George Clooney's latest film “The Monuments Men” may have turned out to be an awards season bust (I still quite liked what he tried to do with that picture), but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a place in the season. Courtesy of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, he'll need to dust off the tux and head to the Beverly Hilton for the Golden Globes in January because he's this year's recipient of the organization's Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Previous recipients of the prize, awarded for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment” (but generally perceived as a lifetime achievement honor of sorts), include Woody Allen, Jodie Foster, Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese. The first annual honoree was DeMille himself in 1952, followed by the likes of Walt Disney, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Bob Hope, James Stewart, John Wayne and on and on.
Clooney has always been a favorite among the star-adoring members of the HFPA. He's received 13 nominations stretching back to TV accolades in his “ER” days, including four wins, most recently taking the Best Picture – Drama prize for “Argo.” He also won the Best Actor in a Drama award for “The Descendants” the year prior. The group has even singled out his work when the Academy opted out, whether the Coen brothers' “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” in 2000 or his own “Ides of March” in 2011.
The 72nd annual Golden Globe Awards will be presented on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015.