Venice Film Fest opens with 'Everest,' leaves out 'Crimson Peak'

VENICE, Italy, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak won't be playing anywhere during this year's Venice Film Festival, although many expected it to.

The Mexican director's friend and fellow filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron sits as jury president of the festival this year and on opening day Wednesday encouraged everyone to "go see the film" when it's released in October. "Obviously, I miss Guillermo not being here," he said during a press conference.

Instead of featuring Crimson Peak among the festival's headliners -- and thus completing the trio of world premiers by Mexican filmmakers Cuaron (Gravity, 2013), Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman, 2014) and Del Toro -- the festival will start off with Baltasar Kormakur's Everest.

Everest stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley, Robin Wright, Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke, Emma Watson and others. It was shot on-location in Nepal, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Crimson Peak, starring Tom Hiddleston and Mia Wasikowska, wasn't chosen to play at the festival because its chief, Alberto Barbera explained in July that after continuously trying, there was still concern about it being "labeled as a festival film.