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Clooney and Canalis in Venice

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George Clooney goes public with new girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis at Venice Film Festival
George Clooney took his two-month romance with Elisabetta Canalis public for the first time at the Venice Film Festival yesterday.
But the 30-year-old Italian MTV hostess shouldn’t get her heart set on a diamond: Clooney’s been known to stroll women down the carpet, then leave them in the lurch later.
The dashing bachelor escorted Canalis to the top of the stairs at the premiere of “The Men Who Stare at Goats” before he returned to sign autographs for fans, his hand still bandaged from when he shut it in a car door last month.
When asked the obvious by the Daily Mail – whether marriage and children loomed in the future – the notoriously non-committal actor said, “I have been asked the same question every year for 20 years. The answer remains the same – I don’t know.”
Rumors were rife that he would marry former girlfriend Sarah Larson, a Las Vegas cocktail waitress, when she was on his arm at the 2007 Venice Film Festival. The relationship lasted less than year.
The next year he was seen with a mystery blonde at the premiere of “Burn After Reading.”
English model Lisa Snowdon, who enjoyed a five-year romance with Clooney, also strolled the festival red carpet. That ended in 2005.
Clooney, 48, was introduced to Canalis in Rome and has spent time with her on his huge Lake Como spread. The couple had a double date at his villa with Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber. The foursome headed out into the Italian countryside on motorbikes.
But while Canalis may have a current hold on Clooney’s heart, yesterday someone else took aim.
Mauro Casciari, a gay Italian TV reporter, caused a dust-up at the press conference when he stripped down to reveal underpants that read “George Clooney Choose Me.”
“There have been lots of rumors that George is gay,” said Casciari. “So I wanted him to come out and offered myself to him.” Clooney brushed off the incident.
by: www.nydailynews.com

George Clooney goes public with new girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis at Venice Film Festival

clooney_canalisGeorge Clooney took his two-month romance with Elisabetta Canalis public for the first time at the Venice Film Festival yesterday.

But the 30-year-old Italian MTV hostess shouldn’t get her heart set on a diamond: Clooney’s been known to stroll women down the carpet, then leave them in the lurch later.

The dashing bachelor escorted Canalis to the top of the stairs at the premiere of “The Men Who Stare at Goats” before he returned to sign autographs for fans, his hand still bandaged from when he shut it in a car door last month.

When asked the obvious by the Daily Mail – whether marriage and children loomed in the future – the notoriously non-committal actor said, “I have been asked the same question every year for 20 years. The answer remains the same – I don’t know.”

Rumors were rife that he would marry former girlfriend Sarah Larson, a Las Vegas cocktail waitress, when she was on his arm at the 2007 Venice Film Festival. The relationship lasted less than year.

The next year he was seen with a mystery blonde at the premiere of “Burn After Reading.”

English model Lisa Snowdon, who enjoyed a five-year romance with Clooney, also strolled the festival red carpet. That ended in 2005.

Clooney, 48, was introduced to Canalis in Rome and has spent time with her on his huge Lake Como spread. The couple had a double date at his villa with Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber. The foursome headed out into the Italian countryside on motorbikes.

But while Canalis may have a current hold on Clooney’s heart, yesterday someone else took aim.

Mauro Casciari, a gay Italian TV reporter, caused a dust-up at the press conference when he stripped down to reveal underpants that read “George Clooney Choose Me.”

“There have been lots of rumors that George is gay,” said Casciari. “So I wanted him to come out and offered myself to him.” Clooney brushed off the incident.

by: www.nydailynews.com

Clooney in Venice for “Goats”

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Clooney speeds into Venice for premiere of ‘Goats’
George Clooney wants viewers to know one thing about his new movie, a comic tale of “psychic warfare” by the U.S. military: It’s not a war movie.
“The Men Who Stare at Goats,” directed by Grant Heslov, was shown out of competition Tuesday at the Venice Film Festival.
Based on Jon Ronson’s book of the same name and inspired by true events, the movie features an all-star cast that also includes Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey.
It’s a madcap comedy about reporter Bob Wilton, played by McGregor, who is looking for a big scoop in a war zone when he meets Lyn Cassady, played by Clooney — a member of a unit that wants to change the way wars are fought by employing paranormal powers.
“I think we looked at this and thought it wasn’t an Iraq war film,” Clooney said at a press conference Tuesday.
“We thought it was a comedy about some crazy ideas that went on, that started at the end of the Vietnam war and carried on through, not that long ago and maybe still carry on,” he said.
In the movie, Wilton joins Cassady and they cross from Kuwait into Iraq together. The founder of the New Earth Army unit that deals with paranormal warfare is soldier-turned-new age hippie Bill Django, played by Bridges.
“Goats” marks Heslov’s directorial debut. It teams up Clooney with Heslov again after “Good Night, and Good Luck,” which Clooney directed and Heslov produced, a movie on the true-life clashes between newsman Edward R. Murrow and Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
True to his style, Clooney joked when asked if he researched paranormal powers for the movie.
“At the premiere I am going to actually walk through a wall,” he quipped.
“What we love about this film and what is so fun about it is there is a tremendous amount of it that is true. And as funny as it is, it’s some of the dumbest parts of the film that are the true parts,” he added.
Clooney arrived in Venice by speedboat on Monday night, with Italian actress Elisabetta Canalis in tow. The two, who have been seen together recently, are expected to walk the red carpet Tuesday evening.
Clooney’s right hand was bandaged. He said he broke it an a car door.
Clooney, who owns a villa on Lake Como and spends time in Italy, is a frequent guest at the festival.
“Honestly, this is the only premiere that you come up to in a boat,” he said.
Also screening out of competition on Tuesday was Antoine Fuqua’s “Brooklyn’s Finest,” a drama focusing on the lives of three Brooklyn police officers.
Cast members Wesley Snipes and co-star Shannon Kane were on hand with Fuqua, with Ethan Hawke expected in time for the midnight red carpet.
In the film, Snipes portrays a gang leader and Hawke a narcotics police officer. Richard Gere and Don Cheadle star as police officers whose lives show the strain of too many years on duty.
The Venice Film Festival runs through Sept. 12.
by: AP

Clooney speeds into Venice for premiere of ‘Goats’

clooney_georgeGeorge Clooney wants viewers to know one thing about his new movie, a comic tale of “psychic warfare” by the U.S. military: It’s not a war movie.

“The Men Who Stare at Goats,” directed by Grant Heslov, was shown out of competition Tuesday at the Venice Film Festival.

Based on Jon Ronson’s book of the same name and inspired by true events, the movie features an all-star cast that also includes Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey.

It’s a madcap comedy about reporter Bob Wilton, played by McGregor, who is looking for a big scoop in a war zone when he meets Lyn Cassady, played by Clooney — a member of a unit that wants to change the way wars are fought by employing paranormal powers.

“I think we looked at this and thought it wasn’t an Iraq war film,” Clooney said at a press conference Tuesday.

“We thought it was a comedy about some crazy ideas that went on, that started at the end of the Vietnam war and carried on through, not that long ago and maybe still carry on,” he said.

In the movie, Wilton joins Cassady and they cross from Kuwait into Iraq together. The founder of the New Earth Army unit that deals with paranormal warfare is soldier-turned-new age hippie Bill Django, played by Bridges.

“Goats” marks Heslov’s directorial debut. It teams up Clooney with Heslov again after “Good Night, and Good Luck,” which Clooney directed and Heslov produced, a movie on the true-life clashes between newsman Edward R. Murrow and Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

True to his style, Clooney joked when asked if he researched paranormal powers for the movie.

“At the premiere I am going to actually walk through a wall,” he quipped.

“What we love about this film and what is so fun about it is there is a tremendous amount of it that is true. And as funny as it is, it’s some of the dumbest parts of the film that are the true parts,” he added.

Clooney arrived in Venice by speedboat on Monday night, with Italian actress Elisabetta Canalis in tow. The two, who have been seen together recently, are expected to walk the red carpet Tuesday evening.

Clooney’s right hand was bandaged. He said he broke it an a car door.

Clooney, who owns a villa on Lake Como and spends time in Italy, is a frequent guest at the festival.

“Honestly, this is the only premiere that you come up to in a boat,” he said.

Also screening out of competition on Tuesday was Antoine Fuqua’s “Brooklyn’s Finest,” a drama focusing on the lives of three Brooklyn police officers.

Cast members Wesley Snipes and co-star Shannon Kane were on hand with Fuqua, with Ethan Hawke expected in time for the midnight red carpet.

In the film, Snipes portrays a gang leader and Hawke a narcotics police officer. Richard Gere and Don Cheadle star as police officers whose lives show the strain of too many years on duty.

The Venice Film Festival runs through Sept. 12.

by: AP

George Clooney in Venice

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Clooney in Venice for premiere of ‘Goats’ movie

clooneyGeorge Clooney is appearing at the Venice Film Festival for the premiere of his new movie, a comic tale of “psychic warfare” by the U.S. military.

“The Men Who Stare at Goats,” directed by Grant Heslov, is being shown out of competition in Venice on Tuesday.

Clooney arrived in Venice by speedboat on Monday night, with Italian actress Elisabetta Canalis in tow. The two, who have been seen together recently, are expected to walk the red carpet Tuesday evening.

Clooney, who owns a villa on Lake Como and spends time in Italy, is a frequent guest at the festival.

The movie co-stars Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. It tells the story of a special U.S. army unit experimenting with paranormal powers in warfare.

by: AP

Chavez at Biennale

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Chavez walks Venice red carpet

chavez_veniceHe’s one of the most controversial figures walking the political stage at the moment – but at the Venice Film Festival, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been walking the red carpet.

He was in Venice for the world premiere of director Oliver Stone’s documentary examining his portrayal in the media.

Hundreds of admirers turned out to greet him, some of them chanting “president, president” in Spanish. He played up to the part of movie star, meeting the public and throwing a flower into the crowd. He even took a photographer’s camera to snap himself.

Rumours that the president might be paying a “surprise” visit leaked out a day or so in advance – helped by the sudden presence of Venezuelan military officials in the city.

Although the presence of celebrities from Tom Cruise to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie is commonplace during the festival, security was the tightest it’s ever been, with armed guards checking bags and a tight cordon around the Palazzo Del Cinema.

US ‘paranoia’

Seeing a man frequently described as a “dictator” by parts of the American media on such close terms with a prolific Hollywood director is one of the most interesting photo opportunities the festival has ever offered reporters.

Hugo Chavez has been seen as a maverick – and much worse – since he was elected in 1998. He has been outspoken on US foreign policy and once described former President George Bush as a “donkey”.

It’s earned him little favour from the more conservative elements of the American press. Within the last few days, Mr Chavez has signed an oil deal with Iran.

Stone’s documentary “South of the Border” started as an attempt to find out the truth behind the newspaper headlines about the Venezuelan leader.

“The demonisation of Chavez has been intense to the point it’s hilarious,” Stone told the BBC. “We show that in the movie.

“America is paranoid about its ‘enemies’, whether it’s Venezuela, Iran or Iraq. I think there are dangerous consequences and this is an attempt to lessen that paranoia.

“We wanted to emphasise the good things that have happened in Venezuela, like the poverty rate being cut by 50% since he assumed power. Even his enemies would say that on that front, Chavez has done well.”

Stone was granted unprecedented access and interview time with his subject, and from that the film grew into a full-scale tour around much of South America, meeting several heads of states – all of whom claim on camera to be supporters of Mr Chavez.

Audiences see Stone playing soccer with Bolivian President Evo Morales, and asking Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez De Kirchner how many pairs of shoes she owns. But there are also less light-hearted subjects to document.

“All the presidents I met confirmed all their countries are undergoing vast changes, and there is an anti-Washington consensus,” he reports.

“South America has been treated as North America’s backyard for too long, and the pendulum has started to swing. Fidel Castro told me in an interview back in 2002 that that would happen, but I never believed it at the time. I believe only Mexico and Colombia could now be described as pro-USA.”

‘He’s got discipline’

The director has come from making the movie convinced that Mr Chavez does not deserve the description of “dictator”, despite having survived a coup and having stayed in power for a decade.

“The guy has survived 12 electoral processes,” he comments. “Jimmy Carter went down to supervise one of them and he called it the fairest election he had ever seen.”

From the scenes on the Venetian red carpet, Hugo Chavez and Oliver Stone have certainly formed a bond. In the movie, the president addresses Stone as “my brother”.

“I see him as a soldier,” Stone says. “Most guys get weak, but he’s gonna die with his boots on. He’s got discipline.”

South of the Border got an enthusiastic reception from a critics’ screening at Venice – but the very media Stone is examining is unlikely to respond warmly to the director’s portrait of Mr Chavez – and Stone’s final assessment that much of what he is doing is right.

The Venice Film Festival runs until 12 September.

by: news.bbc.co.uk