Ernesto Ruscio/Getty; Ken Woroner/Netflix The creature walks — and cries. Jacob Elordibecame visibly emotional during a13-minutestanding ovation following the world premiere ofGuillermo del Toro'sFrankensteinat theVenice Film Festivalon Saturday. Following the premiere screening, Elordi, his director, and castmatesOscar IsaacandMia Gothbask in the adulation of the crowd, and theEuphoriastar wipes tears from his eyes, as video captured byThe Hollywood Reportershows. The beginning of the rapturous standing ovation for Frankenstein as Guillermo del Toro and cast get on their feet at the Venice Film Festival.#Venezia82pic.twitter.com/f1ZQAuLTJI — The Hollywood Reporter (@THR)August 30, 2025 Frankensteinreceived an uproarious response at Venice, where it's currently competing for the prestigious Golden Lion award against new films from directors likeBenny Safdie,Jim Jarmusch,Kathryn Bigelow, andNoah Baumbach.The HoldovershelmerAlexander Paynechairs the jury presiding over this year's festival. Fans were treated to afirst look at the movieat the end of July. Elordi stars as the famed monster, a fearsome yet tender-hearted amalgamation of bits and bobs of other bodies, hacked off and sewn together by the ingenious Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Isaac). Goth costars as Elizabeth, Victor's doomed childhood sweetheart, and Waltz plays Harlander, an arms dealer and new invention from the 1818 novel by Mary Shelley. Want more movie news? Sign up forEntertainment Weekly's free newsletterto get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. One of the luminaries del Toro and crew are competing against at Venice 2025, interestingly, isYorgos Lanthimos, who previously proffered his own riff onFrankensteinwithPoor Things. Even though that film and del Toro'sFrankensteinderive from the same source material, the latter is being described in early reviews as a far more faithful adaptation. LAURENT HOU/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Elordi recently described his transformation into the role of Frankenstein's monster inpowerfully personal terms, saying, "The creature that's on screen in this movie is the sort of purest form of myself. He's more me than I am." But he wasn't del Toro's original choice for the role.Andrew Garfieldwas originally cast as the iconic literary antihero, but he was forced to back out due to scheduling conflicts. Elordi took over the role fresh off an award-nominated turn inSofia Coppola's Priscilla Presley biopicPriscilla, which had its own premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly
