The Ides of March

sweeeeeet

New article out of Cincinnati!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] I cut out part of the article that had nothing to do with George. (If there are any Doris Day fans among you, I left in about her new record).

Beware 'The Ides of March' as possible Oscar material
1:45 AM, Aug. 21, 2011 |

Written by

John Kiesewetter
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Entertainment
Movies

Academy Awards are six months away, but already the Oscar buzz is starting for George Clooney.

Of the 12 "Oscar Watch" movies listed by "Entertainment Weekly," two star Clooney: "The Ides of March" premiering next week at the Venice Film Festival, and "The Descendants" at Thanksgiving.

Clooney's all over the "Fall Movie Preview" double edition (Aug. 19 and Aug. 26). He's in the "Hollywood Insider" column; a two-page, three-photo "Ides" spread; and in the photo and description of "The Descendants."

"Ides," which shot here in February, stars Ryan Gosling as a press aide for a presidential candidate (Clooney) in the Ohio primary. EW likes its Oscar-friendly director (Clooney) and cast, led by Gosling.

In "The Descendants," Clooney plays a Hawaiian land baron who learns his wife (Patricia Hastie) was having an affair. The "Oscar buzz" comes from director Alexander Payne (his first movie since "Sideways") and Clooney. It opens Nov. 23.

Doris Day CD 'My Heart' due for Sept. 5 release

Great news for Doris Day fans! The reclusive Cincinnati native releases her first album in 17 years on Sept. 5.

Her "My Heart" includes nine previously unreleased songs and three re-mastered recordings (but not her 1945 hit "Sentimental Journey"). The album will be available at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Contactmusic.com says Day recently told Great Britain's Yorkshire Post:

"It was brought to my attention that the recordings were in storage and Sony was interested in releasing them... After they were re-mastered, I liked them and hoped my fans would too."

Born Doris Kappelhoff in Cincinnati on April 3, 1922, she started singing in 1938 at the Shanghai Inn downtown. By 1939 she was fronting Barney Rapp's big band.

Her 29 albums earned Day a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2008.

She had a bigger movie career. Her 1950s and '60s romantic comedies made her the No. 1 all-time female box office star, according to many sources. She also starred in two TV series, and received a Presidential Medal of Freedom award in 2004.

possible Oscar material

Yay! I cannot wait to see it!

great
can't wait too!

Wouldn't it be amazing if he won for best actor and director? I wonder if anyone has ever won two oscars in the same year in two different categories?

Research, everybody! See who can find the answer.

Looky what I found!!!!


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Good going, Mel. So, according to this, if George were to win both Best Actor, and Best Director, he would be the first ever to do so. Would this be too much to hope for? It's exciting to think about, isn't it.

Wow Mel, I had no idea. Thanks for looking it up. It really would be great if he could win in both categories. It would cement his name in filmland.

for sure.... !

Maybe he's G's date on the red carpet. G has made several appearances on his program.

That's what I presume but I could be wrong.

Found this just now. Very complimentary hilighted

Ryan Gosling Compares George Clooney To Michael Jackson

First Posted: 8/22/11 11:22 AM ET Updated: 8/22/11 11:24 AM ET

He may have started his career working the teen scene on "The Micky Mouse Club" and "Breaker High," but the notoriously picky actor has made a name for himself as an adult by largely choosing interesting, quirky roles that showcase his natural talent.

But Gosling's star is on the rise and as New York magazine notes with this summer's "Crazy, Stupid, Love" it's just the start of his return to more mainstream roles.

The actor who has currently sporting bleach blond hair while filming "The Place Beyond The Pines," next stars alongside Carey Mulligan in "Drive" as a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver, and in the political thriller "The Ides of March" directed by and co-staring George Clooney.

New York magazine caught up with Gosling to find out what it was like to work with Clooney as a director and not surprisingly, Gosling had only kind, although somewhat strange words for him.

"It was amazing, like watching someone try to explain a song in their head," he said of working with Clooney. " I can only compare it to seeing Michael Jackson in "This Is It," where he's trying to explain to a keyboard player how to play a certain part -- even in the sea of parts being played, he can pick that out. That's kind of what George is like. He's like Michael Jackson, basically."
And yes, that is a compliment. Gosling told the magazine:

"I love Mike Jackson. [Clooney] knew exactly what he wanted, and he was very specific. A lot of directors aren’t so clear."

For more with Ryan Gosling, click over to New York magazine.

Full Ryan quotes about Clooney from NY Mag (I found the link at Frenchies)

Everyone must ask you about Clooney.
Yeah, he’s dreamy.

What’s he like as a director?
It was amazing, like watching somebody try to explain a song in their head. I can only compare it to seeing Michael Jackson in This Is It, where he’s trying to explain to a keyboard player how to play a certain part—even in the sea of parts being played, he can pick that out. That’s kind of what George is like. He’s like Michael Jackson, basically.

I assume that’s a compliment.
I love Mike Jackson. [Clooney] knew exactly what he wanted, and he was very specific. A lot of directors aren’t so clear.

Did he play practical jokes?
He’d switch out the hard-boiled eggs at craft service with raw ones. And he liked to come over, give you very serious direction, get you in a very serious place, and then walk away, and you’d realize that he’d been spraying your crotch with an Evian bottle, and then he’d say, “Action.” You’d have to act with wet pants.

How’d he switch between the directing and the acting?
He’s like Bugs Bunny. He’s good at everything, and nothing really fazes him. He’s Bugs Bunny, and I’m Daffy Duck.

Thanks, watching. Love all the positive feedback George gets from his actors and co-stars. He must be really great to work for and with.

He would be a dream to "work" with! I bet he's nothing like a lot of un-clooney fans like to make him out to be.

Thanks, Watching!

Ryan Glosling about George - "He’d switch out the hard-boiled eggs at craft service with raw ones." RFOL

I would have loved to have been been a fly on the wall when that happened!

I wonder how messy it was. And always... the greatest stunts and no pics!

Cindy, I'm still laughing about that, picturing people pounding the egg on the table with a fork and yolk flying everywhere.

You know we all heard about the spray bottle stunt, but never before that he called Action and that Ryan had to do his lines with a wet crotch. So mean and so uncomfortable. And so cold, remember it was February.

Practical jokes are mean, the joke is always on someone else and even the worse the person is bullied into laughing or being a killjoy. And I bet everyone just falls about at one of George's jokes.

You're right ello some practical jokes are downright mean. Although I don't believe George is mean spirited. It may be a facade for his immaturity and insecurity or a way to take the focus away from him.

It could be a way of getting the other people to relax around him. You have to think they're thinking... That's George Clooney OR I'm working for/with George Clooney... So, he goes about making everyone feel comfortable instead of awed. I think it would ease my concerns if he did something like that to me. It would put us on the same playing field, if you know what I mean. An make you and everyone else laugh... then I would spend the rest of the time devising a joke on him!

You go girl. Wouldn't that be fun, although I can't think of any joke you could play on him that he hasn't already done.

My favorite is still the raw eggs mixed in with the hard boiled ones. And the Cat Box" trick he played on Richard Kind.

We've only got a few more days until show time VFF, can't wait I'll be in front of the TV everytime a show like ET, AH, TMZ, wish they would just have a program on all about VFF.

Hope somebody tapes it. I'll be in NM and really into family stuff so I won't be able to haunt the TV. Usually ends up on youtube. Hope they don't fail me. Same goes for DWTS announcement. I don't get home till nite of 30th. Drats.

Maybe the red dress that fell apart at the Oscars was a practical joke he pulled on Elle. Nah - he wouldn't do that

HUMM! All it would take is "snip one stitch" and woo hoo, oops.

Don't forget we're going to have a chat in the chat room! And, from what I hear, George will be easy to spot... He's the first one in line! Yay! Boy, I wish I could find it online and watch him walk the red! He's so debonair!

That's another thing I will be missing. Gone on family "fun" from 25 thru 30. I'm really bummed about that.

pattygirl wrote:That's another thing I will be missing. Gone on family "fun" from 25 thru 30. I'm really bummed about that.

Film Fest opens the 31st.

pattygirl wrote:Hope somebody tapes it. I'll be in NM and really into family stuff so I won't be able to haunt the TV. Usually ends up on youtube. Hope they don't fail me. Same goes for DWTS announcement. I don't get home till nite of 30th. Drats.

It won't be anything major. It will be what they do each year just a small segment about it. I honestly don't remember their coverage for any of the film fests around the world.

You know, you are right. I don't remember that either. The big coverage is given to the different awards ceremonies. Really just photos published. Should be plenty of those.

Well, as you know, a photo does me good!

Don't know if this link is posted anywhere else if so, Katie please move as appropriate.



Toronto Film Festival Schedule:



Ides of March at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept 9th in Roy Thompson Hall (scroll right). (Right after Moneyball w/Brad Pitt)



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Thanks for the schedule.

October has two major movies that may play out in the awards season, starting with "Ides of March." George Clooney as a director (or, really, as an actor) can almost always be counted on to show up at the Academy Awards, and "Ides of March" looks like another hit for Clooney. It stars the actor as a presidential candidate who is followed by an idealistic staffer (Ryan Gosling), who finds out about the darker and dirtier part of political campaigns. Considering the movie also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti, it looks like there will be plenty of supporting actor contenders this upcoming awards season. I'm less sure about "The Rum Diary," which is based on a Hunter S. Thompson novel and stars Johnny Depp as a journalist at a struggling newspaper in the Caribbean. The movie also features a pretty good cast with Aaron Eckhart, Richard Jenkins and Giovanni Ribisi. Unlike Clooney, however, Depp hasn't really been on a "good movie" streak lately, so it's harder to judge how this film will pan out.

Read more: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I am so excited about IOM! Every article is promising! I pray that George hits one out of the ball park!

new sneak form the movie , sooooooooooooo exciting!!!!!!!!

Wow, that looks really fantastic. Thanks for posting Sarah.

Just adding the other trailer here, so we can see them side by side.



From [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

So we have a balanced viewpoint. Note the guy who wrote the review discussed has now removed it from his site. Maybe he changed his mind???

Review: George Clooney’s “Ides of March”: “One seriously depressed movie”

The first review I could find of George Clooney’s political drama “Ides of March” comes from a British writer who hates George Clooney movies, so it should be read with a grain of salt. But his review confirms Clooney’s main goal, it seems, to portray American politics as depressing and corrupt.

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He writes: “Whether you buy the rest of the movie will depend largely on whether you believe: a) the American public would elect an atheist to the white house; b) Cincinnati residents will ever forgive Clooney for portraying their city as a greying, washed-out dump and c) audiences want to see inspirational political candidates exposed as lying, immoral scumbags. This may get some takers, certainly more than in 2008 when the film was first penned, but the cynicism felt a little rote to me — and more importantly, it seems to give Clooney no joy.”

“From its bleeugh cinematography to its central message — hope sucks, or blows, depending on your sexual peccadillo — this is one seriously depressed movie. I didn’t know whether I should watch it or give it some telephone numbers to call.”

More to come on this one in the coming days. The film premieres in Venice next Wednesday, August 31.

Link

Maybe he changed his mind
or maybe G made him to

LOL

Sarah, thanks for post that sneak!!! I cant wait to see the movie. I´m very convinced that it will have a few nominations

ur welcome , yeh i think that too , it looks really great and made professionally , i hope G wins for best director in the academy awards , this will be soooooooo awesome [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yeah!! His third flim as director and maybe nominated.. if he wins the academy awards in his third movie if to made him [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I'd bet for him, but until we know who the other nominees are we can´t say anything.

yeh ur right!

I think a Director Oscar would be the feather in George's hat that he needs. As an actor, he basically can only control HIS performance. As a director, he controls EVERYBODY's performances. An Oscar for that would be the ultimate for him. I really wish he would have gotten one for GNGL, as that film truly had special meaning to him. But, it didn't happen. So, we're pulling for you George! You've got our votes (even if we haven't seen the film yet!!!)

From the Daily Beast who loves George. They are always favourable to his work, gush over him personally, kind-ish about his women and print his op-ed pieces about Darfur.


When Good Candidates Go Bad


Aug 28, 2011 10:00 AM EDT



George Clooney explores the seedy side of a presidential campaign.



George Clooney is a political junkie. The son of a newsman explored the intersection of government and journalism in the Oscar-winning Good Night and Good Luck. Now he’s taking on presidential campaigns in The Ides of March, a political thriller that fits the feel of this election season—more dark and cynical than hope and change. Talking from his home in Lake Como, Italy, as he prepared for the movie’s launch at the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 31, Clooney framed his latest effort as actor, director, and screenwriter in almost classical terms: “The story is about ambition—do the ends justify the means? At what price do we sell our souls?”

Ides stars Ryan Gosling as a young presidential campaign aide forced to confront an illusion-shattering scandal on the eve of a pivotal March primary fight in Ohio. It’s a tight little morality tale on the campaign trail that manages to be both timely and universal. Clooney sets himself up as the anti-hero, Pennsylvania Governor Mike Morris, a man who “was decorated by Bush Senior in the first Gulf War and then protested the second.” He is flanked by a Hall of Fame character actor cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti nail their portrayals of dueling campaign managers; Jeffrey Wright is a calculating southern senator angling for a spot on the ticket; and Marisa Tomei is pitch-perfect as harried political reporter Ida Horowicz.

But the real revelations are Ryan Gosling, whose character Stephen follows a Michael Corleone-esque evolution in the cut-throat world of politics and Evan Rachel Wood as the ill-fated ingénue, Molly, who combines take-your-breath-away hotness with a well-timed giggle and snort.

Ides captures the relentless pace of a presidential campaign, the opportunism and unsentimentally beneath the red, white, and blue bunting. It takes the camera off stage into the overcrowded offices and dingy motels, the competing fuels of caffeine and alcohol, the ego and exhaustion and, of course, the campaign sex. Most accurately, it reflects real-life ambiguities—no candidate is all angel or all devil, and Clooney clearly enjoys playing both sides. In the end, Ides presents the audience with ethical questions: What would you do to get ahead? Can you justify doing something wrong to achieve a greater good in the future? What will you forgive in a political leader?


Americans might think they see traces of the sordid John Edwards saga in The Ides of March, but Clooney began adapting the script with Grant Heslov from the play Farragut North back in 2007 and then shelved it. “We had to stop it when we realized that the film is so cynical and everyone was so hopeful,” Clooney explains. “It only took about a year before we said, ‘OK, we can make this movie again.’ ”

Like death and taxes, sex scandals and cynicism are dependably cyclical in politics—and they transcend all borders. “It’s funny how everyone takes to heart their own version of the story,” Clooney says, reflecting on audience reaction at a few international screenings before the film’s official launch at the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 31. “In Italy, people think you’re trying to say something about Berlusconi. In France, they think its DSK. And now in Germany, there’s this ‘wonder kid,’ Angela Merkel’s guy [Christian von Boetticher, a conservative politician who resigned his position this August after admitting to a Facebook affair with a 16-year old girl]. These are just universal themes.”

In Ides, political stereotypes are set up and then smashed. Democrats might cheer Clooney’s campaign dialogue (“I am neither a Christian, nor an atheist, I'm not Jewish or Muslim ... my religion is written on a piece of parchment called the Constitution”) but Republicans might find they have the last laugh. There are thought-provoking policy asides, like a proposal for mandatory national service in exchange for college tuition, cynically justified by Gosling’s character because the people directly affected are not yet of voting age. It also deals directly with moral dilemma of abortion, without projecting ideology or theology onto the decision. “I feel like part of good story-telling is allowing the audience to participate,” Clooney says. “They have to make up their own mind on these issues.” The movie is likewise content to raise more questions that it answers.

As an Oscar-nominated actor, director, and screenwriter, Clooney has quietly placed himself in a career peer group that includes Orson Welles, John Cassavetes, and Woody Allen. In preparing this latest triple threat performance, Clooney took inspiration from some of his favorite political movies, including All the President’s Men (“the reason it's perfect is because we know how it ends before we go in and you're still chewing your fingernails off”) The Candidate (“Redford’s character is someone who starts out very good, loses his way, and finds his way again”) and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (“It’s about a giant filibuster and corporate corruption in Congress … these themes keep coming back.”)



But Ides “really isn’t a political film,” Clooney explains.“If it was set on Wall Street, it would be the exact same characters doing the exact same thing. It’s just that politics raises the stakes so high.”

“My parents always said, ‘don’t come back and look me in the eye until you’ve done what’s right.’ And doing what’s right is sometimes the hardest way to move forward. It’s not anywhere near the easiest thing to do. And sometimes you’ll fail and feel like a jerk. Even at age 40 or 50,” Clooney concludes. “This idea of taking a shortcut—giving up what you believe, just for the sake of winning. My parents raised me to believe that the cost may be greater than the actual success.”

After almost a year outside the cinematic spotlight, Clooney will be hard to escape this fall—he’s also starring in Alexander Payne’s film The Descendants out on Nov. 23. Campaigns will be dominating headlines as Clooney fills movie screens. The Ides of March captures the disgust many Americans feel with the dysfunctional state of our politics, even as it introduces new flavors of betrayal. But beneath it all is a reminder that character counts, opening the door at least a crack to the possibility of being an idealist without illusions, even on a presidential campaign.



Link

If anyone on the east coast (or nearby) is interested, Entertainmnt Tonight is supposed to do some sort of a presentation on IOM tonight at 7:30.