I don’t get this chick’s style. These are new photos of George Clooney and Elisabetta Canalis at the Up In the Air premiere at the International Rome Film Festival on Friday. George looks okay, I guess. But Elisabetta… she looks “off” somehow, doesn’t she? Like she’s aiming for both Cindy Crawford and Angelina Jolie with her styling. Maybe I’m just thinking of Angelina because of the tattoos, though. In any case, I think Elisabetta has weird style/makeup/hair people. I do think she’s a pretty girl, and I hope she improves throughout her relationship with Clooney. My guess is that she’s going to be wearing a lot of Armani (same as Sarah Larson) in the coming months.

Anyway, George Clooney has three films coming out this fall/winter/awards season. What’s strange is that they’re all coming out within a few months of each other, so if you’re already sick of George and Elisabetta Canalis, you’ll need to prepare yourself for permanent nausea. Last week, George was in London with Elisabetta, on promotional duty for The Fantastic Mr. Fox. This week he’s going to be promoting Up In The Air and Men Who Stare At Goats (which is the one I really want to see). As such, we have a new interview with George, via The Daily Mirror. I’m not sure if the Mirror actually sat down with George, because some of these quotes are old. But some of it sounds new, especially the part where George says everyone thinks he‘s 60 years old, which is hilarious:

It’s no wonder George is seen as a playboy – an image he is happy to poke fun at.

“I’m old,” he says with a laugh. “I’m kind of comfortable with getting older because it’s better than the other option, which is being dead. So I’ll take getting older. It’s an interesting thing to be able to watch yourself grow older on screen.”

“I was watching Up In The Air and I thought, ‘Jesus, who’s the old, grey-haired guy?’ And it was me. I never wear make-up for movies and now it’s starting to show.”

“It’s funny because earlier in my career I was working with a lot of actresses who were my age or older and most actors work with actresses who are considerably younger. So people always thought I was older anyway and I’ve been going through this thing with people thinking I’m about 60.”

He may be getting older, but George shows no signs of slowing down. At the moment, he is in London to promote three films, rom-com Up In The Air, kids’ favourite The Fantastic Mr Fox and a satire about the CIA called The Men Who Stare At Goats.

“Boy, I’ve got a lot of films here this week, a lot of running around,” he says, adding with another laugh, “And all three films are ones I don’t have to be embarrassed about – and that’s rare!”

When he can take a break from his hectic work schedule, he retreats to his Italian mansion on Lake Como to “recharge and have friends and family and people around”.
George says: “Some of the most fun dinners I’ve ever had have been there. There’s always 10 or 15 people and we have wild fun evenings of interesting people telling interesting stories. I relate to nothing but joy and happiness there – it’s been the greatest thing I’ve ever done for myself.”

George may be a generous host, but his guests have to put up with his elaborate pranks. His latest victim was Ocean’s 11 co-star Matt Damon, who visited over summer.

At the time Matt was trying to lose the 30lb he gained for The Informant. He was working out twice a day and eating only salads. So George hired a woman to surreptitiously take in the waistband of all Matt’s trousers every day by an eighth of an inch. “He couldn’t understand how he seemed to be gaining weight while he was trying so hard to lose it,” grins George.

His next victim will be Brad Pitt. “I’m working on a prank and I need some help,” he admits. “Something evil has to happen.”

The Men Who Stare At Goats, produced by George and his business partner Grant Heslov, is based on the supposedly true story of a US military unit who tried to use psychic powers to run through walls and kill goats simply by staring at them.

George says: “We made up stuff that we thought was funny, but the weirdest stuff in the film is the true stuff.”

“I’ve been lucky enough to do a few films that will last longer than an opening weekend, and those films are the ones I’m proud of,” he says, modestly. “You know, I have a few that I look back on and say, ‘Well, that worked’. And I’ve had some that didn’t really work, but I don’t mind that as long as I’m always trying to do stuff that’s pushing the envelope.”

But he is all too aware that he can only afford so many movies that don’t “work”. Despite his A-list status and huge influence in Hollywood, George still has to keep on the right side of the financiers and studio heads – the people who green light and provide the funding for his projects.

“I’m in the lucky position right now of them still letting me play with the toys, but I don’t know how long that will last,” he says. “So while they’re letting me, I’m going to keep trying to do these kind of movies and hope that some of them succeed.”

[From The Daily Mirror]

If I take away George’s skeezy personal life, I actually love who he is and what he represents in Hollywood. George got to the place in his career several years ago where he started making really interesting choices as an actor, director and producer. He is right about having hits as well as misses, but I give him credit for actually trying to make good, interesting films that challenge audiences. Sigh. I can’t wait for Men Who Stare At Goats. George plus Ewan McGregor plus Jeff Bridges plus goats equals film magic.

Images thanks to Fame Pictures .