as “forever fragile and at its very best forever free.”
Late Fame is produced by Killer Films in association with Fresh Fish Films, Working Barn Productions, Morning Moon Productions, and mk2 Films, which is also handling international sales for the film. The blend of talent both in front of and behind the camera sets the stage for what promises to be a compelling exploration of art, memory, and the complexities of human relationships.
