Julia Roberts to Present the 21st American Cinematheque Award to George Clooney at Cinematheque Benefit.

Ellen Barkin, Don Cheadle, John Cusack, Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Morgan Freeman, Salma Hayek, Bonnie Hunt, Richard Kind, Bernie Mac, Julianna Margulies, Carl Reiner, David Strathairn, Noah Wyle, Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones to Tribute Oscar Winner George Clooney at October 13th Award Presentation at the Beverly Hilton Hotel

AMC To Premiere The Awards Program On Wednesday, December 13 at 8:00 PM ET/PT

HOLLYWOOD -- Julia Roberts, George Clooney's co-star in OCEAN'S ELEVEN and OCEAN'S TWELVE, as well as in his directorial debut CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND, will present the 2006 American Cinematheque Award to George Clooney at the close of the 21st Annual American Cinematheque Award Show on Friday, October 13th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Colleagues appearing in person to pay tribute to George Clooney are: Ellen Barkin (actress, OCEAN'S THIRTEEN), Don Cheadle (actor, OCEAN'S ELEVEN, OCEAN'S TWELVE, OUT OF SIGHT, "Fail Safe"), John Cusack (actor, THE THIN RED LINE), Danny DeVito, Morgan Freeman, Salma Hayek (actress, SPY KIDS 3-D, FROM DUSK TO DAWN); Bonnie Hunt, Richard Kind (actor, CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND, WAITING FOR WOODY); Bernie Mac (actor, OCEAN'S ELEVEN), Julianna Margulies (actress "ER"), Carl Reiner (actor, OCEAN'S ELEVEN, OCEAN'S TWELVE), and Noah Wyle (actor, "ER"). Additional presenters will be announced as they are confirmed. Appearing via taped messages that will be shown during the award show are: Matt Damon (actor, OCEAN'S ELEVEN, CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND, SYRIANA), David Strathairn (actor, GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.), Renee Zellweger, and Catherine Zeta-Jones (actress, INTOLERABLE CRUELTY, OCEAN'S TWELVE).

Singer/pianist Peter Cincotti will perform live as part of the show. The information in parentheses indicates projects each of these individuals worked on with George Clooney.

The presentation and gala benefit takes place Friday, October 13th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel's International Ballroom in Beverly Hills. AMC will premiere the Award Show broadcast of "Hollywood Celebrates George Clooney: An American Cinematheque Tribute," on Wednesday, December 13, 2006 at 8 PM ET/PT. This is the 5th year that AMC is the exclusive broadcast presenter of the Award Show. The network has been the exclusive broadcast partner of the annual event since 2003, and recently announced that it has signed a deal to continue to exclusively air the event through 2007.

"The American Cinematheque is extremely pleased to honor George Clooney at this year's celebration," said Rick Nicita. "George Clooney is truly a Renaissance man. In a relatively short time he has proven his talents as an actor, director, writer and producer. He has managed to blend entertainment with political commentary as well as combining charm, eloquence and good old-fashioned movie star charisma. His personal commitment to trying to make the world a better place is reflected both on screen and in his off-screen social activism. With his considerable accomplishments so far, it is obvious that not just moviegoers but citizens of the world are going to happily see and hear George for years to come."

Clooney was the unanimous choice of the Cinematheque Board of Directors selection committee, which since 1986, has annually honored an extraordinary artist (actor, director or writer) 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 picture.

Academy Award winner George Clooney has gone from television actor to motion picture actor to producer, executive producer and director. He was honored with three Academy Award nominations, the first time in history an individual has garnered three Oscar nominations for two different films in the same year: as Best Director and for Best Original Screenplay for GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. and as Best Supporting Actor in SYRIANA. Clooney received the Stanley Kramer Award from the Producers Guild of America for GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. The award honors films that demonstrate social justice.

Coming up is Tony Gilroy's MICHAEL CLAYTON, which co-stars Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton, due out in 2007 and Steven Soderbergh's OCEAN'S THIRTEEN, which begins production this summer.