Actor and filmmaker George Clooney, known for his roles in films like Ocean’s Eleven and Gravity, received the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. During a press conference on the Lido, Clooney addressed various topics, including the evolving relationship between major studios and international film festivals.
Clooney noted that he had not observed a significant studio absence at recent festivals in Cannes, Berlin, and Venice. He suggested that studios are increasingly producing films that require less of a launchpad from film festivals, a trend he believes has been ongoing for 25 to 30 years, dating back to his work with Steven Soderbergh on films such as 1998’s Out of Sight. He attributed this shift to the industry’s reliance on intellectual property, reboots, and franchise projects, which often involve substantial budgets.
The actor drew a parallel to the period after the release of Jaws, when he believes the nature of studio filmmaking fundamentally changed. He recalled a time when studios produced films like Bonnie and Clyde and All the President’s Men, which he feels are less common today. Clooney indicated that without these types of films, studios have less need for the promotional platform that festivals provide.
When asked about his own directing aspirations, Clooney, who brought his 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck to the Venice festival, stated that his current focus is on his two nine-year-old children. He explained that directing a film requires a year-long commitment, making it difficult to balance with family responsibilities. Acting, he noted, typically involves a three-month commitment, allowing for more flexibility. He recently participated in a Broadway stage adaptation of Good Night, and Good Luck, which also took him away for a period, and he expressed that he cannot pull his children out of school for such projects anymore, leading him to enjoy acting again as a character actor.
Clooney, a long-standing advocate for human rights, political activism, and climate change awareness, also spoke on environmental issues. He expressed optimism that the view of climate change as a hoax would not last forever, despite lamenting the summer wildfires in Europe, including in Como. He humorously challenged those who deny climate change, suggesting that even if they were correct, efforts to clean the environment would still create millions of new green jobs and improve air quality, presenting no logical argument against such actions. The Venice Film Festival is scheduled to run until September 12.
