From Saying No to Drugs, Losing “15 Kilos” and Counting His Lovers: ‘Queer’ Director Luca Guadagnino Gets Candid in Venice

Wait, did he really just say that?

He did, and Luca Guadagnino doesn’t care. The director got candid in front of a jam-packed room of journalists Tuesday afternoon — who were lapping up every word — at the press conference of his new film Queer.

The racy movie gets its world premiere at the 2024 Venice Film Festival early Tuesday evening, with its stars Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzman, Lesley Manville and Omar Apollo joining the Italian filmmaker to usher in his latest romp.

An American ex-pat in his mid-50s, William is isolated in Mexico City. Addicted to opiates and alcohol, and with a passion for younger men, Starkey’s Eugene Allerton sends William into a tailspin. As Craig’s character gets increasingly infatuated, Eugene agrees to go on a trip with him. It is steamy, of course — it’s Luca Guadagnino after all — and includes a couple of fairly graphic sex scenes.

When asked about the film’s theme of addiction, Guadagnino got personal. “I am a gentleman who goes to sleep very early, never take drugs in my life, never smoke a cigarette, and I am gone into a diet and I lost 15 kilos,” he divulged. “So I’m quite rigorous about my addictions. I can count on two hands the lovers I had in my life.”

He continued: “Having said that, we’re being candid today. I think I love the idea of seeing people and not judging them, of making sure that even the worst person is the person that you identify with.”

Things steered into dicey territory when the director was asked about the casting of Craig — who is known across the world as the most recent incarnation of James Bond — in Queer, and whether Ian Fleming’s character could ever be a gay man. Guadagnino took the opportunity to turn the moment into praise for the British actor.

“Guys, let’s be adults in the room for a second,” he said. “There is no way around the fact that nobody would ever know what James Bond desires, period. “The important thing is that he does his missions properly. Having said that, I have been an admirer of this gentleman for a long time. … I had this intuition that I suffocated within me because I’m pragmatic. You have to make movies; you cannot daydream. A gentleman that was in the [casting] room was really the one that was not pragmatic and said to me, ‘What about Daniel Craig?’ And I said, ‘I thought about him, but he’s never going to say yes.’ And he said to me, ‘Let’s ask.’ And he said yes. And the yes was a definitive yes, he’s one of the greatest actors. It’s a privilege to work with someone like him.”

“The reason I did the movie is because of this great man here. I’d wanted to work with him for a long time,” he added. “We met 20 years ago and said maybe we should work together. And we finally did, which is just a wonderful thing.”

Queer is adapted from the novel written by William S. Burroughs, which the Italian saw as ripe for pain-staking movie material. “Who are we when we are alone and who are we looking for?” Guadagnino asked. “Who do we want beside us no matter who you are? Are you an heroin addict living in Mexico City? Who are you when you are alone in that bed and you are left with the feeling of how you have felt for someone else?”

A24 acquired the U.S. distribution rights to Queer days before its Venice world premiere. The indie studio plans to release it before the end of the year.The film was produced by Fremantle, Fremantle North America, Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment and Luca Guadagnino for his Frenesy Film Company, in collaboration with Cinecitta and Frame by Frame.