Venice Film Festival welcomes Pitt and Clooney, and their new film ‘Wolfs’

VENICE, Italy (AP) — George Clooney and Brad Pitt returned to the Venice Film Festival on Sunday for the world premiere of “Wolfs.”

Before hitting the red carpet, the Hollywood stars reflected on reuniting, the rise of streaming and Clooney’s New York Times op-ed urging President Joe Biden to end his reelection bid.

Asked about the impact of his piece, Clooney said he’d not yet had to answer that question.

“The person who should be applauded is the president who did the most selfless thing anyone’s done since George Washington,” Clooney said. “All the machinations that got us there, none of that’s going to be remembered. And it shouldn’t be. What should be remembered is the selfless act.”

Clooney continued: “It’s very hard to let go of power. We know that. We’ve seen that all around the world. For someone to say, I think there’s a better way forward? All credit goes to him.”

Most of the discussion was focused on the film, however, an old school action thriller directed by Jon Watts, in which they play lone wolf fixers unhappy to have been hired for the same job to cover up a bloody mess involving a district attorney (played by Amy Ryan).

The film will have a limited theatrical release, starting Sept. 20, before hitting Apple TV+ on Sept. 27. Apple TV+ acquired “Wolfs” in a competitive bidding war, beating out both traditional studios and rival streaming services.

Deadline reported in 2021 that the understanding was that it would come with a robust theatrical release, something the stars may have also forfeited money to ensure, the trade publication said. Then, several weeks ago the streamer announced different plans: Theatrical would be limited. Streaming would be quick.

Clooney confirmed that they did forfeit some of their salaries to guarantee a theatrical release and that it’s a “bummer” that it won’t be wider than a few hundred theaters.

“We would have liked it, we wanted it. That’s why Brad and I gave some of our money back,” he said, adding that a report in the New York Times overestimated the dollar amount of their salaries by millions.

Far from being anti-streaming, however, Clooney said that everyone is simply finding their way during this revolution. There are bumps and mistakes, but there’s also much more opportunities for actors, he said.

“Streaming, we need it, our industry needs it,” Clooney said. “They also benefit from having films released … and we’re figuring it out, we haven’t gotten it figured out yet.”

Producer and Plan B executive Jeremy Kliner, who has worked with Pitt for over 20 years, said that they make films believing in their shelf lives, and that they’re doing something worthwhile.

Pitt added: “I think we’ll always be romantic about the theatrical experience but at the same time I love the existence of streamers … it’s a delicate balance. It’ll right itself.”

Though both regulars at the picturesque festival on their own, with Clooney’s premieres including “Gravity” and “Good Night and Good Luck,” and “Ad Astra” and “The Assassination of Jesse James…” among Pitt’s, only once have they walked the carpet together. No, it wasn’t for an Ocean’s film. It was in 2008, for the premiere of “Burn After Reading,” the madcap Coen brothers’ farce in which they share one memorable scene.

“In ‘Burn After Reading’ I got the extreme pleasure of shooting him in the face and I thought maybe we’d try it again 15 years later,” Clooney said with a laugh.

The two teased one another about each other’s age and relevance, with Clooney joking that Pitt is 74 and lucky to be working at his age. (Clooney, for the record, is 63. Pitt is 60.)

Pitt was waiting for a good idea to reunite with Clooney on screen and thought the idea of two cleaners who think they’re the best sounded fun. Their years of working together made their banter, and overlapping dialogue, natural to do.

“As I get older, just working with the people that I just really enjoy spending time with has become really important to me,” Pitt said.

When they got the script, they said Watts hadn’t specified who was playing which part so Pitt and Clooney got on the phone and figured it out for themselves.

Pitt arrived at the festival just days apart from his ex, Angelina Jolie, who received praise for her turn as opera singer Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s “Maria” and left Italy for another festival soon after.

Pitt and Jolie had been romantic partners for a decade when they married in 2014. Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, and a judge declared them single in 2019, but the divorce case has not been finalized with custody and financial issues still in dispute. Several weeks ago, a Los Angeles court granted a petition from the third-eldest child of the former couple to legally change her name from Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie.

The film’s director, who catapulted from indies to the Tom Holland Spider-Man films, said in a director’s statement that this film is him trying to get back to street level after “seven years of swinging from skyscrapers and jumping through multiverse portals.” He was unable to speak about the film with his stars after testing positive for COVID-19.

“He flew all the way here and then he got COVID,” Clooney said. “So now we’re all going to get it.”

For more coverage of the 2024 Venice Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/venice-film-festival

Brad Pitt, second form right, poses for a selfie with the photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

Brad Pitt, second form right, poses for a selfie with the photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

Brad Pitt, left, and Ines de Ramon pose for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

Brad Pitt, left, and Ines de Ramon upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

Brad Pitt poses for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

Amal Clooney, from left, George Clooney, Ines de Ramon, and Brad Pitt pose for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

Amal Clooney, left, and George Clooney pose for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Amal Clooney, left, and George Clooney pose for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

George Clooney poses for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

George Clooney, right, and Amal Clooney pose for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

Brad Pitt, left, and George Clooney pose for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Amal Clooney, left, and George Clooney pose for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

George Clooney poses for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

George Clooney, from left, Austin Abrams, Amy Ryan and Brad Pitt pose for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Amal Clooney, left, and George Clooney pose for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Brad Pitt, left, and George Clooney pose for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Amal Clooney, left, and George Clooney pose for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

Director Jon Watts, from left, Brad Pitt, Austin Abrams, Amy Ryan and George Clooney pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

George Clooney, left, and Brad Pitt pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

George Clooney, left, and Brad Pitt pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

George Clooney, left, and Brad Pitt pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Brad Pitt poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

George Clooney, left, and Brad Pitt pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

George Clooney poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Brad Pitt, left, and George Clooney pose for photographers upon arrival for the press conference of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

George Clooney, left, and Brad Pitt upon arrival for the press conference of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

George Clooney, left, and Brad Pitt upon arrival for the press conference of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Brad Pitt, left, and George Clooney pose for photographers upon arrival for the press conference of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

George Clooney, left, and Brad Pitt upon arrival for the press conference of the film 'Wolfs' during the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

FILE - Actors George Clooney, left, and Brad Pitt appear at the photo call for their movie "Burn After Reading" at the 65th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy on Aug. 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)

FILE - Actors Brad Pitt, left, and George Clooney appear at the screening of the movie "Burn After Reading," opening the 65th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy on Aug. 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a government shutdown deadline, the Senate rushed through final passage early Saturday of a bipartisan plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, dropping President-elect Donald Trump's demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.

House Speaker Mike Johnson had insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. But the day's outcome was uncertain after Trump doubled down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal — if not, he said in an early morning post, let the closures “start now.”

The House approved Johnson's new bill overwhelmingly, 366-34. The Senate worked into the night to pass it, 85-11, just after the deadline. At midnight, the White House said it had ceased shutdown preparations.

“This is a good outcome for the country, ” Johnson said after the House vote, adding he had spoken with Trump and the president-elect “was certainly happy about this outcome, as well.”

President Joe Biden, who has played a less public role in the process throughout a turbulent week, was expected to sign the measure into law Saturday.

“There will be no government shutdown," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

The final product was the third attempt from Johnson, the beleaguered House speaker, to achieve one of the basic requirements of the federal government — keeping it open. And it raised stark questions about whether Johnson will be able to keep his job, in the face of angry GOP colleagues, and work alongside Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk, who called the legislative plays from afar.

Trump's last-minute demand was almost an impossible ask, and Johnson had almost no choice but to work around his pressure for a debt ceiling increase. The speaker knew there wouldn’t be enough support within the GOP majority to pass any funding package, since many Republican deficit hawks prefer to slash federal government and certainly wouldn’t allow more debt.

Instead, the Republicans, who will have full control of the White House, House and Senate next year, with big plans for tax cuts and other priorities, are showing they must routinely rely on Democrats for the votes needed to keep up with the routine operations of governing.

“So is this a Republican bill or a Democrat bill?” scoffed Musk on social media ahead of the vote.

The drastically slimmed-down 118-page package would fund the government at current levels through March 14 and add $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers.

Gone is Trump’s demand to lift the debt ceiling, which GOP leaders told lawmakers would be debated as part of their tax and border packages in the new year. Republicans made a so-called handshake agreement to raise the debt limit at that time while also cutting $2.5 trillion in spending over 10 years.

It’s essentially the same deal that flopped the night before in a spectacular setback — opposed by most Democrats and some of the most conservative Republicans — minus Trump’s debt ceiling demand.

But it's far smaller than the original bipartisan accord Johnson struck with Democratic and Republican leaders — a 1,500-page bill that Trump and Musk rejected, forcing him to start over. It was stuffed with a long list of other bills — including much-derided pay raises for lawmakers — but also other measures with broad bipartisan support that now have a tougher path to becoming law.

House Democrats were cool to the latest effort after Johnson reneged on the hard-fought bipartisan compromise.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said it looked like Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, was calling the shots for Trump and Republicans.

“Who is in charge?” she asked during the debate.

Still, the House Democrats put up more votes than Republicans for the bill's passage. Almost three dozen conservative House Republicans voted against it.

“The House Democrats have successfully stopped extreme MAGA Republicans from shutting down the government, crashing the economy and hurting working-class Americans all across the nation,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, referring to Trump's “Make America Great Again” slogan.

In the Senate, almost all the opposition came from the Republicans — except independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who said Musk's interference was “not democracy, that's oligarchy.”

Trump, who has not yet been sworn into office, is showing the power but also the limits of his sway with Congress, as he intervenes and orchestrates affairs from Mar-a-Lago alongside Musk, who is heading up the new Department of Government Efficiency.

The incoming Trump administration vows to slash the federal budget and fire thousands of employees and is counting on Republicans for a big tax package. And Trump's not fearful of shutdowns the way lawmakers are, having sparked the longest government shutdown in history in his first term at the White House.

“If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now,” Trump posted early in the morning on social media.

More important for the president-elect was his demand for pushing the thorny debt ceiling debate off the table before he returns to the White House. The federal debt limit expires Jan. 1, and Trump doesn't want the first months of his new administration saddled with tough negotiations in Congress to lift the nation's borrowing capacity. Now Johnson will be on the hook to deliver.

“Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling,” Trump posted — increasing his demand for a new five-year debt limit increase. "Without this, we should never make a deal."

Government workers had already been told to prepare for a federal shutdown that would send millions of employees — and members of the military — into the holiday season without paychecks.

Biden has been in discussions with Jeffries and Schumer, but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “Republicans blew up this deal. They did, and they need to fix this.”

As the day dragged on, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell stepped in to remind colleagues “how harmful it is to shut the government down, and how foolish it is to bet your own side won’t take the blame for it.”

At one point, Johnson asked House Republicans at a lunchtime meeting for a show of hands as they tried to choose the path forward.

It wasn’t just the shutdown, but the speaker’s job on the line. The speaker’s election is the first vote of the new Congress, which convenes Jan. 3, and some Trump allies have floated Musk for speaker.

Johnson said he spoke to Musk ahead of the vote Friday and they talked about the “extraordinary challenges of this job.”

Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Stephen Groves, Mary Clare Jalonick, Darlene Superville and Bill Barrow contributed to this report.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., celebrates as the Senate begins voting on the government funding bill just in time to meet the midnight deadline, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., celebrates as the Senate begins voting on the government funding bill just in time to meet the midnight deadline, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters after passing the funding bill to avert the government shutdown at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters after passing the funding bill to avert the government shutdown at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The Capitol is pictured in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., emerges from a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., emerges from a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., talks with reporters after attending a meeting with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., as the House works on a spending bill to avert a shutdown of the Federal Government, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

FILE - President-elect Donald Trump poses for a photo with Dana White, Kid Rock and Elon Musk at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden, Nov. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks briefly to reporters just before a vote on an interim spending bill to prevent a government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. The vote failed to pass. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)