Midway through a Venice news conference for the crime caper “Wolfs,” one reporter told George Clooney that she would ask the question on everyone’s minds.
“That I look so good up close?” Clooney quipped.
Though the 63-year-old was certainly sporting a nice tan, the big question wasn’t about his movie-star looks or even about “Wolfs,” which premiered Sunday evening at the Venice Film Festival. Instead, Clooney was asked about the effect of a July 10 guest essay he wrote for The New York Times Opinion section that called on President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to step down as the Democratic nominee.
At the time, it was considered one of the most high-profile examples of Hollywood’s big-donor class losing confidence in President Biden after his debate against Donald J. Trump in June.
Some journalists in the Venice press room applauded Clooney at the mention of his influential essay, but the star demurred. “The person who should be applauded is the president, who did the most selfless thing that anybody’s done since George Washington,” Clooney said about President Biden, who endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee for the Democratic Party in late July. “All the machinations that got us there, none of that’s going to be remembered and it shouldn’t be. What should be remembered is the selfless act.”
Alluding to the ascension of Harris, Clooney continued, “I’m very proud of where we are in the state of the world right now, which I think many people are surprised by. And we’re all very excited for the future.”
Still, that wasn’t the only tricky question Clooney had to field during the news conference. Co-starring Brad Pitt, “Wolfs” is an old-fashioned crowd-pleaser — the two actors play rival fixers who must reluctantly work together to cover up a crime scene. The movie was originally earmarked for a wide release in theaters before debuting on Apple TV+. But after the streamer endured a recent run of theatrically released flops like “Argylle” and “Fly Me to the Moon,” that plan was significantly cut back.
Now, “Wolfs” will receive only a one-week release in a limited number of theaters before it begins streaming on Sept. 27. Several reporters asked Clooney whether he was disappointed about having to forgo a big release.
“Sure, we would have liked that,” Clooney said. “That’s why Brad and I gave some of our salary back to do it,” though he took issue with a recent Times report that said he and Pitt were paid $35 million each for the movie. “It’s millions and millions and millions dollars less than what was reported,” the star said.
Clooney noted that his recent directorial effort, “The Boys in the Boat,” was made for MGM before it went to Amazon and was snipped of a planned foreign release. “There are elements of this that we are figuring out,” he said.
Pitt, who was also at the news conference, sounded sanguine about the release change. “We’ll always be romantic about the theatrical experience,” he said. “At the same time, I love the existence of the streamers because we get to see more story, more talent, it gets more eyes. It’s a delicate balance, but it’ll right itself.”
Another reporter asked what could be gleaned from the current state of the industry if a movie starring Clooney and Pitt could no longer be guaranteed a wide release.
“Clearly we’re in decline,” Clooney joked. But he noted that when he and Pitt were younger actors, “there was still a form of a studio system. ‘ER’ broke for me,” he said, referring to the hospital series he starred in. “I was at Warner Bros., and I got a five-picture deal at Warner Bros. You sort of get protected along the way.”
Clooney cracked that his Warner Bros. deal did include the famous flop “Batman & Robin,” but there was still a machinery behind those moves that contemporary actors don’t have access to. Still, he chose to see the upside.
“The democratization of our industry is not a bad way to go,” Clooney said. “Infinitely more people” are seeing movies “because of streamers, and that’s a good thing.”
Read More: In Venice, George Clooney Talks President Biden and American Politics
