CANADA: George Clooney promotes his latest thriller "Michael Clayton at the Toronto International Film Festival

Oscar winner George Clooney is on a whirlwind tour promoting his latest film "Michael Clayton," and after stopping at the Venice and Deauville film festivals last week, the Hollywood heavyweight and his new thriller hit the Toronto international film festival. Clooney plays a burned out "fixer" for a New York law firm in his latest movie, which tackles corporate corruption, personal greed and the moral dilemmas people face at the workplace every day. Tony Gilroy makes his directorial debut with "Michael Clayton" which make its world debut at the Venice Film Festival last week. Talking to journalists at a press conference, Clooney says he was drawn to the smaller-budget film because it tackles topical issues. "Between RJ Reynolds and a couple of other places, they've done some shady things. And it requires sometimes a whistle blower. And we do suspect problems at times at law firms. All of those things are very real. So I think that's why it sort of resonated with me." For the past seven years, screenwriter Tony Gilroy meticulously has constructed the "Bourne" trilogy, the series that sees amnesia victim Matt Damon dashing through increasingly thrilling episodes. As with the "Bourne" films, Gilroy has a knack for creating strong characters and situations that resonate with tension. Clooney is also executive producer of the film, which Gilroy says was important in helping to get things done and keep a clear vision. Clooney's fame however, outweighed his producer power when it came to shooting scenes in the busy streets of New York City. "It was a very complicated shot to do for no money in New York City. You need some really really good police cooperation, that again we only would have had because of George, because the cops want to hang out with George and it's cool to drive around and put the sirens on and they know George is in the cab. So we really caught a break." Also at the Canadian film festival was Clooney's friend and fellow actor, Brad Pitt. Pitt fields "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," about the celebrity of the notorious 19th century outlaw. They scheduled back-to-back news conferences in the same room, and the juxtaposition prompted questions pitting the movies and stars against one another. "I don't like it," Clooney said. "It's a weird thing, but you try not to compete in art. It always seems kind of strange. I could never do the things that he (Pitt) does, ever." "I do have some competition with Matt Damon -- I'd like to kick his ass," Clooney said with a big grin. Damon, too, co-starred with Clooney and Pitt in "Ocean's Thirteen," and he was in Toronto this week for a charity event.

ITN Source | September 12, 2007

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