US movies headline Venice Film Festival (AP)

ROME – American filmmakers dominate the lineup of this year's Venice Film Festival, where George Clooney and four others will be competing for the Golden Lion, while Madonna, Al Pacino and Steven Soderbergh will premiere their latest directorial efforts.

The strong lineup also includes Roman Polanski, presenting "Carnage," an adaptation of the Broadway show "God of Carnage" featuring Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz; David Cronenberg's take on psychoanalysis in "A Dangerous Method," featuring Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender; and "Shame," a drama by British director Steve McQueen featuring Fassbender and Carey Mulligan.

All 22 movies in competition at the world's oldest festival are world premieres, organizers said Thursday. One of the 22 titles was kept secret and will be announced in coming weeks.

"We have looked for and strengthened a relationship with American cinema each year," said festival director Marco Mueller. However, he stressed that the guidelines for selecting the movies were just "to take beautiful movies, movies that would make one think and dream."

He cited Clooney's political drama "The Ides of March" as an example of a "sharp film that takes a look at today with a critical eye." The film about corruption and idealism in American politics, which stars Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman, will open the festival on Aug. 31.

The other American movies in competition are: the end-of-the-world film "4:44 Last Day on Earth" by Abel Ferrara; "Dark Horse" starring Mia Farrow and Christopher Walken directed by Todd Solondz of "Happiness" fame; "Killer Joe," a black comedy by William Friedkin starring Matthew McConaughey in the title role; and the second feature film by Ami Canaan Mann, "Texas Killing Fields," a murder drama featuring Sam Worthington and Jessica Chastain.

Chastain, who had previously starred in "The Tree of Life," also appears in Pacino's "Wilde Salome."

The lineup suggests a star-studded red carpet, though Mueller would not say which stars will attend the festival.

Among the most highly-anticipated events is Madonna's second feature film, "W.E." The movie intercuts between the romance of a modern woman (Abbie Cornish) and the relationship of American socialite Wallis Simpson and Britain's King Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne for love in the 1930s.

The festival runs through Sept. 10. The jury awarding the Golden Lion and other official prizes is headed by American director Darren Aronofsky.

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Clooney, Madonna, Pacino set for Venice film fest (AFP)

ROME (AFP) – George Clooney, Madonna and Al Pacino will grace the red carpet at this year's Venice film festival but cult director Roman Polanski is staying away out of fear of extradition, organisers said on Thursday.

Twenty-two films -- all world premieres -- will compete for the prestigious Golden Lion award including an adaptation of manga classic "Himizu" by celebrated Japanese director Sion Sono.

Clooney's fourth film, "The Ides of March", will open the 68th edition of the festival in a glittering premiere expected to draw actors Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Evan Rachel Wood, as well as the director himself.

The Hollywood heart-throb's movie "Goodnight and Good Luck" won best screenplay and best actor awards in Venice in 2005.

Clooney doubles as the star in his latest thriller about a US presidential campaign, where a fresh-faced aide helping the Democratic governor campaign in the Ohio primaries discovers just how dirty politics can be.

Fans eagerly attending the premiere are already speculating about who will accompany the rakish 50-year old down the red carpet after he announced he had split from his Italian girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis last month.

Canadian director David Cronenberg -- known in his early horror film days as the Baron of Blood -- brings his "A Dangerous Method" to the competition, with stars Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender and Vincent Cassel.

The film, adapted from a 2002 stage play, is set on the eve of World War II and is based on the tempestuous relationship between psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, his pupil Carl Jung and a bewitching woman who comes between them.

Roman Polanski's "Carnage" will see stars Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet besieged by paparazzi, though the controversial Polish director "cannot be present for legal reasons," festival director Marco Mueller told journalists.

The acclaimed filmmaker is wanted in the United States for alleged sexual assault dating back to 1977.

Polanski has stayed in France since he was detained for months in Switzerland in 2009 and 2010 and fears extradition from other European countries, notably Italy, which has a long history of such cooperation with the United States.

While "Carnage" is set in Brooklyn in New York, it was shot in Paris. Based on an acclaimed French play, the comedy-drama follows two sets of parents who meet up to talk after their children get into a fight at school.

The films have been chosen because they "move and challenge viewers with captivating images which inspire both fantasy and reflection," said Mueller, who has been at the helm of the oldest cinema festival in the world for a decade.

The five US films taking part in the competition include Ami Cannan Mann's "Texas Killing Fields" and Todd Solondz's "Dark Horse" -- while the three British works include Steve McQueen's "Shame", starring Fassbender.

For Asia, co-productions between China, Taiwan and Hong Kong -- Te-Sheng Wei's "Seediq Bale" and Ann Hui's "Taojie" -- are also competing alongside Japan's "Himizu", a pscghological drama based on the famous manga series.

Out of competition screenings are also expected to draw large crowds with Madonna hoping for a better reception from the critics for "W.E.", a film about King Edward VIII's romance with American divorcee Wallis Simpson, than she had for her first effort as a director, "Filth and Wisdom."

"The Godfather" star Al Pacino meanwhile will be presenting his third film as a director, with a version of Oscar Wilde's once-banned "Salome", a grisly tale of lust and greed.

Part documentary, part drama, the film stars Pacino as King Herod.

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