George Clooney Reveals the Best Thing About Working with Brad Pitt (Exclusive)

George Clooney is looking back on the many projects he’s done over the years with his Wolfs castmate and longtime friend, Brad Pitt.

While attending the premiere of Wolfs at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday, Sept. 1, George, 63, reflected on his many years of friendship with Pitt, 60 — but not without getting in a few playful jabs.

“There’s nothing good about it,” he joked to PEOPLE with a shake of his head, while signing some autographs on the carpet. “It’s all a disaster.”

Getting serious, George added: “It’s fun to work with people you know really well.”

He and the Fight Club star attended premiere accompanied by their significant others, Amal Clooney and Pitt’s girlfriend, Ines de Ramon.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Wolfs is a thriller which stars Pitt and Clooney as lone fixers who get assigned to the same job. The duo have starred together in several other films over the years, including the Ocean’s trilogy, Burn After Reading and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

Also at the festival on Sunday, George addressed a recent controversial New York Times article in which sources claimed he and Pitt were paid “more than $35 million each” for their roles in Wolfs.

“[It was] an interesting article and whatever her source was for our salary, it is millions and millions and millions of dollars less than what was reported. And I am only saying that because I think it’s bad for our industry if that’s what people think is the standard bearer for salaries,” George said while speaking alongside Pitt ahead of the movie’s premiere. “I think that’s terrible, it’ll make it impossible to make films.”

In the most recent issue of GQ, George and Pitt also opened up about their friendship, and got candid about how they support each other as “things get bumpy.”

“We’ve been friends for a long time,” George told the magazine. “And it’s fun because we also check in on each other every once in a while, which is an important part of this. Things get complicated in life and you always have to make sure everybody’s okay.”

Pitt added that his costar is “probably the best at understanding, seeing the chessboard and the potential moves.”

“I’ll call George on numerous occasions when things get bumpy,” he said.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

A source who spoke to PEOPLE in February said that the longtime friends were excited to collaborate on another movie together.

“Brad and George are forever friends,” the source said. “They like and respect each other no matter how many years in between gigs together. They go way back, and were happy to work together on this film.”

“Wolfs was a meaty project and both took a real interest in it,” the source added. “They are excited about the film, and enjoying the hell out of it as time leads up to the release.”

Wolfs hits theaters on Sept. 20 and will be available to stream on Apple TV+ on Sept. 27.