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“The film industry is very democratic — it’s all about money,”

The Oscar-winning actor was the star attraction at the opening of the fourth Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) at Madinat Jumeirah on Sunday.

George Clooney praises DIFF as an avenue for bridging cultures and says the only reason more films weren’t made about the Arab world, or controversial topics, was money.

WITH the Burj Al Arab as the backdrop and Dubai International Film Festival the reason for George Clooney’s presence in Dubai, talk naturally turned to the development of the Arab world, its coverage in films and Clooney’s role in developing it with movies like Syriana.

The Hollywood actor said he saw a clear role for celebrities and movies to focus attention and ask questions.

“I made the film(good night and good luck) because there weren’t questions being asked, and the people who should have been asking them were afraid. And without that, without questioning power, power always corrupts, always. And so that to me was the most important reason for making the film.”

Clooney praised DIFF as an avenue for bridging cultures and said the only reason more films weren’t made about the Arab world or controversial topics was money.

“The film industry is very democratic — it’s all about money,” he said.

“If Syriana or Kingdom had made more money, they would have made more.”

Clooney admitted Arabs had been stereotyped as the bad guys in movies but said it was cyclical.

“We had times when the Japanese were the bad guys,” he said. “We could never have made Three Kings after 9/11.”

So Clooney said it was with happiness that he returned to Dubai where Syriana, “a film very dear to my heart”, was filmed.

“It really is wonderful to be back here,” he said.

“It took a lot of guts to let us film a movie that asks questions like that.”

On issues of the censorship of Syriana in various arenas including Dubai, Clooney said it was something that had to be battled to ensure a movie was shown.

“The fact that it got aired — it’s a step in the right direction,” he said.

Clooney revealed to a select group of Dubai reporters yesterday that he thought his career was on the rocks after the fallout of Syriana hitting movie screens which had leadi US media to label him “Un-American”.

“I really thought that was probably going to be the end of my career,

“We were getting killed. They were picketing movies I was in. They were running hour shows on why my career was over.

“Rather than hiding in a back room or changing my stand, I called up my buddy Grant Heslov and said, ‘Let’s go after them’,” he remembers. “I really thought that was going to be the end of my career the way they were positioning it and the fact that [it wasn't] was probably the most proud time for me. The funny thing was that from the time we started making it to the time it came out, Americans had already gone long past that great fear-mongering moment.”

Clooney said, “My biggest achievement to date was writing and directing Good Night, And Good Luck at a time when people were picketing his movies and saying his career was over due to his stance against going to war in Iraq”.

“I remember calling my father and saying ‘I think I’m in trouble here’.

“He said, ‘Have you got money?’ I said yeah.

“He said ‘Can you pay for your house?’ I said yeah. ‘Then shutup!’

“The fact that it didn’t (end my career) is probably the most proud time.”

Although Clooney admitted it could be a struggle to get movies like Syriana and Three Kings made in Hollywood, he also pointed out that a good movie didn’t need mega bucks to make a good screenplay.

As well as speaking out against the Iraq war, Clooney is actively involved in trying to find a resolution to the Darfur conflict. From addressing the Security Council of the United Nations to appearing in a documentary called Darfur Now, released last month, Clooney is sincere in his call for an end to the crisis in Darfur.

A true champion by anyone’s standards.