George Clooney: Hollywood Heartthrob Comes Over For Dinner, Compares Self To Clinton

Time hits newsstands tomorrow with a George Clooney cover, "The Last Movie Star." Reporter Joel Stein mixed things up and asked Clooney to his house for dinner, and Clooney actually came. There is a lengthy interview/profile and a hysterical video of the evening on Time's website (footage includes Clooney inspecting the living room, Clooney in Stein's crawlspace). Clooney is up for the Best Actor Oscar this Sunday night for "Michael Clayton."

Some highlights:

Clooney also preempts situations that might earn him ridicule later. So he has either turned down every gift bag he's been offered or has put them up on eBay for charity. "I've been smart about that. Rich famous people getting free s___ looks bad. You look greedy. And I don't need a cell phone with sparkles on it," he says.

"I know what pisses people off about fame," Clooney says. "It's when famous people whine about it."

"After Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck I was offered the Richard Clarke book and every issues movie," Clooney says. "I didn't want to be the issues guy because if the issues change, you're done. The Facts of Life is a good example. If you're a young heartthrob--which I never caught on as--those fans not only abandon you, but they're embarrassed to have liked you. It's the same thing with issues movies. I want to just be a director."

Clooney wasn't able to get into Darfur until late January, when the U.N. said it would give him an official title. "I have a U.N. passport. It says 'Messenger of Peace' on it. It's very cool," he says.

{On Oscars] There is no way Daniel Day Lewis won't win. For me, it's like being Hillary Clinton. If it weren't for Barack Obama, it would have been a very good year.

Read the whole thing, and be sure to watch the video.

Comments

[Jssnow]

06:33 PM on 02/22/2008

George Clooney is a tool. It is terribly arrogant of him to annonce that he would receive the Oscar if Day-Lewis wasn't in the race. I hope Viggo beats them both. His performance was electrifying.

[CoulterIsASuccubus]

06:44 AM on 02/22/2008

I didn't intend to say it twice but what the hell?

[CoulterIsASuccubus]

06:42 AM on 02/22/2008

George Clooney needs to quit movies and run for orifice....MY orifice.

[CoulterIsASuccubus]

06:41 AM on 02/22/2008

George Clooney needs to quit movies and run for orifice....MY orifice.

[janicen]

03:28 AM on 02/22/2008

You would describe that video as "hysterical"?

I'd say mildly amusing.

[JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin]

12:14 AM on 02/22/2008

Clooney is a great movie star. He really could fit in with Hollywood's golden age. He really has it, as they say.

But many miss the fact that George is a damn fine actor, one of the best that Hollywood has right now and one of the most congenial guys to work with.

[WaveFunction]

02:29 AM on 02/22/2008

He is a classy guy and I have to respect him as not only an actor but a film artist, jealous as I am of his charisma and the fact that he's probably never heard the word "NO" from a woman.

He really gets it. He knows he's led a charmed life and he has nothing to complain about. He has his priorities in order.

Sad to so, though, he's right. His performance in Michael Clayton is nowhere near the calibur of Daniel Day Lewis' in There Will Be Blood. I would be very surprised if Clooney is wrong about his prognostication.

[JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin]

12:37 PM on 02/22/2008

Clooney is a film artist, a great one.

I didn't see There Will Be Blood, but I did see Michael Clayton. Clooney will probably lose to Lewis (who makes the whole movie reportedly), but Clooney is still fabulous.

[brunodiaz]

08:18 PM on 02/21/2008

He's a very talented actor and makes good films but he's no movie star. Movies he stars in don't make money.

[naschkatze]

09:38 PM on 02/21/2008

It seems to me that he makes the crappy movies to be able to finance his good movies which are not box-office hits.

[ClaudiaJean]

11:22 PM on 02/21/2008

This is the same backwards inane thinking that allows the Fox Fanatics on the Politics and Media sections of this website to insist their beloved Fox News propaganda purveyors are the epitome of awesomeness and truth because they get bigger ratings. He is, indeed, a movie star -- and as the title intends the content of the article implies -- it's in the vein of a Gregory Peck or Cary Grant, with a level of dignity, class and a good dose of humor and sense of self and self-awareness of his situation.

[brunodiaz]

06:01 AM on 02/22/2008

what? why the nasty tone? what does Fox News have to do with this? Gregory Peck and Cary Grant were box office draws. They starred in movies that made money. I like George Clooney a lot for all of the reasons you give, and personally I like his politics. But he's not really a movie star. He's very talented and I like that he's nominated so it will allow him to keep making good movies. But he's not in the same league as Grant, Peck or any others of that stature in terms of box office and that matters journalistically when you put him on the cover of Time magazine and label him a movie star. Also, Mr. Clooney, if you or anyone you're connected with happens to be reading this, please don't give up on making White Jazz. Maybe the director didn't work out, but Clooney would be so perfect to play Dave Klein.

[degjack]

07:57 PM on 02/21/2008

Fella's got a good point about him and Hillary.

[Silpat]

05:41 PM on 02/21/2008

Whenever I see Clooney all I can think about is the tv shows, "Facts of Life" and "Roseanne".

lol

[kfdan]

05:14 PM on 02/21/2008

Being a Movie Star is one of the biggest cons on the planet. Either you are a good actor or get the good breaks and that's it. Now, you have to have the right stuff from the beginning or you'll never make it. Clooney has the right stuff and is a great guy besides!

[NoRepresentation]

05:12 PM on 02/21/2008

You can always count on Time to give you a laugh. So George Clooney is the "last movie star". This is the very reason why Time magazine is garbage. So is Tom Hanks only stuck to doing television now?

[andyboy]

06:58 PM on 02/21/2008

Perhaps it was appropos of Tom Hanks to play Charlie Wilson. You know the guy who manufactured his own war? Starting at 5 million dollars Charlie was able to steal a total of 500 million for an undeclared illegal war in cahoots with a self declared religious bimbo he was screwing behind her husband's back.

Americans had no say in the matter. Now that's leadership!

[rini]

08:09 PM on 02/21/2008

You know what they meant.

[moderationsmuse]

04:48 PM on 02/21/2008

George Clooney is an actor? Gosh, who knew? I thought he was a politician. Or perhaps he thought he was doing stand up. Maybe he should keep his day job, if he has one, magazine cover notwithstanding.
Sign me,
not impressed

[andyboy]

06:52 PM on 02/21/2008

Faulting others for their success is always so impressive.

[moderationsmuse]

07:54 PM on 02/23/2008

andyboy,
My apologies. It never dawned on me that Mr. Clooney's publicist posts here.
However just to set the record straight (I fibbed a little), I actually have seen one Clooney movie: Perfect Storm. I watched it for the special effects, which were supurb by the way.
Cannot say as much for Mr. Clooney, however.
I remain not a fan.

[naschkatze]

09:40 PM on 02/21/2008

Every good citizen, including an actor, has an obligation to be interested in politics.

[condieshoes]

04:37 PM on 02/21/2008

Growing older gracefully. Frankly the man is fabulous at any age. In the same class and Cary Grant.

Poor Burt Reynolds. He is a mess! Plastic surgery should be done very little at the most. Either you age well or you don't. No matter of surgery will help that, really.

[[e-mail]]

04:31 PM on 02/21/2008

George, George, George, You can come over and check out my crawl space any day of the week. (Ooh that looks naughty in print). Just occurred to me that if his name was 'Cloney' instead of Clooney, we could take a couple scientists off the global warming thingie and assign them the task of building hundreds and hundreds of Georges. I would like to put my order in now please.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

03:54 PM on 02/21/2008

George, I'm a really, really good cook. I also have a pretty good wine collection. How about coming over for dinner? I can find something in the house that beeps.... I'm sure.