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In the futuristic thriller “The Midnight Sky,” George Clooney is a lonely scientist who tries to warn astronauts away from an Earth that is no longer habitable, all while caring for a young child.
For the movie, Clooney grew a beard, lost some weight, and donned his director’s hat.
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“He hasn’t taken on many acting roles,” said correspondent Tracy Smith. “What was it about this project that was so compelling that you decided to direct Y act on it? ”
“I watched the part and I thought, well, this is a really great part,” Clooney replied. “And then I had an idea of how to tell the story, so I called Netflix and said, ‘You know, I think I have an idea.
The movie, in theaters and on Netflix December 23, is powerful and moving. Clooney filmed it all of last year, just before the real world closed.
Smith met Clooney at his home in Los Angeles, where he spent the last few months with his wife, human rights attorney Amal Clooney, their two children, and plenty of free time.
“Are you enjoying being home all the time now?” Smith asked.
“Well, look: no, of course not,” he replied. “It’s been a while since I’ve done, you know, 15 loads of laundry in one day and scrubbed floors and, you know, all these doors here that I stained! You know, I always say I felt like my mother in 1964.” . because he had two children and there was no help. And I don’t know how he did it now. I feel more sympathy for her now than ever. ”
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And he has even been cutting his hair. “Aha. I’ve been cutting my hair for 25 years,” he exclaimed.
“So it has nothing to do with the quarantine?”
“No. Look, my hair is like straw, you know? And it’s very easy to cut. You can’t make too many mistakes. So years ago I bought a thing called Flowbee, that when we were kids …”
“You did not do it!” Smith said. “The infomercial?”
“Yes. Does it come with a vacuum cleaner and nail clipper? Yes. I still have it … Listen, man, it works!” he smiled. “Now, I wouldn’t do it to my wife…!”
In case you’re on the trail, Clooney (and his Flowbee’ed hair) have made more than four dozen movies and have taken home two Oscars along the way.
He first rose to fame as a doctor on the NBC series “ER,” but it was not an overnight success. He had struggled in Hollywood for years after moving out of his Kentucky home with little more than his shirt on his back. “It was in 1982 when I wanted to move to Los Angeles,” he said. “I had a beat-up ’76 Monte Carlo, with rust everywhere. I would fill it up with oil and check the gas, and I drove it here in three days. I didn’t turn it off because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to turn it back on. And I got here, I know broke up, bought a bike, and auditioned all over town for a year and a half. “
Now 59 and many times a millionaire, he keeps busy with the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which grew out of his work in places like South Sudan.
But “The Midnight Sky” was one of his most demanding works to date. This scene, in which he is separated from the girl, was filmed in a real Arctic snowstorm.
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“That was the first week of filming,” Clooney said. “We were in Iceland, so we went out, it’s 40 degrees below zero and wind gusts of 70, 80 miles per hour. And I was doing things without glasses, so my eyelids would freeze and close after a little more a minute. And so, I could only take one shot during that time, then I had to go in and they would take a hair dryer and open my eyelashes so I could come out again. “
It sounds like an action movie, but Clooney says it’s actually about humans needing to connect, across the universe or just across a room.
Smith said, “I would say one of the themes of the movie is that the idea of having someone to care for can help you.”
“Yes Yes.”
“In your own life, does having someone to care for change things?”
“Yes. There is no doubt that having Amal in my life changed everything for me, no doubt about that,” he replied. “It was the first time that everything she did and everything about her was infinitely more important than anything about me.
“And then we had these two suckers, and it’s very satisfying, and it’s something that I wasn’t at all – I didn’t see coming. So, you know, we never talked about marriage when we were dating. Time to say yes. I was on my knees for about 20 minutes. Finally I said, ‘Look, I’m going to drop my hips.’ We told her parents that story and they said, ‘Is there something wrong with your hip?’ “.
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“And we never talked about having children. And then one day we just said, ‘What do you think?’ And, you know, then we go to the doctor and, you know, you do the ultrasound and you say, ‘Hey, you have a baby.’ I said, ‘Baby, great!’ Then they say, ‘And you’ve got another one there.’ And I was like … I was prepared to one, you know? Because, again, I am old. Are they suddenly like two? And I literally, you know, it’s hard to get him to not speak. And I stood there for about ten minutes, staring at this paper that … two … Silently. But I’m so glad they have each other, you know? “
“It’s a wonderful thing, right?” Smith said.
“Is incredible.”
When he’s not making movies, he says he spends a third of his time with his foundation, but in silence. For a guy who’s done some space movies now, George Clooney is down to earth.
Smith asked, “So I’m curious, just looking at you, you’re very self-critical. And I wonder if that’s something that’s in your nature, or do you work on that?”
“I think it’s in my nature,” Clooney said. “I think, you know, a lot of times the secret is that you take the gun out of their hands before they can shoot you.
“I think it is a healthy way of looking at the world. There is a line in a movie called ‘Out of the Past’. Robert Mitchum says, “I never learned anything from listening to myself speak.” It’s a good measure to follow. “
To watch a trailer for “The Midnight Sky,” click on the video player below:
For more information:
Short story produced by John D’Amelio. Editing: Lauren Barnello.
