Golden George!
Hollywood icon and Lake Como resident George Clooney was the toast of the Venice Film Festival‘s opening ceremony Wednesday evening, receiving an honorary Golden Lion for lifetime achievement and a hero’s tribute that, at times, had the icon tearing up, and same for his emotional wife Amal Clooney.
The prize was presented to Clooney by his longtime friend and occasional co-star Laura Dern. The pair first worked together more than 40 years ago on the ill-fated horror sequel Grizzly II: Revenge, shot in Hungary when both were just starting out. Dern has since described Clooney as one of her oldest and closest friends, recalling that he looked out for her like an older brother during the troubled production.
The moment was loosely evocative of Clooney’s recent performance in Jay Kelly, a comedy-drama about the personal travails of a Clooney-esque movie star that culminates with the character receiving a lifetime honor at a swanky Italian film festival. That film, which co-starred Dern, premiered in Venice last year, and the ceremony found festival organizers playing an extended clip of the film that mirrored the ceremony that was unfolding in front of the real thing.
Dern kicked off the tribute following the career spanning highlight reel. She called it a privilege to be in attendance to honor her longtime friend. She hailed him as a talent who has been nominated for Academy Awards in six different categories, as a “man of integrity” and someone who is of service in his activism and his fellow actors and filmmakers. “He’s the best friend you could ever have and the funniest person you will ever meet,” Dern said, adding that among his many accolades, he’s been voted People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive not once but twice. “Two times,” she said, doubling it up for emphasis. “Two times!”
