Friday, May 22, 2026

George Clooney AFI Gala Gone Wrong: Julia Roberts is A No Show, So is Sandra Bullock, Brad Pitt, But Brad’s Ex Jennifer Aniston Shows Up

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The celeb guest list for the George Clooney AFI tribute– now underway in Hollywood– is a little odd.

First of all, where the heck is Julia Roberts? She was supposed to present the AFI Lifetime Achievement award to Clooney. Julia is nowhere to be seen. Cate Blanchett is there, supposedly she’ll do it. They co-starred in a movie no one could watch called “The Good German.”

Also, there’s no sign of Sandra Bullock. Just as there was no sign of Clooney at Bullock’s opening of “Ocean’s 8.” Indeed, the expected cameo of Clooney in “Ocean’s 8” never materialized even though her character is the sister of his character.

Bullock and Clooney became BFF’s with “Gravity,” a massive hit. But “Our Brand is Crisis,” which Clooney produced, was a massive failure. Have they fallen out? Sure seems like it.

And where are all the “Oceans 11” and so on actors? Matt Damon? Brad Pitt? Pitt’s not there, but his ex wife, Jennifer Aniston, came with Courteney Cox. A little peculiar.

Also on hand are Cate Blanchett, Julia Roberts, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, Julianna Margulies, Anna Kendrick, Don Cheadle, Laura Dern, Richard Kind, Norman Lear, and Bill Murray. Miley Cyrus performed songs from the Coen brothers movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” which starred Clooney.

 

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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