Venice laps up Zeta and Clooney

Clooney and Zeta Jones arrived to promote their film by boat

Catherine Zeta Jones and George Clooney have been making waves after sailing into the Venice Film Festival.

The stars arrived by a boat to promote their new film, Intolerable Cruelty, ahead of its premiere at the prestigious event on Wednesday.

Critics gave the film - directed by the acclaimed Coen brothers - a warm reception at a preview screening.

The actors are two of the biggest names in Venice and caused some of the most frenzied scenes of the festival so far.

Fans and paparazzi scrambled to get a glimpse of the pair as they pulled up in their elegant wooden motorboat.

In Intolerable Cruelty, Clooney plays a successful divorce lawyer who has a court battle with Zeta Jones, who portrays a woman who makes money by marrying and then divorcing rich men.

'Great fun'

It sees Clooney reunited with Joel and Ethan Coen, who directed him in O Brother Where Art Thou? and have also had hits with films like The Big Lebowski and Fargo.

During a press conference in Venice, Clooney said: "There aren't all that many good scripts out there so any time you find a script you think is funny you want to work on it.

He also said he wanted to take any chance he could to work with the Coens.

"I've had a great fun time with them," he said. "There are few directors who you'll do anything you can for. Very few."

Films 'bombed'

Most questions at the press conference were directed at the former ER star - dubbed "Georgeous Clooney" by one film magazine - while an Italian comedienne interrupted proceedings to propose to him.

The actor admitted his recent more serious films had "bombed" at the box office, but said: "You just keep plugging away and hope one of them will make it."

This is the 60th anniversary of the Venice Film Festival - the oldest event of its kind.

It has already seen acclaimed premières of Woody Allen's latest film, Anything Else, and Lost In Translation starring Bill Murray.

Intolerable Cruelty is not in the running for the festival's main award, the Golden Lion, which will be handed out on Saturday.