Almodovar, Campion to compete for top prize at Venice film festival

There are so many wonderful movies being made that I wouldn't want to be in the position of choosing just one for best picture. Wouldn't mind being in the business of watching them, though.

Japan's Kurosawa was the first director to open my eyes to the wonder of "foreign films." Interestingly, "Seven Samurai" lost out to "Romeo and Juliet" for the Golden Lion in 1954, but I think that "Seven Samurai" has stood the test of time much, much better. Who remembers 1954's Romeo and Juliet? Goes to show that awards are not everything. Kurosawa got the foreign film Oscar in 1951 for Rashomon, but not in 1954 for Seven Samurai. He should have gotten the Oscar both times.

Also, with the Best Picture Oscar, some losers were, in my opinion, much better than the winners.

@smithinjapan Yaa, he's fantastic but I have a feeling that Campion wins it as woman winning the Top Prize grabs a lot more headlines. Not denying the quality of her movies. Both make fantastic movies but in ambiguous scenarios, women are preferred over men.

Have always loved Almodvar. Hope he gets it.