New George Clooney-directed movie to open Venice Film Festival
(CBS/AP) VENICE, Italy - The Venice Film Festival will feature George Clooney's latest directorial effort as festival opener this year. The movie, about a U.S. presidential campaign, is highly anticipated.
Clooney's movie "The Ides of March" will be competing for the coveted Golden Lion award. The film will have its world premiere screening on Aug. 31, following the festival's opening ceremony.
Clooney's latest directorial effort was likely to be overshadowed Wednesday by the news that Clooney and his Italian girlfriend had split up.
"We are not together anymore," according to a joint statement by Clooney and Elisabetta Canalis. "It's very difficult and very personal and we hope everyone can respect our privacy."
The relationship between Clooney, one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors, and the actress had been the fodder of gossip magazines since the couple were photographed riding a motorbike near Lake Como in the summer of 2009. The Oscar-winning Clooney has a villa on the lake, where he spends part of the year.
"The Ides of March" is about corruption and idealism in American politics stars Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The festival runs through Sept. 10.
NME reports other films to debut at the festival are David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method," about Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, and Roman Polanski's "Carnage."