Hot off its triumphant debut at the Telluride Film Festival, the comedic romance Up in the Air—directed by Juno‘s Jason Reitman and starring George Clooney—is definitely the movie to see in Toronto. I grabbed a few minutes on the phone with Reitman to discuss his latest film-fest success. Here’s part of our conversation:
OscarWatch When did you get the sense that your Telluride screening was going so well?
Jason Reitman There’s a scene in the movie with George, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick in which the two women talk about what what they look for in a man at 23 versus 37. It’s my favorite scene in the movie, and it just killed. That’s when I knew we had ‘em.
OW Is there part of you that now wishes the film were coming out in October instead of December?
JR No, actually. These films take time. You’ve got to give people a chance to really hear what it’s about and understand why they want to see it. It’s not the easiest film to describe. In one sense, it’s a movie about a man who fires people for a living. In another sense, it’s a movie about a man who collects air miles excessively. In another sense, it’s about a man who meets a woman who’s so similar to him that even though they both believe in the idea of living solo, they begin to fall in love. We’re on the Juno schedule and I think it’s going to work perfectly for us.
I’m excited to see the film in Toronto this Friday. Check back on OscarWatch and follow me on Twitter (@davekarger) for my reaction. In the meantime, in Part 3 of our Toronto preview, Missy Schwartz and I discuss the movies we’re most looking forward to at the festival, including the Coen brothers’ latest film and fashion designer Tom Ford’s directorial debut.
The movie was OK, it’s definitely targeted to a late 30s demo, I don’t think a lot of teenagers or people in their 20s will find the movie as endearing like they did ‘Juno.’
BTW, that scene he talked about, I don’t mean to dump on feminism but…yeah.
Clooney has to be the most overrated actor out there today.
agree. he’s a lot more style than substance. he can never equal a denzel washington, tom hanks, daniel day-lewis, johnny depp, morgan freeman, etc.
I agree with KC. Clooney is vastly overrated. Then again, so are the Oscars. Both are more about image then acting, so they seem a perfect match.
I think Clooney is a very good leading man and one of the few examples of “old Hollywood”… If Hitchcock were alive I am sure he wouldve worked with George Clooney, Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks…
Clooney is like many other movie stars – great star presence, a reasonable actor but never really different from role to role. Like Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Clark Gable before him, he basically plugs the same persona into every film. Clooney is intellegent, has good taste (for the most part) and tends to gravitate to more off-beat films which are well-written and well-directed. Likeable and great screen presence, but Daniel Day-Lewis or Robert Duvall he ain’t.
I think Mr. Clooney is OK, but there are way more talented actors. George just knows how to play the game as he is from a show business family. More than game playing and “charm” should be required for awards though. He sounds like he is just playing himself in that one film and as far as I know, that is not acting and therefore does not deserve an award. But for whatever reason, he is a critics favorite.
Haha I thought this was talking about “Up,” and I got excited because it is one of the three best movies of the year for sure.
He is so totally a game player on how to be nominated when he wants to be….its all about who you know and who you sleep with…..Hollywood hasnt changed at all!!!
I would suggest to some people to first watch George Clooney’s films before assuming he is playing himself in all his films. If so, he is a very disturbed man, to say the least. And he has proven more than once what a great actor he is. Check films like Solaris, Out of sight, Michael Clayton, O Brother where are though, Syriana, Up in the air and you would see why critics love him: hint: he is a great actor.
And by the way, he has grown up in Kentucky, with a father being a well-known journalist there… so much for his folks being in showbiz (except for his aunt being very famous in the 50′s and not so much after)…