In what will surely be one of the biggest standing ovations at this year’s Venice Film Festival, Martin McDonagh‘s “Wild Horse Nine” received a thunderous 13 minutes of applause at its world premiere on Thursday night and stormed into the Oscar race.
John Malkovick, who stars in the movie with Sam Rockwell, got emotional and McDonagh looked touched as the cheering raged on, with Sam partner, “White Lotus” star Leslie Bibb, leading the charge with plenty of hoots and hollers. In fact, it was a “White Lotus” reunion as Bibb’s Season 3 co-star, Parker Posey — who also appears in the film — teared up while she fanned herself and mouthed about the sweltering temperature in the theater. As the applause continued, McDonagh and Rockwell went into the crowd, shaking hands and signing autographs.
Set in 1973, “Wild Horse Nine” follows two CIA officers (Malkovich and Rockwell) who are dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island shortly before the Chilean military coup that overthrew socialist president Salvador Allende. Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits and Posey round out the ensemble. During the screening, the audience broke out into applause twice — once when Malkovich’s character goes on a rant about cheese and again when he expressed a deep desire to visit Venice, Italy. Fitting, huh?
