Hollow legs
February 10th, 2006
We could do with a few more film stars like George Clooney:
In the early ’90s, you move from TV to films, you do Batman & Robin, The Peacemaker, The Perfect Storm, you can do whatever you want and name your price — and instead you settle into a rhythm of making smaller, ambitious, and interesting films. What was your thought process?
My decision was, if I’m going to have to do junkets and sit down and talk about films, I don’t want to have to talk around Batman & Robin. You should try to be proud of the product you put out and make stuff that you’re interested in. Because otherwise I’m gonna be 70 years old and sitting around one of those dinners where they pull up all of your films, and it’s going to be a bunch of dumb action films in which all that mattered was an opening weekend and that it paid for my house in Italy. I don’t need that. I lived in a one-bedroom apartment for a long period of time, and it’s not at all impossible for me if I have to go back. But what I won’t do is wake up 70 years old and say, “Oh, you know what I should have tried…†As best I know, we only get one crack at it, so I might as well have a good ride. Give it a swing. The truth is, I’ll be able to walk away now and go, “I was offered 20 million dollars every week of my life, and I didn’t take it,†and that makes me happy. And the films I did do that I didn’t make any money on — O Brother, Three Kings, Out of Sight — I got a good bunch of films out of it. I win.
He also has a nice story about drinking Arnie under the table while making Batman & Robin.
Who'd have thought Doctor Doug "Nodding dog" Ross would turn out to be such a terrific movie star?
[Via Amygdala]
February 10th, 2006 at 04:37
"“Nodding dogâ€
I expect this is a reference to a bit in an episode which I've forgotten. Pointer?
(A local tv station just started running syndicated ER reruns; not having seen them in a while, I hadn't really forgotten what a huge celeb-crush I'd had on Julianna Margulies, but I was reminded nonetheless. :-))
February 10th, 2006 at 11:37
No, it's a reference to one of George Clooney's annoying habits when he played Doug Ross and in his first couple of big film roles. During just about any emotionally intense conversation he'd bob his head, looking down then up again, repeatedly. Once you'd noticed him doing this it was damned near impossible to ignore the next time you saw him, whatever the role. He was like a nodding dog toy.
(It wasn't just me, honest: see, for example, this SFGate review on Three Kings, in which the critic comments: "Two movies ago, Clooney was an insecure leading man who could not stop nodding his head. Now he has weight and gravity.")
Somewhere around Out of Sight Clooney dropped this tic, and the man's career just went through the roof.
February 10th, 2006 at 23:40
"During just about any emotionally intense conversation he’d bob his head, looking down then up again, repeatedly."
Ah. Hadn't noticed. Thanks.
Another of the many points to G. Clooney goes for this. (Scroll down a bit.)
February 11th, 2006 at 00:50
Another example of the man's class, to be sure.