In March 2001, George Clooney, Steven Soderbergh, and a host of other Hollywood luminaries turned up at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel to pay tribute to Julia Roberts, the 16th star to be honored by the American Museum of the Moving Image.

Soderbergh, who directed Roberts in the Oscar-nominated Erin Brockovich, praised her for "grace, wit and generosity of spirit."

Clooney, Roberts' co-star in Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven, also praised "J-Ro, as we call her." She was, Clooney explained, "a confidante whom I could call up anytime at night, and almost immediately she would have her assistant call back!"

[In February 2003, Clooney called to invite Roberts (with whom he was rumored to be having an affair) over for a Valentine's Day barbecue. When her husband Danny Moder answered, George could not resist the temptation to yank his chain. "I promise," he told Moder, "not to hug or kiss your wife!" (Moder was not amused.)]