Amal Clooney arrives in Venice with George Clooney in satin skirt suit and short-shorts

The pair were spotted on a boat heading into Venice, with the Jay Kelly star opting for a casual navy polo with white pants, a matching belt, sunglasses, and a black backpack.

His human rights lawyer wife, however, went for a much more stylish offering, wearing an olive green skirt suit, featuring a blazer and a camisole paired with leg-baring short-shorts, with Amal completing her look with sunglasses and her hair styled down. The look came courtesy of Tom Ford by Haider Ackermann.

George has a long history with the Venice Film Festival, making his first appearance nearly 30 years ago, for the premiere of 1998's Out of Sight. He and Amal attended most recently in 2025, for the premiere of Jay Kelly.

And this year, the festival kicks off on an extra-special note for George, who will receive the Golden Lion honor for Lifetime Achievement, a tribute to his nearly five decades as not just an actor, but also a producer and director.

Artistic Director of the Festival, Alberto Barbera, issued a statement with the news, which read: "In his triple capacity as actor, director, and producer, George Clooney is a complete and charismatic artist, impassioned and original, who has transformed a deep vocation into one of the most luminous parabolas of contemporary film."

On his ability as an actor, it added: "He is endowed with the gift of making his characters seem not only credible but desirable, approachable, and human, thanks to his undeniable charm. But Clooney's charisma is constructed on his credibility, not on his image, because his seductive side has never been merely aesthetic."

"A perfect combination of the star glamor of days gone by, remarkable professionalism, and modern sensitivity, the actor has crossed the genres with rare versatility: war movies with Three Kings and Syriana; thrillers with Michael Clayton; sophisticated comedies with Ocean's Eleven and O Brother Where Art Thou?; science fiction with Gravity and Solaris; and bittersweet comedies with The Descendants, Up In the Air, and Jay Kelly."

The statement also included a nod to his work behind the camera, dubbing them "a demanding and generous concept of cinema," such as "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Good Night and Good Luck, The Ides of March, and Suburbicon," which are "examples of films that are refined, ambitious, and outside the rules and conventions of Hollywood cinema."

George himself issued a statement in response to the honor, quipping: "I've had so many extraordinary moments in Venice. This festival is without question my favorite and to be given the Golden Lion is a tremendous honor. It also probably means I'm old, but I'll take it."