VENICE - Jeff Zucker, the former CNN global chief who now runs RedBird IMI’s media empire, stood on the Lido this week as a first-time film producer, introducing A24’s “Primetime” to the Venice Film Festival crowd. For a man who spent decades shaping television news, the moment carried an unexpected weight.

“This is very surreal,” Zucker said at the festival, reflecting on his sudden pivot from breaking-news executive to arthouse cinema backer. “I’ve spent my whole career in front of live cameras and control rooms, but walking into a movie premiere with a story like this - it’s a completely different kind of adrenaline.”

Zucker’s presence in Venice marks a notable shift for RedBird IMI, the investment vehicle he leads alongside former Hollywood mogul Ari Emanuel’s backers. The company, which has already made aggressive moves into journalism with the acquisitions of Telegraph and The New Yorker’s parent, has now set its sights on independent film. “Primetime,” distributed by the critically adored A24, represents Zucker’s maiden voyage into feature production - a gamble that festival insiders will be watching closely.

The film, which had its world premiere at the Palazzo del Cinema, did not arrive with a simple logline. It follows a fictional late-night news anchor whose career unravels in real time during a single broadcast, weaving together themes of media manipulation, personal scandal, and the blurred line between reporting and performance. For Zucker, the subject matter hits uncomfortably close to home.

“When I first read the script, I thought, this is someone’s idea of a cruel joke,” Zucker admitted, a wry smile crossing his face. “Here I am, a news guy, being offered a movie about a news guy who loses everything on air. It took me about ten seconds to say yes, because it felt like the most honest kind of fiction - the kind that tells the truth about the business by pretending it isn’t real.”

Zucker’s career has been defined by high-stakes broadcasting. He helmed NBC’s “Today” show during its golden years, later ran NBC Universal, and then spent nearly a decade at CNN, where he steered the network through the Trump era and the pandemic before a personal scandal forced his exit in 2022. His quick return to power via RedBird IMI - backed by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund - was seen as one of the most audacious comebacks in media history.

Now, at 61, he is navigating a different sort of risk: the subjective, brutal world of festival cinema, where critical reception can make or break a project before it ever reaches theaters. Venice, with its prestige-loving jury and its status as an Oscars launching pad, is arguably a sharper crucible than any ratings war he ever fought.

“Television ratings are clear - you either win the night or you don’t,” Zucker said. “Film is different. You sit in a dark room with complete strangers, and you feel the silence differently. If a joke lands, they laugh. If a scene works, they breathe. There is nowhere to hide. It’s exposing in a way that a ratings sheet never is.”

“Primetime” was directed by a first-time filmmaker whose previous work was largely in documentary television - a background that Zucker said made the partnership feel natural. “We speak the same language,” he explained. “We both come from the world of real footage, real deadlines, real consequences. The trick was to bend that reality into a fictional frame without losing its edge.”

The film’s cast, assembled with A24’s typical taste for unconventional choices, has been kept largely under wraps until the premiere. Early reactions from the first screening were described by attendees as “electric,” with particular praise for the lead performance - a portrayal of a man unraveling that sources in the room compared to “Network”’s Howard Beale, though with a more modern, digital-age desperation.

Zucker, who has spent a lifetime placing other people in front of cameras, seemed genuinely unmoored by his new role behind the scenes. He confessed that he found the premiere itself more nerve-wracking than any live election night he ever produced.

“On election nights, I knew the data. I knew the county maps. I knew what to expect,” he said. “Tonight, I had no idea if the audience would even stay to the end. When the credits rolled and people started clapping, I felt a relief I haven’t felt in years. That’s the difference between managing a brand and committing to an idea.”

The Venice debut is only the first step for Zucker’s film ambitions. RedBird IMI has signaled it intends to fund a slate of auteur-driven projects, with A24 serving as the primary distribution partner. “We’re not trying to build a blockbuster factory,” Zucker said. “We want stories that matter, told by people who have something to say. If that means smaller budgets and smaller screens, so be it. The goal is to make things you can’t forget.”

As the festival continues, “Primetime” will face the inevitable scrutiny of critics and buyers. But for Zucker, the personal milestone is already secured. He arrived in Venice as a television titan; he may leave as something else entirely.

“I’ve been called a lot of things in my career - some printable, some not,” he said with a laugh. “But ‘film producer’ is new. And honestly? It feels like the right kind of new.”

Source: The Hollywood Reporter