George Clooney used his appearance at the 2026 Venice Film Festival to offer a candid assessment of Hollywood’s changing relationship with major film festivals. The actor and filmmaker suggested that expensive franchise-driven productions have reduced the industry’s reliance on festivals as launching pads for movies.
Clooney spoke to journalists on September 2 ahead of receiving the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the wide-ranging press conference also covered his directing career, family life and concerns about climate change.
George Clooney Says Hollywood Has Changed the Role of Film Festivals
Clooney argued that the shrinking presence of major Hollywood studios at Cannes, Berlin and Venice is partly connected to the kinds of movies those studios now prioritize. He pointed to the industry’s increasing dependence on intellectual property, reboots and franchise films, which often have different commercial strategies from prestige productions traditionally introduced through festivals.
“In fairness, you could make the argument … that studios are doing films that need a launchpad of a film festival less and less,”
Clooney said during his Venice press conference, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. He connected the change to the rising cost of studio productions, noting that films are now often designed around large-scale commercial expectations rather than the type of adult dramas that historically benefited from festival exposure.
The actor also looked further back, arguing that Hollywood’s shift has been developing for decades. He cited movies such as Bonnie and Clyde and All the President’s Men as examples of the kind of studio filmmaking that has become less common.
Clooney knows the festival circuit well, having brought projects including Good Night, and Good Luck. to Venice. The festival is honoring him this year for a career that includes acting, directing and producing, with the Venice Biennale highlighting his work across multiple genres.
Clooney also explained why another directorial project is unlikely to happen soon. He said his nine-year-old twins with Amal Clooney are the main reason he has stepped back from directing, because making a movie can require being away from home for roughly a year.
“If I act in a movie, it’s three months, and I can go and come and go and come back,”
Clooney said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“When [you] direct a movie, it’s a year, wherever you are.”
He also addressed climate change during the discussion, criticizing political resistance to environmental action. Clooney said the consequences of climate change were already visible, pointing to the unusually hot and dry conditions and wildfires he encountered in Italy during the summer.
The 83rd Venice Film Festival runs from September 2 through September 12, with Clooney among this year’s major honorary figures.
