US actor and film director George Clooney smiles from a motorboat as he arrives in Venice on the eve of the opening of the 68th Venice International Film Festival on August 30, 2011. "The Ides of March" written and directed by Clooney will be the opening film - in Competition- on September 1, at the 68th Venice International Film Festival, the "Mostra". AFP PHOTO / Marco Sabadin