George Clooney and Maggie Gyllenhaal on Cinema’s Power at Venice Film Festival Opening

A Historic Friendship and Career Tribute in Venice

Laura Dern presented the award after a career-spanning highlight reel played for the audience. Dern and Clooney first worked together more than 40 years ago on the horror sequel Grizzly II: Revenge, which was shot in Hungary. Dern recalled during her tribute that Clooney looked out for her like an older brother during that troubled production. Dern praised Clooney as a man of integrity who has earned Academy Award nominations across six different categories. He’s the best friend you could ever have and the funniest person you will ever meet, Dern said during the ceremony, noting that he has twice been named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. The tribute also featured personal notes read by Dern from several of Clooney’s prominent industry peers and inner circle members, including Brad Pitt, Adam Sandler, Steven Soderbergh, CAA partner Bryan Lourd, Alexander Payne, and Noah Baumbach. Payne remarked that meeting Clooney is the closest a movie buff can get to meeting classical Hollywood icons like Clark Gable or Cary Grant. Pitt added in his note that Clooney is a rogue, a prankster, an altruist, an actor, an athlete, the only guy you want in a crisis, a father, a husband, a global citizen, a defender of justice.

Festival Lineup and Opening Events

The opening ceremony marked the official launch of the 11-day Venice Film Festival, which features 21 films competing for the Golden Lion top prize. British director Danny Boyle’s film Ink, which details how Rupert Murdoch and Larry Lamb transformed The Sun into a major force in British tabloid journalism, was selected as the festival’s opening film. Other anticipated premieres at the festival include Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson as journalist Chris Hansen, and Bunker, starring Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem as a married couple navigating an underground doomsday refuge commissioned by a tech billionaire. Additionally, musicians Liam and Noel Gallagher are expected to attend the festival for the premiere of an Oasis reunion documentary titled Don’t Look Back in Anger. Festival organizers also reinstated a traditional press conference with the event’s jury, led this year by actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, following initial scheduling confusion that had left the event off the early program.