After a much-anticipated visit and more-or-less positive reviews for “The Laundromat” (see previous update), lots of additional media from the 76th Venice International Film Festival have been added to the archives. Let’s start with the videos: Full segments from the photocall, press conference and premiere have been added, as well as television interviews by the Italian Rai televsion and the Canadian Entertainment Tonight.

Hundreds of additional pictures from the arrivals, photocall, press conference and premiere have been added as well. For a complete list of all updates, have a look at the list below.

After yesterday’s world-premiere of “The Laundromat” at the 76th Venice International Film Festival, most outlets have posted their review on the film. The critics consensus is embracing, but not exactly masterful. While many have enjoyed its dark comedic style for such a bleak issue, most of the critics seem to agree that “The Laundromat” is well suited for Netflix and not an Oscar-frontrunner. A selection of reviews can be found below:

Variety, Owen Gleiberman (September 01, 2019)
Steven Soderbergh’s drama about the Panama Papers is ‘Traffic’ lite – an exposé of the global financial elite that’s at once wonkish and prankish. The funny thing is, Soderbergh has staged “The Laundromat” as if it were the dramatic equivalent of a series of shell companies. We think, at first, that Ellen is going to emerge, in her schlub-in-a-windbreaker way, as some unlikely Erin Brockovich heroine; but no, that’s not what happens. Each of the tales Soderbergh tells is a kind of deflection, an illustration of hanky-panky that isn’t, in itself, very significant but that fits into a larger mosaic of corruption and deceit.

The Guardian, Xan Brooks (September 01, 2019)
Steven Soderbergh’s wickedly entertaining romp loosely based on the uncovering of the Panama Papers is an effective mixed wash of truth and fiction. The film’s prize asset, though, is Meryl Streep, playing the role of Ellen Martin, an elderly widow on the trail of her late husband’s insurer. Ellen chases the paper trail from one shell company to the next, determined to hold someone to account, until she finally finds an address for the corporation’s head office. This turns out to be a safety deposit box on the seafront out in Nevis. “Now is the time for action,” vows Ellen, which is all well and good. But viewers hoping for a Hollywood happy ending or even a clear-cut resolution won’t find it here.

The Hollywood Reporter, Todd McCarthy (September 01, 2019)
Despite the filmmaker’s obvious smarts and oft-proven skills, there’s a kind of off-putting effrontery about Soderbergh’s approach here that rather sours the whole experience. The tone is brittle, the attitude arch, the performances by a savvy and diverse cast uneven. As is her wont and all-but-inevitable way, Streep keeps things interesting as a woman whose last big chapter in life turns on two spins of a dime from blissful retirement with her mate to confounding victimhood to determined truth-and-justice seeker, albeit one without the usual puffed-up Hollywood sanctimoniousness. Tonally unsteady as the film may be, it still seeks justice in the same way the director’s Erin Brockovich did two decades ago, with a woman leading a lonely fight against shady, obfuscating tricksters.

This afternoon, Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman and Steven Soderbergh have arrived in Venice for the world-premiere promotion of “The Laundromat” at the 76th Venice International Film Festival. So far, there are pictures from the arrivals and the photocall, with the press conference happening as we speak and the world-premiere gala set for this evening. I’m looking forward to the first reviews coming out of Venice later today, to see if it’s good entertainment, a good try, or an Oscar contender. Check back for more updates throughout the day. From the press conference: Streep reminded audiences that although the film was a comedy, the issues at hand are indeed life-threatening issues. “This is a funny way of telling a very, very dark, black-hearted joke, a joke that’s being played on all of us. It’s a crime, not without victims. And many of them are journalists. The reason that the Panama Papers were exported to the world was because there were over 300 investigative journalists who got the word of John Doe, the whistleblower from Mossack Fonseca, or who knows where out into the world.” Edit: Pictures from the premiere have been added as well.

“Some people died for it. Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese journalist, who was investigating someone at the top of the government in Malta, and his connection to the Panama Papers, was blown up in her car, in front of her home,” said Streep. “People died and people die still to get the word out. This movie is funny but it’s really, really, really important.” On playing a relentless woman who wouldn’t back now, Streep said of her character, “I guess grief is a great motivator. The parents of the children shot in the Parkland High School, the parents of the children shot in Newtown, Connecticut. Those people don’t stop. They don’t stop trying to change the world. If it’s personal, you don’t stop. And we rely on the people for whom it really counts to save us all.”

Today, Netflix has released the trailer for “The Laundromat”. The film is based on the real-life Panama Paper scandal when the secret financial records (some involving massive corruption) from a Panamanian law firm were leaked by a whistleblower to the press in 2015. The leak showed widespread tax evasion and fraud by some of the world’s most wealthy people. If, after watching the trailer, you’re left feeling like it seems awfully similar in subject matter and tone to another Soderbergh movie The Informant!, you wouldn’t be wrong. The Laundromat is written by Scott Z. Burns, the same person who wrote The Informant!. Burns also directed the forthcoming film The Report, about a lawyer looking into the CIA’s use of torture in the aftermath of 9/11. Soderbergh also produced The Report. The Netflix produced film will premiere at the Venice Film Festival this week, followed by its wide release on October 18. It also stars David Schwimmer, Will Forte and Sharon Stone. You can watch the trailer below and in the video archive. Screencaptures have been added to the photo gallery. Check back on Sunday for up-to-date coverage on the film’s world-premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

As The Hollywood Reporter writes, “The Laundromat” will hit select cinemas September 27 and then debut on Netflix on October 18 – a month earlier than the previously-announced November release. The Steven Soderbergh directed film has also expanded its festival run. After a world-premiere at the Venice Film Festival (September 01), it will be shown at the San Sebastian Film Festival’s sidebar section (no date yet) and the Toronto International Film Festival (September 09), where Streep is set to receive the inaugural TIFF Tribute Actor Award. Here’s the offcial synopsis: When her idyllic vacation takes an unthinkable turn, Ellen Martin (Meryl Streep) begins investigating a fake insurance policy, only to find herself down a rabbit hole of questionable dealings that can be linked to a Panama City law firm and its vested interest in helping the world’s wealthiest citizens amass even larger fortunes. The charming—and very well-dressed—founding partners Jürgen Mossack (Gary Oldman) and Ramón Fonseca (Antonio Banderas) are experts in the seductive ways shell companies and offshore accounts help the rich and powerful prosper. They are about to show us that Ellen’s predicament only hints at the tax evasion, bribery and other illicit absurdities that the super wealthy indulge in to support the world’s corrupt financial system.

According to Variety, Meryl Streep will receive the Toronto International Film Festival’s Tribute Actor Award during this year’s festivities. “Meryl Streep is undoubtedly one of the most talented and versatile actors of her generation,” TIFF co-head Joana Vicente said in a statement. “Her tremendous contribution to cinema, television, and the stage spans five decades; from her early roles in “The Deer Hunter,” “Kramer vs. Kramer,” and “Sophie’s Choice” to later films including “The Devil Wears Prada,” “The Iron Lady,” and “The Post,” she has portrayed characters that are as compelling as they are timeless. TIFF could not be more thrilled to honor such a skilled and exemplary artist.” Streep will be presented with the award at the Tribute Gala on Sept. 9 at Fairmont Royal Oak. Streep stars in Steven Soderbergh’s “The Laundromat,” which will have its North American premiere at TIFF. The 44th annual TIFF runs Sept. 5-15. As previously announced, Participant Media will receive the TIFF Impact Award at the gala. The recipient of the inaugural Mary Pickford Award, honoring a female emerging talent in the industry, will be announced at a later date. In addition to “The Laundromat,” this year’s lineup also includes “Joker” starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jennifer Lopez in “Hustlers” as well as “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” a Mr. Rogers biopic starring Tom Hanks as the legendary children’s television host.

Great news from Venice today. Ahead of the aforementioned premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, “The Laundromat” will also be screened (assumingly its world-premiere) at the 76th Venice Film Festival. With the announcement, a first synopsis for the film has been released which indicates that a) Streep is playing the central character of the film and b) announces James Cromwell and Sharon Stone as co-stars. As The Hollywood Reporter writes, “Netflix will have a solid lineup once again in Venice this year after scoring big last year when Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma took home the Golden Lion and the Coen Bros.’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs won the Best Screenplay award. Also from Netflix, Steven Soderbergh’s uber-timely Panama Papers comedy The Laundromat follows Meryl Streep as Ellen Martin, whose dream vacation takes a wrong turn and leads her down a rabbit hole of shady dealings that can all be traced to one Panama City law firm, run by seductive partners played by Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas. She soon learns that her minor predicament is only a drop in the bucket millions of files linking an off-shore tax scheme to the world’s richest and most powerful political leaders. The all-star cast also includes Jeffrey Wright, David Schwimmer, Larry Wilmore, Matthias Schoenaerts, James Cromwell and Sharon Stone”. After facing backlash for an almost all-male lineup in recent years, the good news is that Venice has doubled the number of female directors in competition. The bad news is that wasn’t too hard to do, going from one director to two out of 21 competition films. The 76th Venice Film Festival runs August 28 – September 07, 2019.

Lucky us! Only one day without Meryl Streep on “Big Little Lies”, and the next project is already waiting around the corner. Steven Soderbergh’s “The Laundromat” will have its world-premiere at the Toronto Film Festival before its release in theaters and on Netflix November 01, 2019. The Toronto International Film Festival seems to outdo itself year after year with its lineup of film presentations and premieres. In the 44th annual iteration of the buzzy Canadian fest, star vehicles and award season hopefuls will screen for critics and industry insiders Sept. 5–15. “Some of the year’s biggest films will land in Toronto this September,” said Bailey, co-head and artistic director of TIFF, in a statement. “Our new programming team has been hard at work for months to deliver the compelling stories, acclaimed filmmakers, and top onscreen talent that mark our two highest-profile sections.” In a record number for the festival, 50% of the gala films announced are directed or co-directed by women. This year’s 18 galas and 38 special presentations includes 29 world premieres, six international premieres (films that debuted in the U.S.), 13 North American premieres, and eight Canadian premieres.

Some impressive casting news, according to The Playlist: One of our most anticipated films coming in the next year or so is the new project from Steven Soderbergh. No, not “High Flying Bird.” His other, other new project – “The Laundromat.” And while we already know that Antonio Banderas, Gary Oldman, and Meryl Streep are starring, we have learned just what other incredible actors are rounding out the cast and whom they might play in the upcoming true story about the infamous Panama Papers. We have learned that Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Parnell, James Cromwell, and Melissa Rauch have all joined the cast of the film. For those not aware, “The Laundromat” tells the true story of one of the largest money laundering schemes ever to be made public. The Panama Papers references the reams of documents that were handed over to authorities linking the money laundering to politicians and other powerful figures, thanks to a whistleblower with knowledge of the Mossack Fonseca law firm. It has already been reported that David Schwimmer will play an attorney in the film. And now we know that Cromwell will play Meryl Streep’s husband, with Rauch coming along as their daughter. In an “SNL” reunion, of sorts, Will Forte and Parnell will share scenes together as an obnoxious American duo in Panama. There’s no official release date for the film, as it was announced that Netflix would be handling the distribution. Filming began on Monday. You can read the complete article over at The Playlist.

According to Deadline, Netflix has committed to finance and release The Laundromat, the Steven Soderbergh-directed drama about the Panama Papers scandal. David Schwimmer has just joined a killer cast that is led by Gary Oldman, Meryl Streep and Antonio Banderas. Other cast circling include Will Forte and Riley Keough. The film has a script by Scott Z. Burns, based on the Jake Bernstein book Secrecy World: Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite. Schwimmer will play Matthew Quirk, an attorney who speaks on behalf of one of the insurance companies after twenty elderly passengers die on a boating excursion. The boating company learned its insurance isn’t the large company it thought it was, but merely just a P.O. box in Nevis. Quirk would eventually kill himself after seeing no way out of the liability situation, but the incident triggers lawyers, government officials, and more to track down these shell companies. Those investigations lead to the laundering geniuses at the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, who created hundreds of thousands of ‘companies’ to help the wealthy avoid paying taxes. The scandal drew in several world leaders, including former UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Iceland Prime Minister Sigmunder Gunnlaugsson, the latter of whom resigned on April 5, 2016, after it was revealed he and his wife set up an offshore shell company in 2007 in the British Virgin Islands; he then sold his half of the company to his wife for $1 on the last day of 2009 to shield them from a new law that would have required him to declare his ownership as a conflict of interest. Among the swarms of famous people named in the leaked documents was current President of the United States Donald Trump — already embattled over charges his empire was built by avoiding taxes — and director Pedro Almodovar, Jackie Chan and Emma Watson. Bernstein was part of a team of journalists who formed the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists to break the Panama Papers story. The leak of data — 11 million records revealed — was the largest in corporate and government history.