Venice International Film Festival

August 21, 2008 Mueller's predecessor, Moritz de Hadeln, exited unceremoniously after a two-year run after his own predecessor, Alberto Barbera, was dismissed under pressure from Berlusconi's aides in Italy's cultural ministry. By and large, insiders on both sides of the Atlantic believe Mueller, who was trained as a historian and holds a doctorate on China, has done a creditable job in the face of some overwhelming obstacles -- not just the Byzantine politics that have long shadowed the Italian event, but also the difficulty in making a mark with a festival that runs almost in tandem with three other major festivals: the Toronto International Film Festival, the New York Film Festival and the Telluride Film Festival. When it eventually got under way, the picture's backer, Harvey Weinstein, quipped: Welcome to the breakfast screening of 'Neverland.'

Subscribe to the Hollywood Reporter and see the entertainment industry from its best angle: the inside looking out. Complete access to real-time news and exclusive analysis that goes behind the scenes from film to television, home video to digital media.

   Subscribe now.