"Good Night, and Good Luck" George Clooney says

George Clooney's "Goodnight and Good Luck" will be one of 19 films aiming for the Golden Lion top prize in the main competition at the Venice festival, along with new movies directed by Ang Lee, John Turturro, Terry Gilliam and Brazil's Fernando Meirelles, according to Reuters. The festival opens on August 31.

The movie directed and co-wriiten by George Clooney for Warner Independent Pictures will also open the 43rd New York Film Festival on September 22 at Lincoln Center.

"For his second film, George Clooney has taken on a challenging subject and succeeded brilliantly," said Richard Peña, chairman of the New York Film Festival selection committee in a statement.
"Good Night, and Good Luck superbly captures the look and feel of the era while delivering a stirring story with striking contemporary relevance", he added.

"Goodnight and Good Luck" starring David Strathairn as journalist Edward R. Murrow, with Clooney playing CBS News producer Fred Friendly, is set to hit theaters in October.

Set in the 1950s, the movie shot in black-and-white, revolves around Murrow's determination to stand up against the Red-baiting orchestrated by Senator Joseph McCarthy.

The cast includes Robert Downey, Jr. and Patricia Clarkson as Joe and Shirley Wershba, Frank Langella as Bill Paley, Ray Wise as Don Hollenbeck, Grant Heslov as Don Hewitt, and Jeff Daniels as Ted Church.