George Clooney Defends Mark Ruffalo’s ‘Ability to Speak Freely’ About Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal and Doesn’t See How the Merger ‘Financially Ends Up Making Sense’

Life really does imitate art.

George Clooney attended last year’s Venice Film Festival with “Jay Kelly,” a comedic drama in which he portrayed an aging A-lister who travels to Italy to receive a life achievement award. Now the actor is getting a real Venetian tribute, accepting the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award on the festival’s opening day.

Before his big honor, Clooney sat for a press conference on Wednesday morning and addressed a range of topics, including the fraught state of politics in America, the rise of artificial intelligence and Paramount’s ongoing attempt to merge with Warner Bros. He also defended Mark Ruffalo, who was accused by Paramount of “antisemitic tropes” after the Marvel star attacked the deal over its potential consequences for Hollywood and accused the Ellison family of being complicit in the “genocide” against Palestinians. David Ellison is the CEO of Paramount Skydance.

“I support Mark Ruffalo’s ability to speak freely,” Clooney said when asked about the controversy by Variety’s Elsa Keslassy. “It’s ridiculous. We’re not going to ban speech. I believe in free speech even when I completely disagree with it. That’s important. In fact, it’s part of how democracy works.”

Clooney called the pending merger “a complicated thing” and suggested he “doesn’t know how it works out.”

“I don’t see how the merger financially ends up making sense for the people who are trying to do it. We’ll see. I worry when a big company swallows up another company,” he said. “I always worry whenever big companies are consolidating because it means a lot of people are going to lose their jobs.”

On the topic of AI, Clooney predicted that it’s “going to be a very big part of this industry” and he worries that “it’s going to hurt us in a lot of ways.” He expressed a concerned about the complications that AI will pose for actors, cracking that “I would like to avoid being in a tampon commercial 20 years after I’m dead.”

Clooney was also probed about the state of journalism, having directed 2005’s “Good Night, and Good Luck,” a drama about the conflict between the veteran CBS reporter Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy. Clooney also earning a Tony nomination for his Broadway debut in “Good Night, and Good Luck,” a play based on his film.

“The state of journalism is in question. The richest people in the world are owning the Washington Post and Twitter, and that is a concern,” he said, referring to Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. Yet Clooney remains optimistic. “There’s a lot of room for great journalists. I do believe that information will find it’s way out.”

Clooney has long been one of president Donald Trump’s most outspoken critics, so naturally the actor was asked about his feelings on the state of democracy.

“How do you see the state of the [country]?” Clooney said with a laugh. “There’s a great word, kakistocracy, which is a country run by the least qualified people. I think maybe we have a kakistocracy right now, but we’ll get through it,” he said. “We will have an election in November that should be a check in balance. And then in 2028, we will have a restoration of some normalcy.”

Clooney has a long history with the Venice Film Festival, having first attended with 1998’s Steven Soderbergh’s ”Out of Sight” and returning many times over the years with movies such as 2005’s “Good Night, and Good Luck,” 2007’s “Michael Clayton,” 2013’s “Gravity,” 2017’s “Suburbicon,” 2024’s “Wolfs” and 2025’s “Jay Kelly.” Clooney was a particularly welcomed presence at this year’s press conference after he missed the press conference for “Jay Kelly” because he was diagnosed with a sinus infection.

Clooney joked that he’s been getting nostalgic has he prepares to receive a career honor.

“I’m 65 years old — everything is melancholy. You brush your teeth and you’re like, ‘My teeth used to be so much better.’ Everything about getting older…,” he said. “I also feel very lucky. I have an incredible wife whom I love very much and she loves me. I have great kids. I think life is pretty good.”

One of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Clooney’s influence spans television and film, starting with his breakout role on “ER” and continuing with films such as “Syriana,” “O Brother Where Art Thou,” “Up in the Air” and the “Oceans” trilogy. Although he’s directed several films — most recently the 2023 sports drama “The Boys in the Boat,” Clooney says he’s stepped back as a filmmaker and will focus on acting in order to spend time with his children.

“I have two 9-year-old kids,” Clooney said. “If I act in a movie, it’s three months. When I direct a movie, it’s a year. And I cant do that anymore. I can’t pull the kids out of school anymore. I’m happy to doing this, being an actor again. It’s fun. I’m a character actor now.”

Clooney teased his excitement for one upcoming project — a new “Oceans” heist with Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. “I would do anything with them,” he said. “As soon as we get our schedules to work, we’re going to film.”