Clooney fêted with American Cinematheque Award

George Clooney, the Academy Award-winning American actor, director, producer and screenwriter, known for his role in the first five seasons of the long-running television drama ‘ER’ (1994–1999) and his rise as an ‘A-List’ movie star in contemporary American cinema, has fetched him the 2006 American Cinematheque Award.

The American Cinematheque Award annually honors an extraordinary artist in the entertainment industry who is fully engaged in his or her work and is committed to making a significant contribution to the art of the motion pictures.

“Basically, what it is, really, is a bunch of your friends who are gonna roast the hell out of you,” Clooney told AP Television before the Friday night event. “But when it's done, you're raising money to help American Cinematheque, which actually does some great things.”

The American Cinematheque programmes are mainly held at Hollywood's historic Egyptian Theatre. The $500-plus-per-plate Clooney dinner-event at the Beverly Hilton was sold out. Director Oliver Stone, entertainer Lindsay Lohan, actor-producer Salma Hayek, and actors Julia Roberts, Geoffrey Rush and Christian Slater were among some of the eminent personalities present at the award ceremony.

"There's no man probably more worthy (of) getting some awards," noted Slater, soon to be seen in the docudrama "Bobby." "He's a great artist, great director, and a phenomenal humanitarian. I think he serves as a great example to other actors, myself included. He's a guy - somebody to follow."

In his initial struggling years, Clooney went for auditions on a bicycle. His first major role was in the television medical comedy/drama, ‘ER’ and since then, there was no looking back.

Clooney continued to star in movies while appearing in ER, his first major role coming with ‘The Peacemaker’ (1995), the first movie from Dreamworks SKG studio, followed by ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ (1996), ‘Batman & Robin’ (1997), and ‘Out of Sight’ (1998). To establish his career and devote his full time to acting career, Clooney left ‘ER’ in 1999.

Further movie roles included ‘Three Kings’ (1999), ‘The Perfect Storm’ (2000), ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ (2000), ‘Ocean's Eleven’ (2001), ‘Welcome to Collinwood’ (2002), ‘Intolerable Cruelty’ (2003), and ‘Ocean's Twelve’ (2004). He also continued guest appearances on television series such as ‘Roseanne’ and ‘Friends’. He made his debut as a film director in the 2002 feature ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind’, an adaptation of the autobiography of TV producer Chuck Barris.

On January 31, 2006, Clooney was nominated for ‘Achievement in Directing and Original Screenplay’ for ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ and Best Performance ‘By An Actor In A Supporting Role’ for ‘Syriana’ in the Academy Awards. He became the first person in Oscar history to be nominated for directing one movie and acting in another in the same year.

Clooney was also nominated for the David Lean Award for ‘Achievement in Directing’ by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, BAFTA for ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’.

Bob Barnes, the role Clooney essayed in the movie ‘Syriana’ won him the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an ‘Actor in a Supporting Role’ and an Academy Award for ‘Best Supporting Actor’.

As far as future projects are concerned, the unmatched actor has ‘Michael Clayton’, ‘Ocean's Thirteen’ and ‘Hail Caesar’ under his belt.

He is considered by many to be one of the last true Matinee idols in the modern film world today.