George Clooney

[Gold Trumpet]

Sometimes I do write poor and I'll be the first to admit it. I read that over again and it reads perfectly for me.

~rougerum

[RegularKarate]

No, I understood the post, your opinion doesn't make any sense.

[Gold Trumpet]

Then say why. I can't do anything with a statement.

~rougerum

[meatball]

Tastes will always collide, but I don't think his direction should be put down because it's "not the way this type of story should be directed." He had the fortunate position of being the director, so he could execute whatever type of visual style he pleased. I think he made a lot of interesting choices, and there's not one moment where I want to bash him for being "too flashy" or anything like that. He did what he needed to, which was succesfully translate the script to screen. And I applaud that.

[Alexandro]

Tastes will always collide, but I don't think his direction should be put down because it's "not the way this type of story should be directed." He had the fortunate position of being the director, so he could execute whatever type of visual style he pleased. I think he made a lot of interesting choices, and there's not one moment where I want to bash him for being "too flashy" or anything like that. He did what he needed to, which was succesfully translate the script to screen. And I applaud that.

that pretty much sums it up for me too..i hate criticisms of "too flashy", i hate that...i like flashy movies......

[MacGuffin]

George Clooney Helming Leatherheads
Source: Variety

Universal Pictures has set George Clooney to direct and star in football film Leatherhead. Renée Zellweger is in talks to co-star in the romantic comedy set against the backdrop of pro football's formation in the 1920s.

Clooney is rewriting the script and will begin production in early spring. His Smoke House Productions partner Grant Heslov will produce with Casey Silver.

The film has had several incarnations over the years. The original premise revolved around an aging football player who coaxes a college star to drop out and try his luck in a new professional league.

Clooney was once close to starring in it for former Section Eight partner Steven Soderbergh; they expected to make it their follow-up to Universal's Out of Sight.

[MacGuffin]

Double play for Clooney at Warners
Source: Hollywood Reporter

George Clooney will earn his stripes with the Warner Bros. family. The actor-director-producer has signed on to two high-profile projects with Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Independent Pictures.

First, Clooney is set to star in and produce "White Jazz," an adaptation of a James Ellroy novel, for WIP. He then will reteam with his "Ocean's Eleven" producer Jerry Weintraub to direct the heist movie "Belmont Boys" for Warners.

"Jazz," which Clooney will produce with his Smokehouse producing partner Grant Heslov, will be directed by Joe Carnahan from a script by his brother Matthew Carnahan ("The Kingdom"). "Jazz" is the last volume of what is known as Ellroy's "L.A. quartet" of crime novels, which includes "L.A. Confidential," "The Big Nowhere" and "The Black Dahlia."

In "Jazz," Clooney will star as a corrupt police lieutenant assigned to a potentially explosive case for the Los Angeles Police Department during a time when the department is under investigation for corruption.

Patrick Cheh, Diane Nabatoff, Clark Peterson and Michelle Grace will produce the project.

"Jazz" is a Cherry Road co-production, with the company financing the development of the project. Bo Hyde and Kendall Morgan Rhodes of Cherry Road will serve as executive producers. Paul Federbush will oversee the project for WIP.

WIP is looking for an early 2008 start date.

"Belmont Boys," written by "Ocean's Thirteen" writers Brian Koppelman and David Levien, is the name of a group of seven thieves who meet as railbirds at the racetrack in the old days and almost pull off the job of a lifetime. Now, 30 years later, they are thrown back together to finish what they started.

The film will take place in the U.S. and locations throughout Europe, with Clooney and Weintraub already in discussions with seven major actors for the lead roles.

Weintraub said the movie will not be an "Ocean's" retread and that the actors will be much older, "though all big stars."

Kevin McCormick will oversee "Boys" for Warners.

Clooney's calendar is all tied up through 2008. He is set to star in Joel and Ethan Coen's upcoming film, "Burn After Reading," for Focus Features after he helms "Leatherheads," a football movie he is directing and starring in for Universal Pictures. Shooting for "Leatherheads" is to start in the spring, and Clooney's producing partner Heslov is producing via Smokehouse along with Casey Silver.

Clooney will move on to "Jazz" in early 2008 before tackling "Boys" at the end of that year.

The CAA-repped Clooney made his directorial debut in 2002 with "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and earned an Oscar nomination last year for best director for "Good Night, and Good Luck." He won the best supporting actor Oscar in 2006 for "Syriana."

"George deserves to be busy," Weintraub said. "He's a good guy. He's my dear friend and a great artist."

[MacGuffin]

Clooney, Heslov visit 'Tehran'
CIA tale's up in Smoke
Source: Variety

George Clooney and his Smoke House partner Grant Heslov will co-write a dramedy for Warner Bros. Pictures detailing how the CIA, with help from Hollywood, used a fake movie project to smuggle a handful of Americans out of Tehran during the 1979 hostage crisis.

Warners has snapped up the film rights to Joshuah Berman's Wired magazine article on the real-life intelligence tale and set it up with Smoke House to produce.

As with any Smoke House project, "Escape From Tehran" is a potential directing and starring vehicle for Clooney.

Project is the first Heslov and Clooney have penned together since 2005's "Good Night, and Good Luck."

Berman's article in the current issue of Wired centers around CIA operative Tony Mendez, a master of disguise who was put in charge of rescuing six Americans hiding out in Tehran. He came up with the idea of using a bogus movie and contacted Hollywood makeup artist John Chambers.

Chambers and Bob Sidell, also a makeup artist, launched Studio Six Prods. (an allusion to the six Americans awaiting rescue) and announced their first movie project, to be shot in Iran. Both Variety and the Hollywood Reporter were duped into writing news stories on the film after Studio Six took out trade ads.

Mendez went to Tehran in January 1980 and told the Americans to pretend they were Canadians on a scouting trip for a big-budget Hollywood epic. The ruse worked.

Smokehouse VP Nina Wolarsky brought in "Escape." David Klawans ("Nacho Libre") is attached to produce.

UTA repped the magazine article.

Heslov and Clooney launched the Warners-based Smoke House last year after Clooney parted ways with former partner Steven Soderbergh.

Clooney is currently directing and starring in the 1920s sports pic "Leatherheads," which Smoke House is producing for Universal.

[MacGuffin]

WB votes DiCaprio for 'Farragut'
Clooney eyeing stage adaptation as director
Source: Variety

Warner Bros. is developing a screen version of Beau Willimon's play "Farragut North," with Leonardo DiCaprio attached to star and George Clooney eyeing the project as director.

DiCaprio's Appian Way will produce with Clooney and Grant Heslov's Smoke House shingle.

Willimon is writing the script. Appian Way and Smoke House both sparked to the play after reading it, and a marriage was made at WB, where both Smokehouse and Appian Way have first-look deals. It is unclear yet whether Clooney will have an onscreen role.

Protag is a young communications director for a fast-rising presidential candidate. During the course of the campaign, the idealistic young man falls prey to the backstabbing and other dirty trickery of seasoned rivals.

The play is headed for Broadway next year, with Mike Nichols reportedly in line to direct Jake Gyllenhaal in the thesp's Broadway debut.

Willimon worked for Howard Dean's 2004 presidential run, an experience that informed the play. While "Farragut North" has yet to be seen, the script has been circulating around Hollywood, leading to a quick transition to screenwriting for Willimon.

Aside from the WB pic adaptation, Willimon was tapped last week by director Marc Forster to adapt the 2002 British miniseries "The Jury" into a feature for Fox 2000. The director sought out the writer after reading "Farragut."

Timing of the screen version of the play hasn't been determined.

DiCaprio just finished starring with Kate Winslet in the Sam Mendes-directed "Revolutionary Road" for DreamWorks, and he's currently at work starring with Russell Crowe in the Ridley Scott-directed "Body of Lies" for WB.

Clooney and Heslov are completing "Leatherheads," the 1920s gridiron comedy that Clooney directed for Universal. The film recently got pushed to an April 4 release date after Clooney asked for more time because of his recent motorcycle accident. He's finishing post-production on that film and starring with Brad Pitt in the Coen brothers-directed "Burn After Reading."

[Bethie]

I mentioned watching Clooney on Letterman and my boss overheard me and she goes "he's so politically incorrect. handsome but politcally incorrect." She dont know shiz, that's why I run her business.

then she started coughing/choking and my friend and I snickered.

and she's my mom.

[MacGuffin]

Aaron Sorkin set for WB's 'Challenge'
George Clooney's Smokehouse to produce
Source: Variety

Warner Bros. has set Aaron Sorkin to write "The Challenge," a courtroom drama for George Clooney's Smokehouse shingle.

Clooney is producing with Smoke House partner Grant Heslov. Clooney may direct and hopes to play Navy lawyer Charles Swift in the drama about the effort by Swift and Georgetown U. law professor Neal Katyal to ensure a fair trial for Osama bin Laden's driver, Salim Hamdan, who'd been held at Guantanamo Bay for five years.

WB and Smokehouse got started on the project over the summer by optioning Jonathan Mahler book "The Challenge: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and the Fight Over Presidential Power".

The courtroom drama wouldn't debate Hamdan's guilt or innocence but chart the dogged efforts of the two lawyers who sue the president because they feel the U.S. government has broken the law and violated the Constitution.

Captured in 2001 in Afghanistan while transporting two missiles in a car, Hamdan was ultimately convicted and sentenced to 5½ years by a military commission for providing material support to Al-Qaeda. He was cleared of the terrorism conspiracy charges that would have drawn a much longer sentence.

Sorkin, who most recently penned "Charlie Wilson's War," is working on a film about the formation of the social network Facebook. He's also prepping for production on DreamWorks pic "The Trial of the Chicago 7," to be directed by Ben Stiller.

[MacGuffin]

Ryan Gosling in talks for 'Farragut North'
Political drama co-written, to be directed by George Clooney
Source: THR

Ryan Gosling is in negotiations to step into the shoes of Leonardo DiCaprio in "Farragut North," the political drama George Clooney co-wrote and is directing and producing via his Smoke House shingle.

The project is based on a play by Beau Willimon and originally got set up in 2007 with DiCaprio attached to star. A reading that summer involved Jake Gyllenhaal.

Titled after the Washington Metro station that is located near many lobbyists' offices, the movie is based on a play which in turn is loosely based on Howard Dean's 2004 presidential election campaign, during which Willimon worked for the Democrat.

The story follows a young, idealistic communications director who works for an inspiring, though unorthodox, presidential candidate. During the campaign, his career is done in by more seasoned politicos who thrive on poisonous partisan politics, dirty tricks and back-stabbing.

Clooney, producing with his Smoke House partner Grant Heslov, is now independently financing the drama.

Gosling, repped by IFA, is currently shooting a rare foray into action fare with "Drive" and is generating awards buzz with "Blue Valentine," which the Weinstein Co. will open in late December.

Gosling's involvement was first reported by Deadline.