George Clooney, who has a home in Italy and is a local favorite, appears in "The Men Who Stare at Goats," about a reporter who stumbles across a U.S. military unit in Iraq that employs paranormal powers on its missions.

Nicolas Cage appears in Werner Herzog's "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans," a remake of the 1992 movie directed by Abel Ferrara, who has publicly criticized the new version.

As usual, Venice promises a global line-up, with Egypt's "The Traveller," featuring Omar Sharif, in competition alongside pictures from Chinese mainland, Austria, Israel, Japan, France, Hong Kong, Germany, and Italy.

The festival kicks off with the first Italian film in two decades -- "Baaria" by Giuseppe Tornatore, and runs until September the 12th.