Just hours after Nicole Kidman announced her pregnancy, George Clooney offered up his congratulations.

“I’m thrilled for her,” he told People at the picket-line-free Critics’ Choice Awards in L.A. Monday night. “[She'll be] a perfect mother.”

(The two have been friends for years, dating back to their work in 1997’s The Peacemaker. Kidman famously bet Clooney $10,000 he would be unmarried and childless when he turned 40 in 2001. She lost, of course.)

“She’ll be great,” Clooney said of the Aussie actress, already mother to Isabella, 15, and Connor, 12, her adopted children with ex-husband Tom Cruise. “She’ll be a tall mother.”

Clooney, who lost the best actor award to Daniel Day Lewis, also endured some good-natured ribbing from Ocean’s Thirteen pal Casey Affleck. “Hey you big loser,” Ben’s little brother heckled during Clooney’s chat with People. “You’re a loser!”

Clooney, who won a best supporting acting Oscar last year for Syriana, took it all in stride, noting, “[Being] a nominee, it’s fine. But when you’re a loser, you’re a loser.”

The actor was also on hand to present the first-annual Joel Siegel Award (named after the late ABC movie critic) to friend and former costar Don Cheadle for his humanitarian work.

“The fact that [George] only charged me $1,500, I thought was really nice of him,” Cheadle joked in the press room. “Matt [Damon] was around $2,500, and what Denzel wanted, I won’t even mention.”

The Darfur activist did get serious for a minute, adding that “George is . . . someone who I’ve not only worked with onscreen, but we’ve also done things for the cause – and it’s great to have an ally.”

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George Clooney may not be ready to marry his girlfriend, Sarah Larson, but he is ready to make her famous in her own right. George thinks Sarah is pretty and talented enough to be a huge movie star, so he’s asked his good friend, producer Steven Soderbergh, to put her in his upcoming movie, tentatively titled Garland Bunting Project. The insider says that George doesn’t want to cast Sarah as his co-star because he doesn’t want to work with someone he’s involved with. “George thinks Sarah could be a huge star,” the insider adds. “That’s why he’s helping her with her career.”

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George Clooney and his girlfriend, Sarah Larson, were in Rome because he was honored at the 8th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates December 13th for his efforts to raise awareness in Darfur.

He is a handsome guy. They make a cute couple!

Last Friday, while on his motorcycle in the Hollywood Hills, Clooney was nearly in an accident with paparazzi trying to take his picture. “It’s not about shooting pictures, it’s about the risks they’re taking and driving with reckless abandon. I live on a street where everyone hikes. There are mothers with strollers and elderly people. What they’re doing is illegal, it’s high speed chases and they’re competing with each other. They’re not trying to catch me doing something stupid, they’re trying to create me doing something stupid. You don’t get to break all these laws and then say ‘I’m just doing my job.’ The guys that commit all these crimes are rewarded for it. It creates bounty hunters in a way. They cry poor… then look at the cars they’re driving… Mercedes and Land Rovers.”

Clooney goes on to defend Britney Spears and her driving skills, “You look at the footage of Britney running the red light… there’s eight guys with cameras at night in the middle of the street. There are no rules now. It sounds like a bunch of well-off people whining about how difficult their life is but I really don’t believe that is the case. It’s getting to a point where people that are not involved are getting hurt.”

What would Clooney like to say to the paparazzi? “I’m the son of an anchor man. I don’t want to restrict anyone’s rights. Take your pictures but don’t go 60 mph down a one way street. Don’t cause injury to people who aren’t involved.”

Watch the full interview with George Clooney tonight on Entertainment Tonight!

George Clooney has opened his wallet, donating $25,000 to writers hurting from the recent strike.

The actor, 46, gave the money to the New York-based Actors Fund, which provides emergency relief for workers in the entertainment industry.

He said he planned to make periodic donations to the fund and asked other stars to do that same.

“My hope is that people who can afford it will take responsibility for this and help out,” he told Variety.

George Clooney is a saint. He recently donated $25,000 to those affected by the Writers Guild strike. He’s also urging others who can afford it to do the same:

The Ocean’s 13 star told Variety: “To people like myself, the strike is a forced vacation.

“But there is the fear that a prolonged strike can destroy people who make a living in this industry.”

He continued to urge fellow stars to donate money saying: “My hope is that people who can afford it will take responsibility for this and help out.”

Negotiations in the strike are expected to resume next week after the Thanksgiving weekend.

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