George Clooney will be saluted tonight by the American Film Institute at their annual fundraiser. The proceedings will be shown on TNT on June 21st. Julia Roberts, whose last movie with Clooney– “Money Monster”– was a disaster, will give Clooney the award. If Roberts is anything like she’s been at similar ceremonies, there will be a lot of bleeping during her speech. She drops the F word about as much as Adele.
Clooney, it is hoped, will be a big draw. The AFI needs it. According to their Form 990 for 2016, their revenue less expenses came to MINUS $262,124. Total assets were off by $2 million, from $47 mil in 2015 to $45 mil. Net assets or fund balances were down from 2015 by about $1.5 million.
On the bright side, the AFI upped their grants to individuals in 2016 to $225,000 from just $18,000 the year before. But the not for profit, so important to film students and historians, is top heavy with $16 million in salaries in 2016. (Their CEO made $567,000.) They spend just a tad more– $17 million– on education and training, exhibitions, and national programs. Independent contractors were paid around $2 million in 2016.
The AFI has two big annual events– tonight’s dinner and an annual luncheon during Golden Globe weekend, held at the Four Seasons for the 10 best movies and TV shows of the year. In 2016, they reported a net loss of $601,080. The net realized losses on investments is listed as MINUS $1.39 million.
So the Clooney event tonight is key. We’re rooting for them. Maybe Clooney and his Casamigas Tequila partners will underwrite some scholarships. Every year, AFI produces a new class of talented filmmakers whose names usually come up in awards seasons not too long after graduation.
