George Clooney has been giving a masterclass in the art of superstardom at the Venice film festival this year. Already a favourite on the Lido, partly because he has a home in Italy, he played the crowds to perfection on Friday evening, signing autographs along a packed red carpet for 30 minutes or so and delaying the world premiere of his latest movie “Michael Clayton”. The film is also a critical hit, tackling the issues of corporate corruption and private greed.

George Clooney plays a burned out “fixer” for a New York law firm in his latest movie, which tackles corporate corruption, personal greed and the moral dilemmas people face at the workplace every day.

But it was not all smooth sailing for the 46-year-old, who said he was not paid for the new film. He was visibly irritated by a question at the press conference about his affiliation to Nestle, for whom he appears in an advertisement that airs regularly on Italian television with the catch phrase “Nespresso…What Else?” (see picture). The question came up because his film explores the ethics of large corporations, suggesting that they are too willing to abandon them for profit. “I’m not going to apologise to you for trying to make a living once in a while,” he said. “I don’t really have an answer for you on that. It’s sort of an irritating question.” After switching off his mike, he continued to mutter angrily, although sadly for us we couldn’t hear him. Even Clooney’s perfectly groomed feathers, it appears, can be ruffled.

The Venice film festival opened on Wednesday with “Atonement”, an adaptation of Ian McEwan’s acclaimed novel about a girl whose fertile imagination leads her to make a false accusation that has tragic consequences.The movie, starring British actress Keira Knightley, is the first of 22 entries in the festival’s main competition, and was screened to the press ahead of the evening red carpet premiere.

For 11 days the Lido waterfront will be home to hundreds of journalists there for the films and to follow the stars as they promote their pictures and party into the early hours.

In “Atonement”, she reunites with up-and-coming British director Joe Wright after they collaborated on “Pride and Prejudice”, in which the actress played Elizabeth Bennet and won an Oscar nomination.

This time the 22 year-old plays Cecilia Tallis, whose life is turned upside down when sister Briony blames her lover Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) for a crime he did not commit.

Briony goes on to becomes a writer and seeks redemption in the real world and through a novel she knows will be her last.