Academy Award–winning actor George Clooney admits he was intrigued when filmmakers and master storytellers Brad Bird and Damon lindelof presented their vision of ‘Tomorrowland’ to him. Excerpts from an interview
What makes this story and film so uniqueIJ
The films we have seen about the future in general over the last few years have always had some real dark undertone to them. It’s been a long time since we looked at the future with some idea that there’s some hope and a positive outcome. I liked that about this story. Between Brad Bird and Damon lindelof you have really good storytellers. I responded to the idea of doing a film that isn’t about death and destruction and the end of the world but rather about hope and inspiration.
Who do you playIJ
I play Frank Walker. He’s a disenchanted grump who was a bit of a dreamer as a young boy and a smart little scientist. He went to a place that he thought was going to be the greatest place on Earth and the world was going to be much better because of it, but he finds out that those things were untrue and in so doing he becomes probably the most cynical person one could be. He isolates himself on his farm and plans to spend the rest of his life there but he is forced to deal with his past when someone unexpected shows up on his doorstep.
Talk about Young Frank.
Young Frank is an 11-year-old inventor who has invented a jet pack. He takes it to the 1964 World’s Fair to enter it in a contest. Once there, he is invited by a young girl to visit a new world because she believes he might be one of the smart, hopeful, interesting people who could contribute meaningfully to it.
What was Tomorrowland supposed to beIJ
It was supposed to be a utopian world; a place where the ideas of science and exploration and medicine and all the things that we’ve developed over the last 3 or 4 centuries, particularly in the last century, are able to grow and flourish without politics holding them down. It’s populated by smart, engaged people all working for the same goal, which is to make their world better with the hope that it can spread. The problem is, of course, that if anything toxic comes in, you start to see things deteriorate.
What about going on location to Valencia, SpainIJ
We shot at the City of Arts and Sciences, which is this huge structure that’s been built in Valencia, which is a relatively small city. The structure is hundreds and hundreds of yards long and looks like it’s fallen out of the set of the “Jetsons.” It’s epic; it’s 200 feet high and the middle of everything. It’s fantastic and beautiful and something one does not get to see very often. It was really fun to go Valencia, which is not a city I’ve been to before and I’ve been all around Spain. It was great to work there and spend time. It’s that great optimistic version of life where you just go I want to build that, and somebody built it. It’s pretty amazing.
What do audiences have to look forward toIJ
Brad Bird has made a really wonderful entertaining film where everybody can come out and feel as though their two hours were well spent. It’s good to be able to talk about things that are bigger than just entertainment, too, but that’s not what’s really important; what’s important in movies is to make sure that the story itself is entertaining. Movies have been made for 100 years and they’re most popular during depressions and things like that; people want to get out and have a good time and that’s what I hope this film is to them.