Ahead of his movie Money Monster, George Clooney opens up about being directed by Jodie Foster and finding love at 52
Did you think the subject of the film was quite relatable to the common manIJ
Well, I think mostly people understand the real simple themes. That somebody out there is probably benefitting off of my lack of understanding. And I think that, in general, is a very easy thing for an audience to understand. They go, yeah, that happened to me, or yeah, I didn’t understand that either. Or, yeah, I put my money in this or I did this and I got screwed, you knowIJ You know, we as a society, I think understand being scammed. So that, it made that part of the story sort of simple. In fact part of it was, in making sure that we didn’t get too into the weeds in trying to explain that, and deal much more with the characters and what they’re going through. And particularly our, you know, man that Jack is playing. And, because he sort of is our audience and he is the eyes that everybody sees the story through.
What is your take on how Kyle helps lee in the movieIJ
Well, I don’t think lee was paying much attention or really cares, you know, he’s sort of a cynical cat and doesn’t really care much about any of those things. I think there are a couple of things happening. First is just eminent threat of death makes you look at things very differently. And along the way Kyle’s sort of story, you know, when you realise what he’s going through with his girlfriend and the kid on the way and how the money really was money that, his mom died and left him, and he took it all and put it in there. And how he really did it based on something that I told him to do and I was lying to him, even if I wasn’t aware of it.
How is the experience working with Jodie FosterIJ
Most actors who become directors, their focus in general is on performance. That is a very good thing if you’re an actor in a movie with the director, because the very first thing that you know you’ll be sort of protected with is performance. So I, from the minute, you know, the minute that, you know, Jodie asked if I wanted to play the part, I thought well, you know, I’ll be perfectly safe working with Jodie because she, she'll take care of actors, you know.
What do you think about the theme of the filmIJ
We loved the idea of, talking about the world of money and how it’s gotten out of control. We loved the idea of talking about how when things go wrong you actually don’t really understand what it is that went wrong that causes you to lose a lot of money. And how, when those things all go wrong, the little guy kind of gets screwed. And I thought those were really interesting themes.
How did Patty’s character (played by Julia) support leeIJ
Julia’s is trying to stay calm and collected and connected to lee to keep him calm and understand what’s going on in the studio, and at the same time trying to find the people and try to find out what’s really going on. The story is about all of us feeling in control and not in control of our own lives.
You’re one of the most iconic actors in Hollywood. How do you handle the fame and successIJ
Fame has an interesting element to it, but if you tend to be followed round by a camera then there are bound to be times that you can feel suffocated.
Do you ever feel that you are limited to the scope of work because of your ageIJ
I think nobody really wants us to see anybody really age. You know, it’s a very unforgiving thing, the camera is, and so aging becomes something that you try to do less and less on screen. You try to pick the films that work best for you, and as you age they become less and less.
Tell us about how different is directing from acting to youIJ
Directing is my great love. I do enjoy it a lot. I have had really great success and I have had some not-so successful films… but what I will say is it is really fun. As you age on screen you get to that point where you really understand that you can’t stay in front of the camera your whole life, and so it’s much more fun and it’s infinitely more creative to be directing-infinitely more.
How is your married lifeIJ Has it changed you as a person in any wayIJ
I have never been happier in a relationship by any stretch of the imagination. At the age of 52 I found the love of my life and I cannot be any happier.