George Clooney
As he prepares for the only Los Angeles production of 8, a play written by Dustin Lance Black based on the court hearings to repeal the Eighth Amendment in California, George Clooney once again reiterates his support for marriage equality and talks about how he feels about the gay people around him. -rumors, as well as about his tender friendship with Brad Pitt.
The success of films such as Ocean's Eleven, Up in the Air and The Descendants turned George Clooney into one of the most popular actors in the world.
But the former ER doctor is also gaining increasing attention as an outspoken supporter of marriage equality. On March 3, Clooney, along with other A-list stars, takes part in the production of Dustin Lance Black's play "8", which is based on the transcripts of the historic hearing to repeal the homophobic Eighth Amendment in California. His next big film will be the sci-fi thriller Gravity, but in the meantime, the 50-year-old Oscar winner talks to Advocate about why he hasn't had a gay role in his career and why he'll never address rumors that he's gay. Advocate:
How did you end up being part of the cast of the play “8”?
George Clooney:
Rob Reiner, who is directing this production, called me and asked me about it.
And I thought that I was unlikely to spoil the stage readings. This seems very important to me: to once again make the center of attention a problem that in the near future, looking back, we will laugh at - because it was once considered a problem at all. It was the right decision to do so. George Clooney as David Boies and Martin Sheen as Theodore Olsen Advocate:
In the play, you play pro-egalitarian lawyer David Boies, while Martin Sheen plays his one-time rival-turned-ally Theodore Olsen.
How did this role fit in with you? [in 2000, the Bush v. Gore hearing was held in the United States regarding the results of the presidential election, during which David Boies represented the interests of Al Gore, and Theodore Olsen represented George W. Bush. A few years later, in the fight against the California amendment, Boyes and Olsen teamed up and together represented plaintiffs - same-sex couples who challenged the amendment and demanded the right to marry.] George Clooney:
I looked at the role and I really liked Boyes.
I have not previously communicated with Mr. Boyes personally, but I have read the transcripts of the hearing. Of course, I know a lot about him, and also about how special this situation was when he and Olsen came together on this issue. Lawyer David Boyes and George Clooney at the premiere of '8' Advocate:
When did you decide you needed to get involved in the fight for marriage equality?
George Clooney:
This was always the albatross that seemed to me to be the final milestone of the civil rights movement.
In fact, the idea came to me during the 2004 election, when marriage equality became a key - and at the same time divisive - issue. It was a highly effective tool for keeping Republicans in power and a way to avoid talking about other issues. Even before California passed the Eighth Amendment, I came to the conclusion that whenever we opposed equal rights, we were on the wrong side of history. These were arguments similar to those they used when they did not want African Americans to serve in the military. Or when they didn't want African Americans marrying whites. Someday, the fight for marriage equality will look as archaic as George Wallace standing on the steps of the University of Alabama and refusing to let James Hood in because he was black. [George Wallace is the ex-governor of Alabama, one of the most controversial American politicians, a racist who, during the fight against racial segregation, distinguished himself by ordering not to allow black students into universities].
People will feel bad about being on the wrong side of history.
So it is very gratifying to realize that this will seem just as stupid an argument to representatives of future generations. Today we have a large number of young conservatives for whom marriage equality is not an issue. It is not them, but the government that always takes a generation to catch up with its own people. Advocate:
So how can we speed up this process?
George Clooney:
In the movie The Ides of March, I play the role of a presidential candidate, and I have a scene where I talk about marriage equality and how very soon this issue will be resolved.
Because there is always a choice argument: when you say that someone has chosen to be gay, when "I was born this way" becomes "I chose to be this way," you can argue that it is not a civil rights issue. But it seems to me that today this argument is gradually becoming less accepted, especially in the case of young people. Once that happens, once people understand that you don't wake up one day thinking, “Today I'm going to be gay,” the next step will be very natural. The last few years have been very successful. Yes, people are disappointed with the Obama administration, but "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is history, and many states have changed policies on marriage equality. I am optimistic and confident that marriage equality will soon be introduced into the law of the country. Excerpt from the film "The Ides of March" George Clooney's character, presidential candidate, talks to young voters about same-sex marriage
Advocate:
Not all celebrities are as open about their political views as you are.
Why do you think more celebrities don't show your level of support? Is it true that they are afraid of alienation from their fans, afraid of being on the other side of the political fence? George Clooney:
I think a lot of celebrities don't feel like they have a voice.
Many actors come from "fear city", and this is just a general statement about actors. They're afraid that the casting person won't want to cast them, they're afraid that the producer won't want to cast them, or the director won't want to cast them, and so on and so forth. And this situation does not change even after you get a role in a TV series or film and become popular. An actor needs time to gain confidence. It should also be remembered that it is very easy for an actor to be deprived of a contract, since it is believed that the actor cannot have his own opinion. Unless, of course, he is Ronald Reagan. [Former US President Ronald Reagan was an actor in his youth and appeared in a total of 54 films].
The simple truth is that everyone has an opinion - and everyone has the right to express it.
And he should do it if he wants. Advocate:
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were among those who vowed not to marry until all Americans had the right to marry.
George Clooney:
Brad also joked that he wouldn't marry Angelina until I could marry my partner.
This was a very good joke because Brad knows that the best and most effective way to end marriage inequality is to point out its utter ridiculousness. Same-sex marriage will have no impact on the “sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman.” The point here is not about singling out one group and giving it special rights, it’s about giving everyone equal rights. Advocate:
Would you say that there is a bromance between you and Brad
bromances
pale in comparison?
Brad Pitt and George Clooney at the premiere of the play "8" George Clooney (laughs):
I really think that we have raised this bar very high.
People think all Brad and I do is hang out with each other all the time. In fact, we see each other very rarely, probably only a couple of times a year. I met my friend again during another awards season and had a great time with him. I not only admire him as a person: I respect his talent and what he does in this world. I don't have enough words to describe how much effort he puts into making our world a better place. I am very proud to call him my friend. Advocate:
How did you first meet gay people?
George Clooney:
I was about 13 or 14 years old and my father was performing at the Beef & Boards Dinner Theater in Harrison, Ohio.
He was rehearsing Fiddler on the Roof, and I went there and got to know the whole choir. I spent my childhood in a tiny town in Kentucky, and that was the first time I realized that there was another culture, another society, which I found terribly interesting. I was lucky in that I was raised the way I was raised, because my parents believed that every person has the right to their own feelings and way of life. And as long as it does not harm other people, you are obliged to respect and protect their rights. And although the Catholic Church didn't teach us all these things, that's how I was raised. Advocate:
Were gay rights addressed when you were growing up?
George Clooney:
There were a lot of battles about women's rights, protests against the Vietnam War, drug counterculture, but in our circle gay rights were not an issue.
And they certainly weren’t discussed in Kentucky back then. It’s not that there was some kind of homophobic movement - no, we just didn’t think about it at all. My adolescence was during the most changeable era of the 20th century - the 60s and early 70s, when even conservative old cats wore polyester suits with scarves. Back then everyone was a little more open to a freer society. It was the era of the sexual revolution, and no one had much desire to actively search for people who were different from you. Of course, all this changed after the Watergate scandal, and finally came to an end after Reagan became president. But it was when I was growing up that there was a beautiful moment in time where everyone allowed the world to be as it was. Advocate:
A controversial 2010 Newsweek article asked, "If an actor of George Clooney's caliber came out, would we still accept him in leading heterosexual roles?"
What will be your answer? George Clooney:
Good question - I remember reading that article.
I don't know. It is clear that times have changed and things are not the same as they were in the 50s and 60s with Rock Hudson. Look at Neil Patrick Harris. He's a superstar on a hit series, and coming out hasn't stopped him from playing the straight ladies' man. I use Neil as an example because I've spent a lot of time with him and I really like him. People like Neil and Ellen DeGeneris opened the doors and made this path easier for others. Now the rest just need to understand which way he or she is going to go. Maybe it's as simple as a gay actor who intends to work and get that job. Advocate:
For many years, you yourself have been surrounded by homosexual rumors.
George Clooney:
I find them quite funny, but jumping around and saying “that’s not true!”
- the last thing you can expect from me in this regard. It would be an unfair and unkind thing for me to do to my wonderful friends in the gay community. I don’t want my words to give anyone the impression that being gay is bad or wrong. My personal life remains private, and in this life I am very happy. Who cares what anyone thinks about me, that I'm gay? Even after I die, there will be a lot of people who will say that I was gay. But I don't care about that. Advocate:
You're right, because some people are still trying to make a big deal out of the fact that Cary Grant was gay.
George Clooney:
Oh yes, I know.
I was dating Carey once and I read his daughter's book and I got the impression that he was laughing about it all and didn't care what people thought about him. He was confident enough to feel completely at peace with his sexuality and his life. Compared to many other stars, he seemed like a man who was at peace with himself. You know, you live in peace, treat people well and hope that they won’t make up all these stories about you. But they will still come up with it, whether you want it or not. It is what it is. Advocate:
You voiced Sparky, the gay dog, in an episode of South Park in 1997.
Also, in an interview with Barbara Walters in 2009, you half-jokingly said that your Bae was played as gay. But other than these cases, you have never played a real gay role. Haven't you been offered such roles? Or do the people in Hollywood who make the biggest decisions have a problem with you being gay? George Clooney:
When you're in the position of greenlighting a movie, you become the decision maker.
Therefore, there is no “secret conspiracy of the powers that be.” Right now I’m sitting in my office with a stack of scripts, and if among them there’s a good script with a gay role, I’ll be out of business. The problem for me is finding a decent script. I'm not judging the character so much as whether the film will be successful. When you start out as an actor, you're just looking for a good role. But over time, when you take on the responsibility of an entire film, the first thing you look for is a good script. Today my job is to look for good scripts - and this is much more difficult than it might seem at first glance. Advocate:
Many of your famous colleagues have played gay roles, especially in high-profile biopics.
Which famous gay character would you like to portray on screen? George Clooney:
Let me tell you a name and I'll tell you if I find this person's story interesting.
Advocate:
Paul Lynde
[a popular American comedian of the 60s and 70s who never came out, but his homosexuality was kind of an open secret, that is, a secret that everyone actually knows about.]. George Clooney:
Yes, I would play him.
Look, there are actually a lot of interesting stories out there, I just haven't found a script with a gay character that suits me that I can star in or direct. Naturally, I do not avoid this topic. If the script is good, great, let's make a movie out of it! Advocate:
Last year there was talk of you being offered the lead role in a remake of the 1970s Australian gay film The Set.
Is this true to any extent? George Clooney:
Whatever you tell me about this now, this is the first time in my life I’ve heard about it.
In fact, this happens every day: when someone somewhere says that I am associated with some project that I am not actually associated with. Advocate:
I remember an Italian gay reporter performed a striptease in front of you, declared his love for you and begged you for a kiss during a press conference at the 2009 Venice Film Festival.
Does this often happen to you when the camera doesn’t record it? George Clooney:
This never happens to me.
And in fact, that guy arranged all this precisely because what was happening was recorded on camera. It was a lot of fun because the security guards were trying to push this guy out of the hall and he kept yelling, “I'm gay, George, I'm gay!” Okay, I got it, so what next? People like this man want one thing: attention to their person, they want to make a name for themselves. As you know, gays have long been an easy target for offensive jokes, and it would be nice if the situation changed now. Advocate:
I'd like to ask you, as someone who has twice been awarded the title of "sexiest man alive": what kind of man do you find sexy?
Ryan Gosling and George Clooney at the 'Ides of March' premiere George Clooney:
It's not that I think Bradley Cooper is unworthy - he's a very sexy guy, but I'm still shocked that Ryan Gosling didn't win the title of 'sexiest of the world' last year. living men."
He worked hard and was the manager of a very difficult election campaign, so I can’t shake the feeling that he was pushed through. [Clooney is talking about last year's list of People magazine's annual Sexiest Men, which placed actor Bradley Cooper at the top spot. Many were unhappy with his position, arguing that his colleague Ryan Gosling should have been at the top of the list. By the way, Cooper himself agreed with this. When Clooney talks about a "challenging campaign," he jokes about his film The Ides of March, in which he played a US presidential candidate and Gosling played his campaign manager.] Video from Venice press conference with Advocate
George Clooney and his famous friends
Lifestyle
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06 May 2015
Today's birthday boy is the inimitable heartthrob George Clooney , whose victories on the love front we discussed a year ago. Well, on the day of his 54th birthday, they decided to count his most famous friends, remembering that “tell me who your friend is, and I will tell you who you are.”
Well, the list turned out to be more than stellar, we congratulate George not only on his birthday, but also on the fact that his life fully corresponds to the proverb “don’t have a hundred rubles, but have a hundred friends.”
Ever since Brad Pitt and George Clooney worked on several parts of Ocean's Friends, they have literally become inseparable in life.
There were many rumors and gossip that Brad Pitt's did not like George Angelina Jolie was still able to make friends with her husband's good friend.
Another “Ocean’s friend” is Matt Damon , with whom “Dani” himself now celebrates birthdays and travels together.
When it comes to Ben Affleck's , the ER doesn't skimp on compliments: "I always knew that Ben was a great writer, a nice guy and a good actor."
As for Cindy Crawford and Rand Gerber , they are not only good friends of the Hollywood heartthrob, but also neighbors, which means that they communicate almost constantly.
Julianna Margulies especially loves those social events at which George Clooney , because with him there is always something to talk about and laugh heartily.
Julia Roberts played George Clooney's in all the parts about the adventures of Ocean and his team, but in real life the actors are just good friends.
When asked why
George did not date Sandra Bullock , with whom he has been friends for many years, he usually answers as follows: “She was dating one of my close friends. There is a kind of bro code, if you know what I mean.”
Stacy Keibler has repeatedly told the media .
There were many rumors about an allegedly stormy romance between Eva Longoria and George Clooney , but the “desperate housewife” always denied them and stated that there was only friendship between them and nothing more.
Renee Zellweger once said this about George : "He's sweet, and he works really, really hard."
with Nicole Kidman since back in 1997, and when he learned about the actress’s pregnancy in 2008, he said the following: “She will be a wonderful mother.”
The famous football player David Beckham and the famous actor George Clooney were introduced to the equally famous and famous couturier Giorgio Armani in 2008 at the Met Ball Gala .
