Text Bruno Lester
Images Camera Press, Rex Features, Eyevine
George Clooney talks about his penchant for political films, the vagaries of fame, women and work
After winning the 2006 Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Syriana and receiving an Oscar nomination for writing and directing his second feature film Good Night, and Good Luck, George Clooney became Hollywood’s most powerful movie star. The dashing actor-director-producer successfully combines Hollywood commerce with political films. His latest release, the political thriller Michael Clayton (written and directed by Tony Gilroy, writer of the Bourne franchise), takes a critical look at corporate America and opened to acclaim at the Venice Film Festival.
Dividing his time between his Los Angeles mansion and an Italian villa on Lake Como, the charming, outspoken star was interviewed in Venice. Dressed in black and sporting a beard, the still dashing 46-year-old talked about Michael Clayton, his political films and his rollercoaster career.
You seem to be constantly working.
Creatively, this is the best time of my life. I’m at a point where I can pick and choose my projects, which may not last, so I have to make the most of it. I want a body of work I can be proud of.
Three Kings, Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck were socially relevant pictures, and Michael Clayton is yet another political film from you.
There’s nothing wrong with entertainment, I’ve built my career on it. But if, from time to time, I find a story relevant enough to our time that it creates discussion and thought, I’m happy. Among my favourite movies are political films like The Parallax View, Dr. Strangelove, The Spy Who Came In from the Cold, The Last Detail, All the President’s Men, Network and Coppola’s The Conversation.
Off-screen you’re also one of the most outspoken and committed Hollywood activists.
I feel the responsible thing is to do something, but don’t look for my name on any ballots. I’ve done too many bad things in my life to go into politics. You can get a lot more done when you’re not in politics, I think. I’m not good with compromises.
What’s your secret to picking good projects?
I’ve learned to focus on the script. All my choices have been better since I freed myself from my need to be successful. I don’t need the money any more, so now I find joy and satisfaction in what I’m doing.
Is your third directorial effort Leatherheads another political story?
After Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck, about 30 political films were sent to me to directly. But that wasn’t who I wanted to be. Leatherheads is a romance set in the 1920s, a kind of The Philadelphia Story with football. It stars Renée Zellweger, John Krasinski (of the US version of The Office) and myself. This is real Preston Sturges/Howard Hawks territory. It’s 135 pages that will play like 90. It’s rapid-fire.
You’ve also teamed up with the Coen brothers again (after O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Intolerable Cruelty) on the upcoming Burn After Reading.
It’s about a CIA guy who’s writing a book and loses the disc. I’m not that character, but I play a guy who goes around killing people. It’ll be the third in my Coen trilogy of idiots.
Your career took a long time to flourish, starting out in failed TV sitcoms and early exploitation films…
And they’re still on my resume! When I started, I was thrilled to get jobs. I danced when I got Return of the Killer Tomatoes. Even while I was doing things like that, I was making $100,000 a year. I wasn’t doing the kind of films I wanted to, but I wasn’t starving.
After five years on the TV series ER, you got another shot at movie stardom.
In the beginning, I made what I thought were smart moves and they turned out to be dumb. For instance, I did a Batman movie. Batman and Robin and The Peacemaker both came out in 1997 and I buried the Bat franchise and almost brought down DreamWorks all in one year.
What do you think you learned from the experience?
I learned that it’s conceivable to take a great script and make a bad movie, but it’s inconceivable to take a bad script and make a good movie. Ultimately, it comes down to the scripts.
Did you always dream of becoming an actor?
No, I really wanted to be a professional baseball player. I had the hat, but I lacked the skill.
I thought you wanted to be a journalist?
When I was 19, I got a job as reporter. I was so bad. I could never be as good as my dad, who was a television newsman, so I thought I’d better get another job. But I played a journalist in The Good German.
In retrospect, was it better that your career developed slowly?
I was lucky because I didn’t get famous until I was 33 years old. I had almost been famous several times. There’s a great lesson in that: fame has very little to do with you. You can’t figure that out as easily when you’re 23, because you think you’re the smartest person in the room and you believe it when people tell you how great you are.
How are you dealing differently with fame today?
When you’re young and getting started, fame is like a bug light, you’re driven toward success so intensely. When you get it, you realize most of the things you thought would be great aren’t. That’s not whining. The greatest thing about being in the position I’m in is I can walk into a movie studio and say: “I want to make a black-and-white film noir,” and they’ll make it because they don’t want me to go some place else.
Do tabloid stories upset you?
I usually don’t notice any more. They’re not worth my energy. And you can’t try to prove them untrue because you just look like an idiot, but most of the time it’s harmless. Over a period of time, people are going to be incredibly kind to you as well as incredibly cruel. You have to find a way to define yourself and not worry about the rest.
You’ve said you don’t want children. Is that true?
Most people want children and have no understanding of someone who has no thought like that. I’ve never had the desire for George Juniors. There isn’t anything in me that wants to replicate. It’s such a great responsibility, I thought it was something I couldn’t just do half-arsed.
You’ve also said that you’d never marry again.
I’ve been married [to actress Talia Balsam] and it’s not something I’m looking out for. The truth is, I’m really happy. I’m working too much and I don’t want to deal with the issue of how all the time we’re spending apart is hurting her. Also, three years is my record in a relationship.
What do you find attractive in a woman?
A sense of humour is number one for me. It’s not the first thing you notice at 21, but it’s the first thing I notice now. My lifestyle has affected my relationships, but probably less than my own issues or insecurities. You can’t really blame outside forces for things not working out – you have to take some responsibility.
Do you believe in love at first sight?
My father proposed to my mother on their first date, so I know it can happen and that a marriage can work.
Are all your friends in the film business?
ot all, but we’re a close group. We hang out at my house on weekends and play basketball, drink beer and watch sports. We’re a little family and we’re supportive of each other, which means we all know we’ll never be completely alone.
Why did you close down Section 8, the successful production company you ran with Steven Soderbergh for seven years?
We met working on 1998’s Out of Sight, became fast friends and started Section Eight to make movies without studio interference. We had the motto: “We make movies, not money.” We knew it wouldn’t be for ever and it became less about filmmaking and more about the things we didn’t want to do, like cutting trailers. So it was time to go our separate ways and do individual projects. But we’re friends and will continue to collaborate. Steven has directed me in six movies and is the biggest influence on me as an actor, a filmmaker and a writer. I study him.
What about your new company?
It’s called Smoke House and I run it with Grant Heslov, my writing partner on Good Night, and Good Luck.
Do you consider yourself a superstar?
If I thought of myself as a movie star, then I’d stop being an actor and that’s no fun. If you decide you’re a movie star, there’s a danger that you start to protect an image you’ve created and then all you do is repeat the same parts. You become a caricature and the fan base leaves you.
How do you think your film career will be looked upon in 50 years?
I can’t concern myself with that. All I’m concerned about right now is doing movies that I’m proud of. If they work, great, but fear won’t stop me from taking on risky projects.
FR » George Clooney
Après avoir remporté le 2006 Best Supporting Actor Oscar pour Syriana et une nomination aux Oscars pour le scénario et la réalisation de son second long-métrage Good Night, and Good Luck, George Clooney est devenu la star de cinéma la plus en vue d’Hollywood. L’acteur-réalisateur-producteur combine parfaitement commerce hollywoodien et films politiques.
Three Kings, Syriana, et Good Night, and Good Luck étaient déjà des films centrés sur les questions sociales. A son tour, Michael Clayton est un film politique.
Le divertissement n’est pas une mauvaise chose en soi, mais si je trouve une histoire qui reflète suffisamment bien les questions de notre époque, qui suscite la discussion et la réflexion, alors je suis comblé. J’ai appris à me centrer sur le script. Tous mes choix se sont avérés plus intéressants depuis que je me suis libéré du poids du succès. Je n’ai plus besoin d’argent et je trouve donc de la joie et de la satisfaction dans ce que je fais.
Leatherheads, votre troisième implication en tant que réalisateur est-il à nouveau une histoire politique?
Leatherheads est une histoire d’amour qui se passe dans les années 1920, une sorte de The Philadelphia Story avec du football.
Après 5 années dans la série TV Urgences, vous avez fait un nouveau pas vers la célébrité au cinéma.
Au début, j’ai pris ce que j’estimais être des décisions intelligentes et pour finir elle se sont avérées stupides. Batman and Robin et The Peacemaker sont tous les deux sortis en 1997 et j’ai enterré la franchise de Bat et presque fait tomber DreamWorks, tout ça en une année.
Avez-vous un rapport différent à la renommée aujourd’hui?
J’ai de la chance parce que je n’ai pas connu la célébrité avant l’âge de 33 ans. Lorsque vous êtes jeune et que vous démarrez, vous êtes poussé intensivement vers la recherche du succès, mais cette gloire, ce n’est pas de vous qu’elle émane.
Vous avez dit que vous ne vouliez pas d’enfant.
La plupart des gens veulent des enfants et bien souvent ils ne comprennent pas ceux qui n’ont pas les mêmes conceptions. Il n’y a rien en moi que je veuille vraiment reproduire.
NL » George Clooney
Na zijn Oscar voor beste bijrol in Syriana in 2006 en een Oscarnominatie voor het scenario en de regie van zijn tweede film Good Night, and Good Luck, is George Clooney een van de meest invloedrijke filmsterren van Hollywood. Deze acteurregisseur-producent combineert met succes de business van Hollywood met politieke films.
Three Kings, Syriana en Good Night, and Good Luck bevatten een sociale boodschap en ook Michael Clayton is een politieke film.
Ik heb niets tegen ontspanning, maar als ik een relevant verhaal vind dat aanzet tot discussies en reflectie, dan ben ik gelukkig. Ik heb geleerd me op het script te concentreren. Nu ik niet meer succesvol hoef te zijn, maak ik betere keuzes. Geld is niet meer het belangrijkste, dus geniet ik nu echt van wat ik doe.
Is Leatherheads, je derde realisatie als regisseur, opnieuw een politieke film?
Leatherheads is een romantisch verhaal dat zich afspeelt in de jaren 1920. Het is The Philadelphia Story met Amerikaans voetbal.
Na vijf jaar in de tv-reeks ER beleef je als filmster een tweede carrière.
In het begin nam ik beslissingen die goed leken voor mijn carrière. Achteraf bleken ze eerder dom te zijn. Batman and Robin en The Peacemaker kwamen beide uit in 1997. In een en hetzelfde jaar droeg ik de Batmansaga zowat ten grave en kelderde ik bijna DreamWorks.
Ga je nu anders om met je roem?
Gelukkig was ik al 33 jaar toen ik beroemd werd. Als jong en beginnend acteur snak je zo naar succes. Roem heeft echter bitter weinig te maken met wie je bent.
Je zegt dat je geen kinderen wil.
De meeste mensen willen kinderen en hebben geen begrip voor mensen die dat verlangen niet delen. Ik voel nu eenmaal niet die drang om me voort te planten.
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