Now Magazine, 1998

Now Magazine, UK, 1 October 1998

"WORLD EXCLUSIVE His affair with French beauty Celine is in trouble, but George Clooney can't do a thing about it

George Clooney knows his relationship with beautiful French girlfriend Celine Balitran is in trouble because he doesn't spend enough time with her. But he says he can't change.

'I'm committed to work and that's a problem,' he admits. 'It's very tough on Celine. Her identity is associated with me, yet she has none of the advantages because I'm hardly ever there.'

George, 37, and former law student Celine, 25, have been together two years. It's been reported that his reluctance to marry put a strain on the relationship, but the start of ER and new film Out Of Sight denies this.

'I don't think marriage is an issue,' he says. 'But I just don't have the time that she does and it's not a comfortable situation. That's going to be tough on any strong, smart woman who has her own ideals and goals.

'A TV series is a full-time job - 14 hours a day, five days a week, nine months of the year with no time off. I also make films in my spare time, which means working weekends and nights.

'Celine doesn't work that many hours. She's an assistant teacher at a kindergarten, so she works five days a week in the mornings until 2 pm. She also does other voluntary work.

'This means that she has a lot of spare time. She has friends in Los Angeles and people she likes being with, but I can't pretend it's easy. We spend the nights together, go out for dinner and try to have a normal a life as possible.

'We don't have holidays and I think that bothers her. It would bother me. It's difficult for her and I'm more than aware of the situation. But, for the moment, I'm unable to do a thing about it.'

Out Of Sight, the new film in which George co-stars with Jennifer Lopez, has caused further problems between the couple. 'She didn't like it very much,' he admits.

'I didn't want her to see the movie until I took her to the premiere in LA, because I knew she was going to be pissed off at me. There was nothing I could do - the scene is there on a giant screen.

'I said: "But it's a very tame love scene for a movie. There are a couple of kisses. No one's naked. No one's grinding at each other's bodies."

'The trouble is that it looks so damn sexy. That was the idea of the scene. And it wasn't hard work making out with Jennifer Lopez, so Celine was very jealous for a minute or two. But it could have been
worse. She could have been alot madder.'

George is frank about recent reports that Celine had given him a warning that their relationship will end if he doesn't marry her.

'There was no such discussion and no such threat,' he says. 'That's just not her style.

'I realise that when I announce I won't marry again or have children, women reading the remarks might say: "He's never going to get away with that." It's lack of responsibility on my part. 'That translates into Celine being disturbed by it. She's not. But she's not overexcited that the most important thing in my life is my work. No woman would be,'

His 1989 marriage to actress Talia Balsam lasted just four years. 'I found I didn't want to work at it once things started to go wrong,' he admits. 'I wanted to walk away and I found it's not easy when lawyers get involved. So I enjoy my freeedom now without any bits of paper to complicate things.'

It seems long-term commitment has a habit of getting him into trouble. He bought pet pig Max for ex-girlfriend Kelly Preston, who left him and married John Travolta. He got custody of the pig and little else. 'I still have him now,' he says dryly. 'It's been 11 years. He's getting old and sage, but at least a pig doesn't get jealous about Jennifer Lopez. And if I'm not around, he couldn't care less.'

George and Celine live in what he jokingly calls 'Casa Clooney', a mock-Tudor mansion near Studio City, Los Angeles. It has its own tennis court, swimming pool and basetball court on which he plays at least one game a day. But it's clear George is a work fanatic. 'You have to love and enjoy the entire process,' he says. 'If you're auditioning, you have to love auditioning. You have to love film sets, love being with the crew.

'I can't spend the whole day in a trailer waiting to be called - film sets are fun. It's a matter of living and loving those days and the process before it's gone,' he says. 'My aunt Rosemary was a big singing star in 1950. By 1955 she was washed up because rock 'n' roll came along. She'd just turned 24.'

The actor adds: 'She didn't understand it and became a nut for 20 years, took every drug known to man and had nervous breakdowns until she finally got her act back together.' George's father Nick went through it in a different way. 'He was host of a big nightly TV news show, then he wasn't. He was big for a time, but had to learn this it doesn't last.

'So I know the acclaim, the screams and the attention will end soon. The only thing you have left is your judgement. When people say you're a god, you're not. But when they suddenly say you suck, that's not true either.

'I'm a 37-year-old guy and I think for most guys personal happiness is, in part, having a career that's going well. It's the same for some women, but for men it's a big driving force.

'My father worked throughout my growing up. I don't hate him or dislike him for that. It was part of our life that the man went to work.

'Much of my identity is working and the other part - the part I need to improve - is how good I am at enjoying the time when I'm not at work.'

So perhaps there's hope for Celine after all. Two of Clooneys previous co-stars, Nicole Kidman and Michelle Pfeiffer, have each laid a $10,000 bet with George.

'They say that by the year 2000 I'll be married with kids,' he says. 'I think I'll be $20,000 richer. But who knows...I may end up having to pay out.'"