With friends like these, George Clooney isn't likely to let great looks, millions of dollars and an Italian villa go to his head. Honored with the American Cinematheque Award for his film work Oct. 13, he was roasted by pals Ellen Barkin, who jokingly claimed she'd hooked up with him while filming the upcoming Ocean's Thirteen, and Bonnie Hunt, who praised his "genius work in Return of the Killer Tomatoes! Longtime friend Julia Roberts took a sweeter tack, explaining that before she wed husband Danny Moder, Clooney was "the best man I thought I ever knew."

Clooney took it all in stride. And just because he's the toast of the town, that doesn't mean he's out of dreams. "I still want to do a musical!" he joked to PEOPLE. "They cut my voice out of [2000's] 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' I was hurt!"

This week's cover

On Newsstands Now!

Saved by the Bell Reunion

The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires

The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!

Get 4 FREE PREVIEW Issues! Click here now