Alfonso Cuarón’s Buzzy Apple Series ‘Disclaimer’ Gets Rousing Reception at Venice World Premiere
Five-time Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón may need to save a space on his mantle that’s roughly the size of an Emmy.
The acclaimed Mexican auteur’s long-in-the-making streaming series debut, Disclaimer, received an enthusiastic standing ovation at its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday night. Cuarón and his backers at Apple Studios treated the black-tie crowd in Italy to the first four episodes of the show — shown in sequence like the first half of a very long film. But despite the lengthy, three-hour-plus runtime, the audience was quick to its feet to applaud as the house lights came up inside Venice’s Sala Grande cinema.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Venice Day 2 Diary: Flip Flops on the Red Carpet, 'Beetlejuice' Cosplayers, Angry Journalists
'Riefenstahl' Review: Doc Mines Nazi Chronicler's Estate for Compelling but Familiar Insight
Told in seven chapters, Disclaimer is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Renée Knight. The series’ cast, led by Oscar winners Cate Blanchett and Kevin Klein, walked the Venice red carpet under a searing Italian sun alongside Cuarón.
Blanchett, in particular, drew a burst of cheers upon her arrival — although she was not naked, as she had jokingly suggested earlier in the day — dressed in a simple but stunning black pantsuit with a plunging neckline and a piled necklace of beads at the back. She was followed by co-stars Sacha Baron Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Louis Partidge, Leila George D’Onofrio and Hoyeon.
Hoyeon, a fashion influencer and the breakout star of Netflix’s Squid Game, was the main attraction for many of the Gen-Z festivalgoers lining the Venice carpet, as they erupted in cheers when she stepped out to join Blanchett for the cameras.
Disclaimer tells the story of Catherine Ravenscroft (Blanchett), an acclaimed journalist who has built her reputation by revealing the misdeeds and transgressions of others. But when she receives a novel from an unknown author, she is horrified to realize she is now the main character in a story that exposes her own darkest secrets. As Catherine races to uncover the writer’s true identity, she is forced to confront her past before it destroys both her life and her relationships with her husband Robert (Baron Cohen) and their son Nicholas (Smit-McPhee).
The series launches worldwide on Apple TV+ on Oct. 11 with the first two episodes, followed by new episodes every Friday. The show marks Cuarón’s first series under his overall deal with Apple Studios.
Earlier in the day, Cuarón, Blanchett and Klein met the press in Venice to discuss the making of Disclaimer, with the director saying they approached the project as if they were making one huge film rather than a TV series — which is exactly how the lucky crowd inside Venice’s Sala Grande got to experience it.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
Sign up for Hollywoodreporter's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
