Pretend newsman Clooney's message to America: Trust journalists!

Give George Clooney a little credit.

The star played a doctor on NBC’s “ER” for five seasons, but he never dragged a stranger into surgery to remove his gallbladder.

David’s 'My Dinner with Adolf' op-ed in the New York Times earlier this week got a lot of attention, in part because it’s the first time David created something profoundly unfunny.

“I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.”

Too bad he doesn’t take a similar approach to his newest gig. He’s starring as journalist Edward R. Murrow in “Good Night, and Good Luck,” the Broadway adaptation of his 2005 film. Now, everywhere, Clooney is weighing in on the state of journalism as if he spent decades under the tutelage of Woodward and/or Bernstein.

He didn’t. And it shows. Every time he hails the glory of the fourth estate, he ignores how it covered up President Joe Biden’s obvious dementia-like condition. Even worse for Clooney? He did, too. He saw the diminished Biden up close and personal at a DNC fundraiser last June but didn’t write his "Get Out, Joe” New York Times op-ed until weeks later.

The least Clooney can do now is act a little embarrassed ...

Netflix to cinemas: Drop dead

Ted Sarandos has vision. To a point.

The Netflix CEO lords over the mightiest streaming platform —the one that inspired “Netflix and chill” — and has scared movie studios silly.

Why? Netflix churns out film-quality “content” that allows consumers to stay home rather than go to the cineplex.

That’s a dying model anyway, Sarandos argues.

“Folks grew up thinking, ‘I want to make movies on a gigantic screen and have strangers watch them [and to have them] play in the theater for two months and people cry and sold-out shows. ... It’s an outdated concept.”

In the same speech, Sarandos explained why theaters will go the way of the eight-track tape.

“If you’re fortunate to live ... in Manhattan, and you can walk to a multiplex and see a movie, that’s fantastic. Most of the country cannot.”

Shhh! Nobody tell him they invented these box-like contraptions that take people from point A to point B on just a few drops of fossil fuel ...

Jar Jar's comeback

We’re sorry, George! (Lucas, not Clooney.)

The “Star Wars” maestro caught endless heat for his prequel films: “The Phantom Menace,” “Attack of the Clones,” and “Revenge of the Sith.” The trio couldn’t replicate the magic of his original saga.

And to be blunt, Padme, Anakin, and Jar Jar Binks never joined the pop culture canon like Han, Chewie, and friends.

Now, “Revenge of the Sith” is getting a re-release for its 20th anniversary, and the film could make a pretty penny. Initial calls say it’ll make $25-plus million, a remarkable sum for a title that’s been available on home video for years.

That’s also more than brand-new films like “Until Dawn” and “The Accountant 2” will earn in their debut frames.

Movie studios might want to give their film libraries a long look moving forward. It might be more profitable than greenlighting yet another remake or reboot ...

Marvel's 'Fantastic' fanatics

Speaking of reboots, the actors behind the upcoming “Fantastic Four” update have a message for Rachel Zegler. Hold our beer.

First, Vanessa Kirby and Joseph Quinn (Invisible Girl and the Human Torch, respectively) trashed the comic book source material as antiquated, much like Zegler did with Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

Now, co-star Pedro Pascal is declaring war on beloved author J.K. Rowling. Her crime, in the actor’s eyes? She cheered on the U.K.’s Supreme Court for deciding that men are men and women are women. Oh, and she doesn’t think trans women should compete against biological women.

The horror, the horror.

Pascal called for a boycott of the new “Harry Potter” Max series and all things Rowling.

Is this any way to promote a movie? “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” hits theaters July 25. We’ll see if the Zegler effect hampers its box-office tally ...

Maher's fuhrer furor

That’s what friends aren’t for.

Larry David took his pal Bill Maher to the woodshed for daring to break bread with President Donald Trump earlier this month. David’s “My Dinner with Adolf” op-ed in the New York Times earlier this week got a lot of attention, in part because it’s the first time David created something profoundly unfunny.

Well, Maher is firing back at his “friend,” although it appears their bond may be fading fast.

“But you know, to use the Hitler thing, first of all, I just think it’s kind of insulting to six million dead Jews. You know, like, that should kind of be in its own place in history.”

Read it again with the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” theme music playing. Loud.