George Clooney has been building his career behind the camera at a phenomenal rate with equal success, both with audiences and critics, and he's being rewarded for it with the announcement that he is to receive the 21st American Cinematheque Award in October.

According to PR Inside:

The honour is given each year to a film artist "who is fully engaged in his or her work and is committed to making a significant contribution to the art of the motion picture."

The chairman of the Cinematheque board, Rick Nicita, has some very strong and positive words to say about Clooney saying that he...

...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 onscreen and in his off-screen social activism.

Well done to Mr Clooney, I have to agree that his recent work behind the camera and in more thoughtful films has been stunning. I once thought of him in quite a poor light, that tilted head, and upward look was his trademark through ER and it began to annoy me in his following films. Then that disappeared and we had work appearing that was both script and visually strong, and work that was both original and had a lot to say about our world today. He definitely deserves the recognition.