‘The Descendants’ Shailene Woodley Talks Getting Direction From Alexander Payne and Working at American Apparel on Her Hiatus

From the small screen, as the lead star of The Secret Life of The American Teenager,  to the big screen with George Clooney in The Descendants, twenty-year-old actress Shailene Woodley has come off the heels of what she calls a “mind blowing” awards season, she told Collider.

Prior to booking The Descendants, Woodley was working for an apparel store when she found out she was cast in her role.  “I had moved to New York over hiatus to do something different. I’m from Simi Valley. And, I was working at American Apparel, just to do something different, when I booked The Descendants, and I was terrified to have to quit my job. I hate having to go in and put in your two weeks notice. That’s terrifying!  I had only been working there for two months, so I thought that she would be pissed that I took a job for two months then was quitting. But, she was very gracious and kind and considerate.”

Shailene also shared what it was like to work under the direction of Alexander Payne.  “Every actor wants to work with him for a reason, and it’s because he gives you the time that you need to get to an emotional state and he’s always by the camera, talking you through the scene and helping you in times of difficulty,” she said. “He’s never stuck behind a monitor or yelling from across the stage, like most directors. He’s really present and available for you.”  Read more

George Clooney to Appear on ‘Inside the Actors Studio’

Bravo’s Inside the Actors Studio returns for its 18th season with George Clooney. 

In the two-hour season premiere, Clooney discusses his life from his early days as Dr. Doug Ross on ER to his recently acclaimed role as Matt King in The Descendants, for which he has just received an Oscar® nomination.

When talking about The Descendants, he said to host James Lipton that, “I enjoyed the fact that I was allowed to dip my toe into an area that I am very uncomfortable with.”

He also talks about  Batman Returns – “Coming off of [Batman Returns] I suddenly realized I was going to have to pick better projects” – and committing adultery…. in second grade. “I thought it meant acting like an adult, I didn’t know what the hell it meant,” he said.

The show airs on Tuesday, January 31 at 7pm et/pt.

Check out the preview below!  Read more

Watch: George Clooney, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Viola Davis, Christopher Plummer and Tilda Swinton in Newsweek’s Awards Roundtable

Well, Newsweek got 3 out of 6 right.

In anticipation of today’s Academy Award nominations, the magazine gathered George Clooney, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Viola Davis, Christopher Plummer and Tilda Swinton- all possible contenders – together for a frank and at times hilarious conversation.

As you know, Clooney, Davis and Plummer got the good news today but that doesn’t take away from the performances Fassbender, Theron and Swinton did this year.

There are 4 videos and they’re all worth watching. You can see Fassbender do his Quentin Tarantino impression, Theron do a South African accent and Clooney will make you laugh.

Best line is from Viola Davis though: “Acting is about problem solving. I don’t have a method. I don’t have a way of working. It changes with every project.”

Check it out below!  Read more

George Clooney Doesn’t Care Much About Awards

George Clooney might be one of the most praised actors in Hollywood — he’s been nominated for three acting Oscars (winning one for Syriana) and was also nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Goodnight and Good Luck.  But despite being nominated for four Golden Globes this year for The Descendants and The Ides of March, and a likely nominee for an Oscar or two, Clooney claims he’s so over the whole awards scene. 

So over it that he’s talking all about it, of course.

On the NBC news program Rock Center, Clooney explained to Brian Williams, “I am a fan of movies. And so my job is to try to make films that last longer than an opening weekend.  And then if someone’s nice to you at the end of the year– and they’ve been nice and they’ve been mean — my job is to try to make films that I think are entertaining.”

Those words echo the even harsher sentiments he expressed in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly.  When asked about campaigning for awards, Clooney answered, “You use the word ‘campaign.’ I’ve actually done it where it was like a campaign, like kissing babies.  You can justify it by saying, ‘I’m helping the movie,’ but you cross a line where it feels like you’re only helping yourself. And it starts to feel unclean. So I haven’t done that version of it since then. I didn’t do it for Up in the Air or Michael Clayton. So the word ‘campaigning’ isn’t part of it anymore.”  Read more

George Clooney, Matt Damon and Daniel Craig featured in February’s Issue of ‘Vanity Fair’

Next month’s issue of Vanity Fair will feature George Clooney, Matt Damon and Daniel Craig as they take the  Proust Questionnaire.

From VF:

“If George Clooney could choose what to come back as, it would be his dog—as the actor states, “he lives better.” The Descendants lead also admits to being displeased with his posture and considers patience the most overrated virtue. Daniel Craig values patience in his friends above all, but doesn’t like his knees, and you’ll never guess what he considers his most treasured possession—but then, we can’t really be sure. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo star admits that he lies when answering questionnaires. Matt Damon, who played a widower twice this year, in Contagion and We Bought a Zoo, is focused on family off the camera—he says that he was happiest in bed making his four children and in the hospital watching them being born. He says that his greatest achievement is his marriage, that his real-life heroes are his parents, and that his favorite names are those of his wife and children. He and Clooney both wish they could play instruments, while the more practical Craig only wishes he had opposable toes.”

Forbes Lists ‘The Hardest Working Actors in Show Business’

Forbes Magazine always likes to put together all kinds of “most successful” lists.  Of course, Forbes’ latest list, which is supposed to list the Hardest Working Actors in Show Business, has interesting criteria.  “To come up with our list we looked at all movies that earned more than $20 million since 2007″ and picked the actors who have appeared in the most $20 million+ grossing films since (not counting animated films). 

Some of the choices are the usual suspects, but there are also some surprises.

Read more

Watch: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Rooney Mara and more as Cinematic Villains

This is very cool.

The New York Times has 13 videos of today’s best actors as cinematic villains.

Each stylized video is silent except for the music that accompanies it and they are just incredibly interesting.

Featuring Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, Gary Oldman, Rooney Mara, George Clooney, Jessica Chastain, Michael Shannon among others, you gotta take a couple minutes and watch them. They’re all less than a minute each.

Check them out here!

‘The Descendants’ Nick Krause, Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller Talk About Their On-Set Experiences

The Descendants is one of my favorite films of the year. I loved everything about it and I think it’s one of George Clooney‘s best roles. 

Here are the young stars of the film, Nick Krause, Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller, talking about working with Clooney and Director Alexander Payne, their experiences on set and acting insights they gained.  Read more

George Clooney talks about his role in ‘The Descendants’: “I like parts that are out of my comfort zone”

With Alexander Payne’s The Descendants hitting theaters this week, star George Clooney spoke about the challenges of his latest role with the Envelope Screening Series. 

The film, which also co-stars with Judy Greer and Matthew Lillard, has Clooney portraying a father, Matt King, who must emotionally reconnect with his two younger daughters. After his wife is injured in a boating accident, he delves into switching gears in his career and essentially leaving his comfort zone.

Normally cast as an overachiever, The Ides of March director shared that after reading the script for The Descendants, what ultimately appealed to him was taking on a character that wasn’t an overachiever, who also lacks insight, traits Clooney fans have seen the actor exude so many times before.  The fact that The Descendants central character also had to deal with his failures, and consistently loses throughout the film helped seal the deal for the long time actor.

Watch George Clooney talk about his role in The Descendants below. Read more

Ryan Gosling on Working with George Clooney and His Worst Audition Ever

Ryan Gosling has had quite a year for himself.  He’s earned positive reviews in Crazy Stupid Love, Drive, and, most recently, The Ides of March.  It’s quite a run for the 31 year-old actor, especially since he was hand-picked by The Ides of March director/co-writer/star George Clooney for the lead role in that film. 

Gosling recently talked about his experience working both for and with Clooney and the stellar cast of The Ides of March as well as his worst audition story ever in the video below.

When asked if he knew whether or not the films he decides to star in will be any good, Gosling remarks that a lot of it depends on who he’s working with.  He explains, “For instance with this it’s George [Clooney].  You can look at George’s track record and kind of know what kind of movie he’s gonna make.”  When asked if he had any qualms about signing up for the film even though he didn’t have to audition, Gosling replies, “It’s one of those things… when George Clooney calls you, you say yes.”   Read more

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