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| Clooney fan upstages Zeta Jones 9/4/03
 Catherine Zeta Jones has been upstaged by a veil-wearing woman who proposed to her Intolerable Cruelty co-star George Clooney with a ring and a priest in tow.Hollywood's most famous bachelor was promoting the Coen brothers' latest screwball comedy at a Venice Film Festival press conference with Zeta Jones.
A young woman raced forward and popped the question to a laughing Clooney as Zeta Jones looked on somewhat bemused.
 He said he has spent much of the summer hiding from the paparazzi inside the luxurious confines of his 15-bedroom villa overlooking Italy's Lake Como.In the film, Clooney portrays Miles Massey, a highly successful Los Angeles divorce lawyer who finally meets his match in professional husband hunter Marylin, played by Zeta-Jones.
As the two battle it out in the divorce courts they find they cannot help being attracted to each other.
 Clooney said: "You can't really underplay the characters, there's nothing subtle about a Joel and Ethan script." He has previously worked with the two brothers on O Brother, Where Art Thou?The Tinseltown heart-throb recently revealed that dating has its share of ups and downs.
"Here's the great thing about dating. You get to start over and go, 'I'm a really nice guy.' And by virtue of saying it, you can be," he said.
 However, he lamented: "The minute you start dating, it's pictures and stories and 'Who is she?' It puts the pressure on immediately.""So you have to decide, before you go out in public, if you're willing to take those hits.
"Usually, it's, 'Well, why don't we stay in and have some drinks and get to know each other before we decide if we're willing to face up to this."
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  Catherine Zeta-Jones looked as stunning as ever when she arrived for the premiere of her new film Intolerable Cruelty at the Venice Film Festival. But the Oscar-winning actress could not steal the spotlight from her co-star George Clooney, who received a surprise marriage proposal at the screening.After making their entrance on an elegant wooden launch, the pair made their way through crowds of screaming fans and jostling photographers to hold a press conference in the Venice Lido. No sooner were they on the dais, however, than a young woman wearing a wedding veil dashed up to George and asked for his hand in marriage.
  As the throng of journalists collapsed into laughter, one critic tried to call proceedings to order, shouting "I'm sorry to raise the level of the press conference, but I would like to ask a question". Quick-witted Clooney was having too much fun, however, and he cut the reporter off by saying: "No, I will not marry you." Eventually the pair did get around to discussing their new flick, which is the latest offering from the legendary Coen brothers. In the film Catherine plays a serial divorcee, who seeks out wealthy men with the aim of marrying for money.
  "I didn't want Marilyn to be that deliciously bitchy because I wanted people to like her," said the Welsh actress. "She's the eye of the storm or a tornado, unaware of what chaos she can create." Marilyn meets her match in the shape of a rich lawyer, played by George. Needless to say, as the couple battle it out in the divorce courts, they can't help falling for one another."You can't really underplay the characters," said George. "There's nothing subtle about Joel and Ethan's script." And judging by the frenzy of attention the 42-year-old attracted on Wednesday night, there's nothing subtle about his popularity either.
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| Romance in the air as Clooney steals show Bruce Johnston
9/4/03
 Catherine Zeta Jones and George Clooney stole the show at the Venice Film Festival yesterday.The two actors, promoting the Coen Brothers' new romantic comedy Intolerable Cruelty, in which they star, charmed Venice with a tongue-in-cheek Hollywood style entrance. Girls screamed and paparazzi jostled as the pair arrived in an elegant wooden boat. Zeta Jones was dazzling in a low-cut black dress and stiletto heels, but for once she was upstaged.
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Catherine Zeta Jones and George Clooney arrive in style
 Clooney - who has been complaining recently that he cannot find a girlfriend because of the pressures of being constantly in the public eye - was the big attraction.In a moment of surprise slapstick during their press conference on the Lido, the comedienne Victoria Cabella donned a wedding veil, ran up to the dais and said: "George, will you marry me?"
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  An irate film critic shouted over the laughter: "I'm sorry to raise the level of the press conference, but I would like to ask. . ." "No," said Clooney, shaking his head, deadpan, "I will not marry you."The film stars Zeta Jones as Marilyn, a compulsive gold-digger constantly on the prowl for a new and richer husband. Clooney plays a sleazy lawyer who arouses her ire by foiling her plans.
The press showing received huge applause in advance of last night's formal premiere.
Zeta Jones was in Venice with her mother but without her husband, the actor Michael Douglas. She said she and her mother had spent much of the summer in Italy, including a visit to Clooney's home on Lake Como.
 Discussing her character in the film, she said: "I didn't want Marilyn to be that bitchy. She's the eye of the storm or a tornado, unaware of what chaos she can create. "I wanted people to like her, for George to like her, and for my husband to like her."
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