You guys, I’ve been missing Alamooney. I know, it’s weird! George Clooney was so “extra” while promoting Tomorrowland, but now that the promotion is over, he’s gone (relatively) dark again. And I miss George and Amal. I miss the stories of how Amal is the most fashionable, the most humanitarian, the smartest, the coolest, the most amazing unicorn ever and that’s how she landed The Eternal Bachelor. Of course no one was buying it, but I still miss those stories.
Anyway, these are some photos of George shooting an ad campaign for Omega’s Speedmaster. They were shooting the ad in Los Cabos, Mexico. Did George and Amal fly from Kentucky (where they were last week) to Mexico? That’s a pretty easy schedule. George barely spent a week promoting Tomorrowland in Europe and Asia. I guess Disney was like, “Ugh, George isn’t helping.” The Hollywood Reporter said yesterday that Tomorrowland will probably end up being one of the biggest flops of the year and it’s on track to lose $140 million for Disney. Yikes. Which brings me to a very interesting story in last week’s Star Magazine:
Reviews and ticket sales for George Clooney’s latest flick, Tomorrowland, have been dismal. But while the film has flopped, his wife Amal’s red carpet appearances have been stellar and sources say that George isn’t taking that well.
“George isn’t used to playing second fiddle. He acts as though he’s laid-back, but he’s very irritable at the moment,” says a close insider. “He never imagined he’d feel overshadowed. Now it’s happening – and he’s discovered he doesn’t like it at all.”
According to the source, George is slipping back into the same kind of moody funk he did after his last bomb, Monuments Men – and Amal is feeling the brunt of it.
“He has a huge fear of becoming irrelevant. Amal tells him to stop being ridiculous, but he can’t help himself. He’s starting to complain about petty stuff, and it’s getting old. Amal undrstands that he’s under tremendous pressure, but she doesn’t want her moment to be dulled by his petulant behavior.”
[From Star Magazine, print edition]
For what it’s worth, I think George enjoys the fact that Amal has become a “star.” That was his goal – he ended up Pretty Woman-ing her, just like all of his previous girlfriends. His press machine hyped her, he bought her new clothes and some better hair and makeup people and voila! A woman who can be billed as “George’s equal.” Now, all that being said, I will believe that his idea was for Amal to be his EQUAL, not to overshadow him. And he probably is pissy about that and with the two flops in a row. Seriously, why did Disney spend $330 million making Tomorrowland?
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
Haha. I love that this has backfired on him. Who will he send whiny emails to asking for protection?
Clooney has NEVER been a main draw. His history with big films has a track record of failure (Batman and Robin)—especially when he is supposed to be the main draw. He only does well in smaller, critically-acclaimed films (Good Night & Good Luck) and/or films with an ensemble cast of stars that can aggregate their star power into the film as a whole (3 Kings, Oceans 11, etc) .
He looks as though he has botoxed his eyebrows in that photo shoot; they look higher and more arched than usual.
I think you’re right. I’ve liked him in the smaller films he’s done, but for big blockbusters, no.
Yup. Clooney’s an interesting case because he’s well-known enough to be considered A-List but hasn’t demonstrated to be particularly profitable.
O Brother Where Art Thou? was his best role and film, I thought. Great film and perfect vehicle for his persona: wry, arch, largely fake and insincere (though appealingly so). Solaris was interesting, too, because it was so flat in affect. (The American should have worked similarly but was just a bit too bland and unconvincing..)
Other than the Coens’ film and those two others, I find that for a long time, neither Clooney nor his female equivalent Julia Roberts can disappear into a role anymore (like, say, Denzel Washington or Helen Mirren). It’s not that they are recognizably themselves and have their own tics and style (every actor does), it’s that they seem to be commenting on the role/film rather than living the moment. It’s distracting and annoying, so I actively avoid their movies for the most part.
Honestly I had a Cackle that rose from Deep In My Belly, as soon as there was a Space travelling Tub In the Previews my Disgust was Palpable, BF said: I guess we’re not seeing this on, huh?
I thought I broke my eyes I rolled them so hard when they climbed in to that bathtub!!
whaaaatt whattttt whaaattttt WHAT????!??!!
*falls over, dies*
Space traveling tub, huh?
Calgon, take me away!
Hot tub time machine? It’s been done already.
When I went to see the Avengers in IMAX, there was an extended preview of Tomorrowland, the scene beginning when the girl shows up at George’s door and ending when they get into the bathtub time machine. It was unbelievably boring. If the preview was the best part of the movie…yikes!
Apparently it was a $330 million dollar bathtub :O.
here I go again BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Anyone who gives Damon Lindelof a script to write should expect these kind of results. And I say this as a fan of The Leftovers(which I’m sure he will eventually ruin).
I didn’t realize that Damon Lindelof wrote the script! WOW. He’s kind of the worst. Decent ideas and beginning, but horrendous follow-through and execution. Not sure why anyone would have him still writing scripts.
Exactly, Jenns. As much as I want to put this on Clooney – who should have some of the blame, but not all – more people need to understand that Damon Lindelof is such a stupid hack and he should not be allowed anywhere near a script.
I give Disney credit for trying to put out something original, but they failed in execution and promotion. I think this film failed for a myriad of reasons. Bad script, Disney thinking that “mystery” should be key and not letting people know what the devil the film was about. Without explaining what the film was about, it came off as an ad for Disneyland. Also, they could not decide if it was a kid’s movie or one for adults. Then of course there is Clooney who never talked about the movie or why we should see it. It was Mrs. Clooney being pumped up to the rafters and his silly Tequila t-shirt.
It was also odd that no one else in the film seemed to be visible. Just Georgy boy and his well (over) dressed wife. Both Maleficent and Cinderella had big stars and lesser ones and they worked the promotion trail together so you could see the chemistry and see why younger people and families should support the film. The younger people in Tomorrowland were not there enough for young people to care about seeing a film with grumpy looking white haired Clooney who only seemed to talk about his personal life (wife). Not as bad as Lone Ranger, but an embarrassment for sure.
I thought it was really odd that Disney has a new show called Miles from Tomorrowland on Disney Jr. and a new movie called Tomorrowland, and based on the previews, one has nothing to do with the other.
Red –
It’s all branding for the Tomorrowland theme park that has been a part of Disney for decades. They’re assuming the park itself brings it all together.
Yeah, that bugged me a lot that it was the Alamooney Show during the promotional tour. I remember when the trade papers announced Brit Robertson as Clooney’s co-lead; at the time it was supposedly it was a very sought after role by young actresses in their late teens and early 20’s and the studio was even selling it as a big breakout opportunity for a young actress. But the silver lining for Ms. Robertson is that Clooney will likely take the hit for this tanking.
I came here to aay the exact same thing. I saw the movie, hahahaha… The script was weak…
It was such a strange movie. Some really interesting ideas, looked great, but the script was just crap! Not really the actors’ fault. The Lone Ranger analogy holds a bit: When you watch it, interesting ideas, looks great, and Armie Hammer is actually very good (Depp? Uhhhhh, well)….but the script is just bafflingly bad.
Actually one thing that would have helped? Clooney and Hugh Laurie should have swapped roles. They were much better suited to the other’s character.
I feel like Tomorrowland was not advertised or promoted very much?
Does anyone else feel that way or do I just not watch the right TV stations and go on the right websites to see the promotion for it?
George promoted the hell out of Tomorrowland and the commercials for it were everywhere.
No correction Clooney Promoted the out of hell his marriage and wife, his Tomorrowland promotion was just a after thought.
Clooney didn’t promote the hell out it. He promoted the hell out of his wife, his wife, his marriage, his wife and his tequila company by wearing it’s t-shirt, while promoting a kid’s movie.
He’s not a 4 quadrant actor. His audience skews older from his ER days.
Just because it’s a Disney movie, starring a well known star, doesn’t mean, it’s going to set the B.O. on fire. Hello, The Lone Ranger, starring Depp.
This man almost took at the Batman franchise. Now, he’s a ding against Disney.
The trailer looked terrible… look, a magic keychain that takes you to a futuristic Disney park. And here’s Clooney dozily reciting nonsensical lines. It looked like a quickly/cheaply produced after-school special. Again, from the trailer. Didn’t realize it was a quasi-Waterworld in expenditures.
I’m with you, I never even heard about it until reading about it here. Maybe I’m watching too much Netflix and Amazon.
I just binge-watched three seasons of Homeland. Sigh. Good times. (And a blessing to be able to fast-forward through almost all of the family scenes at Brody’s house.)
The movie promotion was painfully saturated here in Canada. It got to the point where I cringe the moment the ad comes on.
I saw it and mostly liked it. The actual parts in Tomorrowland were disappointing though. All this buildup to go to some awesome idyllic future city and what we got was meh.
I completely agree. The script was thin, but I will say my young son loved it and really wants to see it again.
My sister went with her daughter and her daughter loved it also . She admitted the script was thin, but enjoyed it a lot for a movie to see with your child.
Mi dd is desperate to see it, but I wasn´t sure she was going to like it, she´s a preteen, so everything is kind of out balance right now haahahaha, but seeing your comments I hope she likes it
That’s the Brad Bird touch. He started at Pixar, and is very good with films that appeal to children.
Give me the bike! Now! George optional.
Give me the bike! Now!
*peels out on George*
I wanna be ridin’ that thing. George optional.
I’m not surprised because I don’t think George Clooney is a good actor. He can hold his own as part of an ensemble, but I don’t think he’s good enough to headline a film. (That said, I think a good attitude and charm have gotten him far, so good for him.)
I may also be alone in this, but out of all his partners, I liked Stacy Keibler best. I thought they were the best visual representation of what a George Clooney really wants out of life – a good time with a cool girl. But this nonsense about meeting his equal? Please. Amal is so, so, SO far above him.
I think all of his acting is kind of one-note. He seems to always play the same kind of character.
+1 on everything you said.
Why is Amal so far above him? Because she’s a junior barrister who’s represented some questionable people and causes, and is now taking advantage of her husband’s career to get increasing publicity for herself?
I guess we see the Clooneys differently, Robin. Whenever he says that he has met his equal, I mega eye-roll, because I do not see equals. What I see is a middle-aged guy in the latter half of a career that was based substantially on personality as opposed to talent, married to a woman in the prime of her life who has accomplished more in terms of education and profession than most people can in three lifetimes. And of course she’s taking advantage of his career to plug herself, I’d call that shrewd in addition to opportunistic, but there’s no way he would have married her if her own identity didn’t have any advantages for him.
Robin- At least Amal has attended and graduated from a University. Got a Law degree. Can’t say the same for any one else. Not George, none of the “girlfriends”. I agree with the rest of your comments about her, however.
@Hawkeye
“married to a woman in the prime of her life who has accomplished more in terms of education and profession than most people can in three lifetimes.”
Then most people can in three lifetimes ? Really exaggeration much I mean come on she is not some special snowflake..
That statement is just ridiculous. If it took her 3 lifetimes to complete 4 years of university study then I’m not impressed. There are many smart people in the world. Usually the friends and family don’t go around constantly talking about how smart that person is though, it’s just a known fact. I guess they could always hire a public relations team if they wanted to let the world know.
Why did they spend $330 making it and then promote it so poorly? I saw a couple of different trailers for the movie and had no clue what it was supposed to be about. Other than showcasing some fancy CGI, it did nothing to generate interest. Since word of mouth has been poor, I’ll never bother with it. They should have made better trailers to get that cash on the first weekend.
I went and saw Tomorrowland with a group of friends and we all really enjoyed it. But I don’t think I saw one commercial for the movie, so they definitely did not promote it like they should have.
yeah, i don´t get why Disney had no better promo. I never heard of this movie till i saw the trailer in cinema (i was there for Avengers2). That one trailer was the only commercial for Tomorrowland i have seen and i liked the trailer.
Where do you guys live? Because I say the commercial for Tomorrowland all the time.
You miss the two of them???are you kidding??? last week, I think they were on this site 54 times…a failure to his pr team who were shooting for 100. His nonstop babble-on for the last year is proof he fears becoming irrelevant…or maybe broke..the millions spent on upkeep of the mrs can eventually add up. Odd how he’s gone in opinion from actor to pitchman..and how gawd awful he is at trying to sell her. Biggest flop? well, the year’s still young…
Classic example of Disney thinking having famous people attached to a project would be enough for a movie to hit, regardless of the plot or the script (both messy and nearly impossible to market effectively to anybody whether it be young children or adults)
I think it may be very difficult for ageing matinee actors to accept the fact that they’re no longer the hottie in town with the golden touch.
I agree completely. Not to mention GC always gave the impression that he liked being seen as a powerful Hollywood figure, so two costly flops back to back reflects poorly on him.
I don’t recall seeing any ads, and other than comments here, I still have no idea what the plot is (other than being futuristic).
The film name did get mentioned as George promoted it, but he is seasoned enough to realize that any talk of his exalted bride and married life will get the headlines. He gave some lengthy quotes about his personal life instead of getting publicity for the movie, IMO.
Would this be a movie that plays better on tv?
No. This is a film built like a theme park ride. Best seen on a large screen with surround sound.
Based on the script, it should have gone straight to dvd…
Stars don’t sell films on their name any more, if they ever did. They add value to good projects – if you add Clooney to the cast of a film that has a good script, a good director and is well-marketed, then he’ll give it a huge profile. But like any other actor nowadays in today’s complex media marketplace, he can’t make a film happen that has no inherent traction of its own.
George and Jennifer are the same – they can shine in an assembly movie but cannot give a hit based on their own name.
It’s not a bad thing but at least they should admit it to themselves, stop crying/complaining and start being proactive. Both of them will be a huge hit on television – why not try there?
Jennifer Garner?
Uh, ever heard of a little series called “The Hunger Games”, Maya?
Pretty sure this was Aniston (or Garner maybe but Anistons level of fame is more comparable with Clooney’s than Garner) and not Lawrence being reffered to.
Nothing against the guy, but I don’t think I have ever seen a movie of his that didn’t bore me to tears
1. This is Disney. Every once and in a while, they throw (waste) BIG money at a film. See JOHN CARTER (Budget $250M)
2. Why take this level of financial risk after the JOHN CARTER fiasco? I’d wager because they had Brad Bird directing. Brad Bird had previously delivered and then some on THE INCREDIBLES and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE : GHOST PROTOCOL
3. I watched this film because Brad Bird has a very particular vision and he delivered on that count. However, there were so many distractions in this film:
A) they clearly made a film that could be merchandised to the hilt. From theme park rides to product placements. I was so distracted by the merchandising potential of every single scene. Not as distracting as TRANSFORMERS, but distracting enough.
B) I was also completely distracted by THE WIZARD OF OZ score. Straight up used music from that film. I realise that it is normal to re-use music, but I felt like the music was used in the exact spot at every turn in the same way as THE WIZARD OF OZ.
C) the story and production design was ripped from THE WIZARD OF OZ even though it was re-imagined. The music score and the production kept jerking me into comparison of the 2 films.
Further, I thought they had added elements of THE INCREDIBLES. So it felt like I was watching a mishmash of several films.
D) George Clooney is not believable as an action person. He should know this after BATMAN. I’m completely baffled why he took this role.
E) and the big reveal about the future was a huge letdown though not dissimilar to the revelation about the wizard.
The reference to Oz finally triggered why Tomorrowland rings a bell in my classic movie mind.
Tommorowland was also the name of a song sung by a group of children to D. Kerr’s character in An Affair to Remember.
I think George wants to transition into older roles that still have him as a main or semi-main character but doesn’t compromise on box office dominance, so he’s going for children’s films in which he can play the friendly mentor or fatherly figure type roles.
I preface my comment by saying I’m someone who’s getting bored of movies being nothing but sequels these days and would love for a new idea to get the same effort and attention as Jos Whedon Film 8.
That being said to be honest the biggest issue I saw with this movie is it was never really clear what the hell the film was about. I wasn’t sure if it was based on a book because the commercials all seemed to present it as, “Hey you already know this story” Similar to the Harry Potter commercials. I figured I was out of the loop.
If you’re doing a movie you have to give your audience a brief intro in the commercials that gives them some motivation for seeing the film. You just can’t assume that because there’s ‘some’ fanbase that your work is done for you. Yeah I got that it involved Disney + the ride + science fiction future somehow but outside of that the commercials told me nothing. If it doesn’t look appealing people won’t make an effort to go see it.
You can read Variety, Forbes, different non-gossip mags, and a real analysis of why it flopped. George is never the top reason. It’s a Disney movie that they in promotions couldn’t discuss the plot and thus could never promote it properly, all the decision of others, not George, not to talk about the plot, etc and confusing people, not building the hype the thought they would get. It wasn’t George ignoring that part. They talked about the major downfall of their promotion decisions, being cryptic, and of the movie itself with the average reviews and what was wrong with the movie. That there was never a major surprise payoff in the movie that you were rewarded for all the mystery surrounding the movie.
George wasn’t a huge draw for a movie like this, but he was never cited as the major reason for this flop. In respected publications it’s about Disney’s flop, Disney’s Tomorrowland, and where they went wrong with this original script and also the failure in how to sell it to the public. George from what I read is only in like half of the movie.
Exactly. All the promos for the film couldn’t really explain the film (similar to Jupiter Rising) so all you got was flashes of action scenes with no context.
There’s an old show biz rule..if your name is above the title, you own the outcome. His was.
Have to agree. Lone Ranger belongs to Depp, Tomorowland to Clooney and whatever happens to Cruise’s non Mission Impossible films it is on him and if World War Z had failed then, it would have been on Pitt. Clooney (and probably Disney as well) was probably hoping for a WWZ scenario not a Lone Ranger type of response, which is closer to what he got.
Most folks have no idea who the studio is, but they know who the star is. And for the most part, the success or failure is seen as that of the star, especially when you are at their level.
Well there is a reason why the saying is old… these days films work differently.
George is not the main reason the film failed. The script and the whole movie is just not good. Once people saw it very few were saying it was good, both critics and audience members. Granted the promotion wasn’t the best, but even with a better opening, people would have to like the movie to make the $300,000,000 it cost. In Disney’s defense, I think at a point they realized it was going to not do well and they cut marketing dollars, so maybe it is not as close to the 300 mill estimated, but production cost was 192 mill. To Disney it is still a win as they wanted Brad Bird back for Incredibles 2.
Clooney’s problem is he really didn’t want another flop. I think the Sony emails show his thinking and sensitivities. He knows a flop would hurt his marketability in the film world, which it has. I think he thought he could pull out a bit of a break even with his PR. Just he has misjudged it greatly. It really did look like he was promoting the wife, tequila, and then the movie. I do want to know what George saw in a script that made him want to do it, because the script is very weak.
I agree about the marketing decision. It tested at NY Comic con back in September/October – date was very soon after his wedding-palooza – and the result wasn’t good. It was declared a flop then.
Studio made noises about re-editing, but a decision had to be made to put it out, whilst minimising marketing spend to some extent.
The biggest flop of 2015? Somewhere, Jupiter Ascending star Eddie Redmayne is gratefully toasting George with his own tequila
Yup – Tomorrowland and Jupiter Ascending are almost equal in budget and box office haul – Tomorrowland cost a little more and has made a little less, but still probably has another couple of weeks in its box office run.
I didn’t see a lot of promotion for either, so I’m having a hard time believing Disney spent $140 million on the promotion (budget was $190 mil, and that’s the balance if the $330 mil is correct). I can’t imagine where, because I only saw a few commercials here and there. Maybe they did, but that’s a big marketing fail if so.
Nice logo on the golf cart. Wow, he shills that tequila has hard as he does his marriage. When exactly did Clooney because such an obvious sell out?
George is who he has always been. It seem people are just looking at him maybe for the first time. And not going all gaga because he is “the last movie star”..
I actually liked the movie overall. But the Tomorrowland part, where it’s supposed to explain WHY things happened the way they did, was classic Damon Lindelof – sloppy plotting. That man never met a plot he didn’t like to unravel.
The promotion for it was also rubbish. If they’d been allowed to talk a little more about the concept, it might have done better.
This could’ve been a much better movie, I enjoyed parts of it and it really made my 7 year old daughter think and explore new ideas in her head, but the execution wasn’t great.
It reminded me a lot of those sort of whimsical movies from the sixties like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and that ilk, but it was uneven (like what was so bad about Hugh Laurie …he told the truth and tried to help but ended up failing because people responded the opposite of what he thought they would. That’s not evil) and there were so many plot holes. Some of the ideas were interesting but were spoiled by not carrying the ideas through in any kind of plausible way. Things just didn’t make sense. Yeah, lots of crappy stuff happening in the world, but running away from it doesn’t make it better or change it!?! (Plus I hated that she raises her hand in a Literature class on dystopian lit and asked: “How can we change it?” You can’t change it…you’re in a literature class! That was a little thing but it drove my husband crazy with annoyance.
I thought the little girl who played Athena was brilliant, but the main girl (Casey), I felt she overacted and just didn’t find her believeable. Plus she’s like 25 years old playing someone who was a teen…couldn’t they find a teen actor for the part?
I totally agree with you on all points. The main character got on everyone’s nerves. I don’t know how a film with a $190 million (?) budget ends up this badly written. It’s like they had a different writer every five minutes. Athena was the only interesting character in the whole film. It was distracting because the actress who played Casey did not look and act like a teen at all.
I took my daughter and her friend to see Tomorrowland a few days ago and all of us really liked it. Clooney was ok, but Raffey Cassidy and Britt Robertson stole the show. They made it worth watching.
He always looks like he is struggling to stay awake.
Nespresso come down.
What, you mean even the endless presentations and fawnings over Mrs. Clooney couldn’t save this movie!? I’m shocked, I tell you, shocked. Hey Hollywood, why don’t you start actually making movies people can CARE about and not count on the lurid real lives of the actors involved to sell your movies?
Just STOP with the endless crappy franchises and reboots, and make something…oh, interesting, lets say.
I’m betting Disney made Tomorrowland to promote their parks- and that is it. $20 movie ticket will never trump a $120 all day pass…
Yay!!!
It’s time you had a flop Georgie.
This will teach you to lie to the public with your sham of a marriage.
(or not. heh.)
Oh great. Now we’ll have to hear more from George about his amazing wife Amal to overcompensate for his box office AND old-dirty-man-with-two-year-contracts insecurity. Boo.
I remember when George could do no wrong. Now it seems he can do no right. Can anyone pinpoint the exact moment he crossed the line?
When he started acting on his insecurities. Everyone has some insecurity, but multimillionaire George gave in to it. If you want to be a dirty old man, do it in style like Leo and Jack Nicholson et cetera. If you want to marry “up” and be with a human rights lawyer, do it in style and make it low key. No one cares that you’ve “redeemed” yourself.
I’m a Clooney fan, but I cant’ figure out what Tomorrowland IS. It looks like an ad, it’s too much about Disney. I literally, honestly don’t know what it is: a thriller, a sci fi flick, a middle aged man in crisis thing, a two hour commercial for a Disney park. All the marketing stuff I’ve seen so far says “marketing for a Disney park” all over it, basically, and who’d pay to see that?
He irritates the crap out of me.
I was at the movie theatre seeing Spy. A mother and her 3 teenage daughters were buying tickets. Mom said Tomorrowland, the 3 daughters shouted yuck and instead wanted to see the Reese/Sofia movie. I laughed – disney you got this all wrong and George did not attract 3 teenage girls.
Tomorrowland was always the lamest part of Disneyland–maybe they’re revamping it & the movie is part of that process.