 Bluntly
Speaking | George Clooney
an emily blunt interview
Bluntly
speaking? I have
to say, on
a scale of 1 to George Clooney this guy's an 11. Hardeeharhar... Jokes
aside, Clooney is actually (make-up & stylist-free) moviestar handsome - in
that manly man old-time classic-style; he's very Dean Martin meets Cary Grant
suave - but without the Aqua Velva tinge permeating the atmosphere when he saunters
by, sadly a "style" so many of the neuvo-stars have nowadays... George
is also extremely intelligent and charming. Not your average Joe. No siree Bob.
Smitten? You bet ya. And who could blame me? He even passes my self-induced 40-40-40
rule; the gentleman in question must be over 40 for an acceptable maturity level
(check), hemust make at least 40,000 a year so every once in a while he can pick
up the dinner and a show tab (check), and he must live at least 40 minutes away
to avoid pesky surprise visits or continual visitations (check). Clooney's
in a coupla super hot films and is up for three Acadmey Awards in three separate
categories; Best actor in. Syriana (which I am ashamed to say, I have not seen
YET due to my super-busy chickbabe schedule) and as director and CO-screenwriter
forgood night, and good luck. The
latter is is an incredibly personal piece; George produced, co-wrote, directed
and co-starred in it - but in a good way. It's also, a great and grand film -
important, timely, and frankly a refreshing exception in Hollywood. Though it's
a true feature film, it's dolloped with non-fiction and interwoven real-life footage
and uncanny performances of iconic names in American history so precisely portrayed
you can almost smell the ever-present cigarettes and feel the anguish of Constitutionally
important battle artfully transpiring upon the screen. I
giggle inside as he strolls in sporting a super-bright red-checkered pic-a-nik
semi-western style shirt, something a like a Lawrence
Welk Singer (sans the matching scarf and accordion) might have chosen for
the day decades ago; but his warm smile and down-home enthusiasm is the real deal.
I think to myself, "Geeze Louise - this guy can even pull off retro-kitch
and look swell. Pure cool. Purrrrrr-fst fst." George:
Well hello - thanks for coming out. Emily:
No, thank you on behalf of journalists everywhere for the film Mr. Clooney…(stop
swooning - stop it, he's just a silly talented handsome boy… did I say that
out loud? Did I mention he's handsome? Think Batman and Robin - focus..).
Edward
R. Murrow was and is an American Icon - in the truest sense. And David Strathairn
is an impeccable Edward R. Murrow - how did you decide, "he's the guy"
to play this journalistic legend? George:
He was the cheapest (laughter). No. As we were watching Murrow's clips and discovering
how he I needed someone who had the weight of the world on his shoulders. That's
not something you can "act." I needed someone like that. David was perfect
and potluck at the last minute before shooting! I figured if you can stick a camera
on someone for five minutes and not move it - not have to move it - then that's
a good actor. That's the difference. Emily:
Do you now consider yourself primarily a director a writer an actor (an Orson
Welles-like demi-god sprinkled with pheromone inducing bits of yum)? George:
(laughter- and with a broad smile - like he heard my inner-thoughts) I
think of myself as a choreographer more than a director; I like to dance. I really
just like to be a part of what ever the process is - I like directing 'cause you
get to boss people around (laughter). I like writing; listen - you know you don't
get to hang around too long as an actor before people get tired of seeing you
- so it's good to have a job to fall back on. Emily:
(Holding back the giggle "tired of seeing you….") But, certainly
it helps being "George Clooney," when it comes to "smaller films." George:
Yes. As with Confessions I had to do a small part in it to get it made
- true. To get to direct. Because believe me, they weren't jumping to do a black
and white film! I dunno why - but they weren't eager! Sure. Look - this is a thing
for me that I want to do for a long time. I pay attention to directors - I've
spent a lot of time with them. I like storytelling. Emily:
Can you talk about the pre-production backlash you received and are still receiving
regarding the whole sordid McCarthy Era? George:
Sure. For example, in one of Murrow's original broadcast speeches, that we put
in purposely, he says, "You will note, that I do not know nor does the lawyer,
know that Annie Lee Moss is a communist." Murrow was the master of using
the Constitution. The problem is that McCarthy didn't care about facts; he used
fear to gain popularity. This meeting of the titans (Murrow and McCarthy) was
an incident and that whole "time" has been a passion of mine because
it is one of the few times you could point to where broadcast journalism actually
changed the world and people's minds. McCarthy was untouchable till Murrow stepped
up. It was one of those great moments where you really had to be brave. And it
ultimately ended both their careers. Page Six ran a story about how we were producing
a liberal piece condemning McCarthy and so forth. We (Clooney and co-writer Grant
Heslov) had already decided not to use an actor as McCarthy; we would use the
real footage. As Heslov says, "otherwise whomever we got to play McCarthy,
no matter how good they were, nobody was going to believe it!" So, we decided
to use the real footage. That's also why the film is in black and white - to stay
congruent to the actual clips. Emily:
Yeah, you can't make this stuff up. What about the fact that folks are asking,"Who's
the actor playing McCarthy?" George:
(laughter) We are thinking of taking out an ad in the trades next spring, "For
your consideration for Best Supporting Actor: Joseph
P. McCarthy!" (laughter) "A Stunning Portrayal." (laughter).
Yes, a few folks really don't know who is he - like 20% Emily. And here's
an opportunity that one in a hundred young kids actually might learn who Murrow
is! Aand have some discussion and have some understanding of what, and how dangerous,
a democracy can be if fear is used as a weapon. (<-Blunt Aside: I swear
I heard a bar of Grand Old Flag queue in my head…. Beautiful dreamer…) Emily:
Are there any Murrows among us today? George:
Back in Murrow's day you had three channels. Now you can watch the news that fits
your belief - the channel that agrees with your point of view. I was really heartened
during the hurricane  coverage
- the teeth I saw in the journalists. It was nice to see it again. You haven't
seen this since Clinton was getting serviced (laughter). It was good to see that
kind of appetite again for challenging authority. There are no Murrow's of today
- that doesn't mean there are not great people of ethic. There is no longer one
man who can change a policy. The last of those was really truly when Cronkite
stood up and came back from Viet Nam and said, "At best this is a stalemate."
And Johnson didn't re-run for president ' cause he said, "If I lost Cronkite,
I lost the American people." We don't have that anymore. That's not to say
you can't sit and listen to Bill Moyer all day. It's not they aren't out there…it's
that they don't have the same power. So, I don't think you can have a Murrow any
more - because we are too fractured to do it. It DOES NOT mean those guys are
not out there. I think the contrary - there are a lot of them out there. Kids
get killed in Afghanistan and Iraq everyday - and I find there's some of the best
reporting I've ever seen out there. Emily:
What inspired you to even create this film, this document - that's so incredibly
hauntingly timely? George:
Yeah! Well, my dad was an anchorman back home and wrote his own news. And, every
reporter wants to break a story! I grew up under this world and Fred
Friendly. I always loved The Columbia School of Ethics in Journalism Seminars
- ethics in America! And I became a fan if his where he talks about how he'd walk
around with a mini-version of the constitution. So, I got one - I still have it
- I always found it was sort of a funny thing - whenever you get in trouble with
any sort of questions, it's really a kind of great "bible" for the governmental
questions. Now, listen, a lot of times wrong about stuff early on; they don't
address slavery for example…but the beauty of the Constitution is they kept
saying, "We know things are going to change so we leave it movable so we
can fix it." So, Fred was a hero of mine growing up, because he was a hero
of my father's, as was Murrow. I grew up holding cue cards and watching the news
being reported. I didn't want [good night good luck] to be a civics lesson - I
also didn't want it to be strictly biopic. I aways envisioned framing a film inside
the "Box and Wires Speech (1958)" - which is very famous - I had done
some reporting early on and was pretty bad…if those tapes ever come out.
But, I talked to my dad and he said, "Get your facts straight. Be very very
careful with the facts. Get them all right - 'cause if you get one wrong, you'll
get marginalized and nowadays you'll get beat up." I double sourced everything
- every scene. We used all the pieces we could use - we didn't make that up. You
know, you talk to my aunt and uncle back in Kentucky and as far as they're concerned,
from the beginning - before the war - Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11
and a part of al-Qaida. Period. I mean that was a fact. Now, what happens with
that is it polarizes people. That's sort of the issue or the problem that comes
in. It's not evil, or wrong, or…it's just going to happen. END Good
night and good luck, is truly a masterpiece and not just 'cause Clooney's
in it - in fact he's hardly the star; George disappears into his "smaller"
role of Fred Friendly, who is a star of the film; and more importantly, an exceptionally
important character in the scheme of actual history. Bravo Georgio, il talento
funziona ovviamente in the Clooney DNA..
Eh,
whayda heck: 
*Sorry
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