George Clooney in trouble over Venice water boat stunt?

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George Clooney in trouble over Venice boat stunt?
George Clooney in trouble over Venice boat stunt?

George Clooney sent knees weak as he arrived at the Venice Film Festival in usual glamorous style this week - rocking up looking handsome at the helm of a water taxi.

But one resident was less than impressed, and reported the manoeuvre to police, demanding they investigate whether he has the required licence for navigating Venice's canals.

Local lawyer Mario De'Elia raised his concerns at a time when the traffic on the city's Grand Canal is under scrutiny, following the death of a German tourist on 17 August, who was crushed when a water taxi hit his gondola.

Indeed, the mayor of Venice this week announced he is to ban gondolas from the city's Grand Canal during busy periods following the death of the German tourist.

The city is planning to introduce a floating congestion zone to prevent the boats from operating during rush hour, the Daily Mail reports.

Gondoliers are also to be breathalysed to regulate drug and alcohol consumption.

Police say traces of cocaine were found in the bloodstream of the gondolier involved in the crash which killed the tourist.

Mayor Giorgio Orsoni told the BBC: "We have to think of the Grand Canal as a street, a main street like that of all cities, with particular heavy traffic. We need some discipline."

A town hall official reassured everybody that Clooney would hardly be landing in a Venice jail, however. The official told the Daily Telegraph: "Photos in the papers do not represent proof, so checks will be made. But if an offence was committed it would be an administrative offence punishable with a fine. And if it came to that, it would be the taxi owner, not Clooney, who would be fined."

And according to Vanity Fair, The New Age defended the lawyer making the complaint, saying: "Nerves are very fraught in Venice on water traffic regulations after this month's deadly collision on the Grand Canal between a water ferry and a gondola, which killed a German tourist."

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