SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2017 to get top French film honor rance's film academy said Thursday it will confer a top hon- orary award on US actor George Clooney when it hands out Fits coveted Cesar awards, the nation's equivalent of the Oscars, on Feb 24. The Academie des Arts et Techniques du Cinema said that Clooney was their chosen recipient of this year's Honorary Cesar Award as they wanted to fete his "dazzling talent as an actor, director, scriptwriter and producer --- and above all, his artistic and spiritual generosity." "The most charismatic actor of his generation, George Clooney embodies Hollywood glamour... His charm, humor, per- sonality and engagement stand at the heart of our perpetual and In this file photo, Milo Yiannopoulos speaks on campus eternal admiration." The academy said Clooney's name "will for- in the Mathematics building at the University of ever be inscribed in the pantheon of legendary actors." Previous Colorado in Boulder, Colorado. — AP honorary Cesar winners include Kate Winslet and Quentin Tarantino. The 55-year-old Clooney, who made his breakthrough two Sales soar for Milo decades ago in the TV medical drama ER, has won a slew of top awards including an Oscar for best supporting actor in Syriana in 2006 and a 2013 best picture award as producer for Argo. He also book Dangerous garnered Golden Globes as best actor in the ' O' Brother Where Art Thou in 2001 and Alexander Payne's The ales are soaring for the upcoming book by incendiary Descendants in 2012. Last year's honorary Cesar went to Michael right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos but Douglas, who thereby followed in the footsteps of fellow This file photo shows US actor George Clooney posing during Sdetails of his promotional tour - assuming there is one Americans Kevin Costner (2013), Scarlett Johansson (2014) and a photo call for the film Money Monster at the 69th Cannes - is a mystery for now. A spokeswoman for Threshold Sean Penn (2015).--AFP Film Festival in Cannes, southern France. — AFP Editions, the conservative imprint at Simon & Schuster, declined comment Thursday when asked where Yiannopoulos was expected to appear on behalf of "Dangerous." Publishers would usually be anxious to share details about a book just a few weeks from publication, March 14, and in high demand from the public. "Dangerous" British band Coldplay partners was Number 1 on Amazon.com as of Thursday evening. But the controversy that has driven pre-orders for "Dangerous" has also made promotion unusually compli- cated. The 32-year-old Breitbart editor, born in Greece and with refugee and migrant charity raised in England, is a walking challenge to free speech principles. A vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, ritish rock band Coldplay has thrown its support behind a MOAS has saved the lives of more than 30,000 migrants mak- Yiannopoulos has made vicious comments about Muslims, Malta-based humanitarian charity that saves migrants in ing perilous journeys from northern Africa and the Middle East to women and others, and on his web site offers such prod- Bsearch-and-rescue missions at sea, the charity said on Europe, often on flimsy rafts and boats, the charity said. In 2017 ucts as "Feminism is Cancer" T-shirts and "Fat Shaming Thursday. The musicians, known for hits such as "Clocks" and so far, some 5,500 migrants and refugees had entered Europe by Works" hoodies. His harassment campaign last summer "Viva La Vida", kicked off their new role as patrons of MOAS sea by the end of January, with over three quarters arriving in against "Ghostbusters" star Leslie Jones led to his banish- (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) with an online fundraising film. Italy and the remainder in Greece, according to the International ment from . "We feel duty-bound to raise awareness about this noble Organization for Migration (IOM). More than 250 were believed to Yiannopoulos' talks have sparked protests, shouting mission," the Grammy Award-winning band said in a state- have drowned, IOM data shows. Migration flows are expected to matches and occasional violence at stops around the coun- ment. In the film, entitled "Rescue Humanity", the band's lead increase later this year once the weather warms. — Reuters try. On Wednesday, the University of California, Berkeley vocalist, Chris Martin, sings an a cappella rendition of cancelled a scheduled talk by Milo after violent protests Coldplay's hit song "Don't Panic" over footage depicting dis- broke out. A man was shot and wounded at protests out- tressed migrants at sea being rescued by MOAS staff. "But for side his Jan 21 talk at the University of Washington. Rowdy an accident of geography, those people could be us and we protests at UC Davis on Jan 13 prompted campus could be them," Martin said in a statement. Republicans to cancel his appearance at the last minute. His final stop was supposed to be UCLA on Thursday but the invitation was rescinded, making Berkeley his grand finale. Yiannopoulos' book deal was greeted with immediate anger when announced in late December. Hundreds of authors have objected and one writer, Roxane Gay, with- drew a book she had planned for Simon and Schuster. Many independent sellers have expressed uneasiness, say- ing they will make the book available if asked for, but will not promote it. One store, The Booksmith in San Francisco, has announced it will neither stock the book nor order a copy upon customer request. Booksmith also said it was cutting orders for Simon and Schuster books by 50 percent. "While we respect Simon's decision to publish any book, we reserve the right to allocate our discretionary inventory dollars with publishers who act with ethical and moral stan- dards consistent with our own," reads a posting from the store. Yiannopoulos' web site lists no future public appear- ances and information about a possible book tour is hard to find, as it has not been updated lately. A spokeswoman for the country's largest physical bookstore chain, Barnes and Noble, said that Yiannopoulos had no events planned at any of its stores. Simon and Schuster is part of CBS Corporation, but the network said Thursday that it had no interviews scheduled with the author. — AP