is returning to the this year, where he鈥檒l be honored with a lifetime achievement award. The festival鈥檚 organizers said Monday that Clooney has been selected to receive the Golden Lion at the in September.
鈥淚鈥檝e had so many extraordinary moments in Venice. This festival is without question my favorite and to be given the Golden Lion is a tremendous honor,鈥� Clooney said in a statement. 鈥淚t also probably means I鈥檓 old, but I鈥檒l take it.鈥�
The star has indeed had many memorable appearances in Venice, and at the festival, including with Steven Soderbergh鈥檚 adaptation 鈥淥ut of Sight,鈥� in 1998, and his sophomore feature as a director, 鈥淕ood Night, and Good Luck,鈥� in 2005. , he came with Noah Baumbach鈥檚 in which he plays a movie star experiencing an existential crisis in the lead-up to accepting a lifetime achievement award at an Italian film festival.
鈥淚n his triple capacity as actor, director, and producer, George Clooney is a complete and charismatic artist, impassioned and original, who has transformed a deep vocation into one of the most luminous parabolas of contemporary film,鈥� festival director Alberto Barbera said in a statement. 鈥淎 perfect combination of the star glamour of days gone by, remarkable professionalism, and modern sensitivity, the actor has crossed the genres with rare versatility.鈥�
Venice is also where Clooney with then Amal Alamuddin, in 2014.
The 83rd Venice Film Festival kicks off on Sept. 2 and runs through Sept. 12.
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