Emmanuel Itier: In Michael Clayton, there seems to be a theme that the dollar is more valuable than human life. Today, there’s an extensive investment in countries that perform genocide, such as Sudan, Darfur, and China. Did you draw from your own passion for human rights and human life while playing the role of Michael Clayton?

George Clooney: Listen, I grew up in a family that was always involved in some way. My mother was a mayor, my father ran for Congress, so I’ve always been involved, politically and socially, in issues. Those always weigh on another part of my life. It didn’t really inform much of what I was doing. I mean, Tony (Gilroy) won’t really want to talk about things that he showed me before he started, but there are actual law documents–there were actual interoffice memos of companies that were literally saying from one department to the other, “If you recall this, it’s going to cost $300 million dollars, or if you don’t, it’ll kill 300 people a year and the class action suit will cost $300,000, and you’ll save this many people’s lives.” Those were real documents that were passed around. And those documents, to me, informed how I would play the part, because you could justify it by saying you lay off 30,000 people and maybe 300 die from that. So that’s how you justify it. All little, keep the middle. That’s a whole other side of my life that I think is important, but it didn’t inform how I played this part.

EI: Why did you want to do Michael Clayton? Because it´s a “message” film?

GC: You could take these characters in this story and you could put it into a medical drama, or you could put it into a government drama. The truth is it’s about flawed individuals, one of whom comes to the realization that he’s looking for redemption, which is always sort of interesting, and decisions that are made based on your own sort of self-interest, and at what point you keep moving that line of morality forward. That’s always interesting story-telling. We’ve done it for years, these kind of films, and the reason we do them is because we do suspect corporate America, and with good reason. There’s certainly been some–between R.J. Reynolds and a couple places–they’ve done some pretty shady things and required the whistle blower along the way. And we do suspect problems, at times, in law firms. All of those things are very real, so I think that’s why it resonated with me.

EI: Is it linked in any way to Goodnight, and Good Luck?

GC: No, no. This simply was…you don’t remember this. Here’s the funny thing about…weight sort of gets put on it because of what happens with a film. The truth of the matter is it’s really hard to find a good script in Hollywood. You’d think it’d be easy, but it isn’t. This is a great script. And you read the script and you go, “This movie’s got to get made.” What it talks about, of course, but great characters–it’s a well-crafted script and should be made into a movie, and they’re not easy to get made in this day and age. So first and foremost, we wanted to get this film made.

EI: Is there a film that makes you cry or makes you really emotional when you see it?

GC: What film makes me cry a lot? The premiere of Batman and Robin, I cried. There were a couple moments in Peacemaker that made me cry - the beginning and the end.

EI: You are a very funny man and a cunning linguist.

GC: I didn’t want to say that out loud. [Laughs]

EI: In Michael Clayton, there are amazingly biting one-liners that sounded more like George being George and no acting. Did you have any input in some of those one-liners?

GC: No. I’d like to take credit for anything written, but literally, I believe I didn’t veer from a single word. When a script’s really well-written, it’s actually very easy. The hard part is when they’re not written, you have to find ways to make it work. You have to make up things, you have fill in little bits or pieces. I tried to really say this one as written because I’ve had that experience a few times. I had it with Scott Frank on Out of Sight, I had it with Joel and Ethan on O Brother, Where Art Thou? If it’s a script that’s really well-written, you’re trying to serve the material.

EI: You are well-known to play some nasty pranks on your co-stars while making a movie, but word on the street is that you might have had a taste of your own medicine on this film. What happened?

GC: What happened?

EI: Your leading lady, Tilda Swinton, said it was coming.

GC: Now I know to look out. [Laughs]

EI: Recently, you’ve been seen out on the town with Sarah Larson. How did the two of you meet?

GC: Good question…next question. [Laughs] When have I ever answered a personal question in my life? Enjoy yourself. Have a nice day.

EI: Michael Clayton takes a tough look at the legal profession. Are you anticipating any legal problems as a result of the film?

GC: Well, there are five or six lawyers in the world named Michael Clayton that I’ve had letters from. They’re not thrilled, so I’ll be facing some sort of charges. [Chuckles]

EI: What sequence in Michael Clayton touched you the most?

GC: The love scene with Tilda (Swinton). It was so, so good, really. During the rehearsals, she’d knock on my trailer, going, “George, let’s rehearse the love scene.” Listen, you love watching really good actors at their best. I love watching Tilda in a bathroom stall, sort of falling apart, which I saw yesterday, actually. No, there’s something really beautiful about watching characters who are seemingly in control, really not in control, and learning a lot about them. I love watching Tom (Wilkinson) in the scene in the alley, because he’s so simple and so good. Those are the scenes that touch me. I’ll tell you someone else people don’t talk enough about–Sydney Pollack is a really good actor.

EI: Did playing Michael Clayton change you as an actor or make you grow as an actor? Which of your own qualities did you bring to the character?

GC: Well, we’re the same height. Pretty much the same hair. [Laughs] I don’t know! You’re hoping you’re growing every time, but probably not, unfortunately. All it really does is it gives you something completely different to play which I haven’t had a chance to play before, and I really liked the idea of it. I don’t know! You’re trying to grow, but you never know if you are or not. You make an effort. The funniest thing is you can be good in films if you have a good script and a good director, but you can be really bad in films otherwise. It’s not necessarily actors. I mean, you know the choices that actors make–I’ve seen actors improve on things, but ultimately, if you don’t have a good script and you don’t have a good director, there’s nothing you can do. And that’s the bottom line. So that’s what it requires.

EI: It’s well known you took a pay cut to do this role. So did that entitle you to tweak your character at all?

GC: No, I didn’t tweak anything. Tony wrote a great part. Just in the last eight films, I’ve been paid for two. So you do the movies you do, the rest of them you do for as little as possible because you want to get the movies made. It’s not like you’re going to get rich off The Good German or Goodnight, and Good Luck or Syriana. You do them because you want to get the movies made. It’s okay. I do alright. But it doesn’t allow me any special leeway. Trust me, Tony may be a first-time director, but he’s an adult and there was no need manipulating him. I promise you that. I tried. [Laughs]

EI: Director Tony Gilroy said that you protected this film. In what way did you do that as Executive Producer?

GC: I think it’s important to point out, but sometimes it gets lost in the translation, executive producer of the film is not producing the film. Those two are producers of the film. They do the work. They get the money, they put the money together, they actually day in and day out produce the film, which is why if a film wins an Oscar, the producer gets an Oscar. An executive producer’s job is to help knock your way through roadblocks. So all my job was to help with whatever their vision was–the filmmaker’s vision–to make sure that it gets realized in whatever way possible. That’s not very difficult. They did that–not me.

EI: Is it true what you wore was important to the way Michael Clayton was perceived? Did you pick a new designer than the one that you were used to before?

GC: In fairness, I’ve never had a designer. People ask me what I’m wearing on the carpet, and I say, “A suit.” It’s not my style. Usually, it comes down to brilliant wardrobe people. We’ve had brilliant wardrobe people.

EI: What was it like making Michael Clayton with Tony Gilroy?

GC: He’s also edited, like good filmmakers that I’ve worked with in the past, Soderbergh, the Coen brothers–it was edited in his head and on paper, in many ways, before we started. He had a lot of time to prep. So it wasn’t this indulgent thing either. It wasn’t a first time director who’s collecting a bunch of footage and then getting into an editing room and saying, “Okay, let’s find the movie.” This is a movie that was so well-prepared. It was so well-done from the very beginning. It was like working with an old friend.

EI: Right now, we’re living in a celebrity-obsessed society and it’s really hard for movie-goers to distinguish the actor from the character. Does that influence the types of roles you choose?

GC: I’m celebrity-obsessed. [Laughs] In all fairness, it’s not about now, because if you think about movie stars, they don’t really exist anymore. They sort of stopped because of the television, really. But movie stars like Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Bogart–they basically played themselves in all those movies. We knew them as that. There was Lawrence Olivier who played a lot of characters, but we didn’t take to him as much as we took to Spencer Tracy or Clark Gable, Cary Grant or Gregory Peck. They played that same thing. So in a way, we’re able to break out from that a little bit more. The unfortunate thing is I think you’re demystified, because they know more about your life because there are so many outlets. But in a way, you’re sort of set free because there’s always going to be an awful lot of celebrities out there sucking up the celebrity air that aren’t really doing anything. There’s a bunch of them that haven’t done anything and are famous. You kind of go, “Well, okay.” That creates a vacuum, in a way.

EI: Any examples?

GC: No. No. Okay, Brad Pitt. [Laughs] No, you know there are people in that world where you’re suddenly famous for not doing anything. I used to think that that was sort of hard to do. I don’t anymore. Maybe you have examples of times in years passed that that happened, but it seems to be more now. But you know this is a cycle.

EI: From “Sexiest Man Alive” to Oprah, you and Brad Pitt always seem to be in a neck-to-neck competition. Is there a healthy competition there?

GC: I don’t like him. I’ll tell you that. He’s very short. I don’t know if you’ve seen him in person. He’s very tiny. [Laughs] No, there’s never any competition with my friends, ever. It’s a weird thing, but you try not to compete in art because it always seems sort of strange. I couldn’t do the things he does–ever. So, no. No competition at all. I don’t have a competition going on with Matt Damon either. The interesting thing about awards seasons, which I’ve gone through now once, and when you finish it, you get this feeling that that silt that you’re talking about in the beginning of the movie–you find yourself deciding, “Well, I’m helping the film and it’s a good thing.” But at some point, you’re actually campaigning for the idea that you should compare art, and I always think that that’s a dangerous place to go, because I remember watching David Strathairn nominated for Murrow (Good Night, and Good Luck) and Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote, and people were arguing who had given a better performance, and you go, “Well, have them switch roles.” You can’t compare art. And so there’s never any competition.

EI: Does that mean you would not be a juror at a film festival?

GC: Well, that means you have to watch a lot of films. No, I’ve never done it before. It would be an interesting idea. Then I’d compare art. I’ve never been asked. I don’t know why. They don’t think I’m smart.

EI: So what’s your favorite Brad Pitt movie?

GC: Johnny Suede. [Laughs] No, let me think. In fairness, I’ll tell you what–he’s a really brave actor, which is an interesting thing. People don’t often say that enough about him. You know, he does a performance–what he did in Snatch is just phenomenal. Phenomenal. He’s a really brave actor. I’m working with him right now on the Coen Brothers’ movie. He’s doing stuff in it that kills me, because he’s going to steal the movie and I’m going to murder him, but you could go through a list of them. He’s great in Fight Club. But Snatch was just a phenomenal performance. He should have been nominated.

EI: Where did the idea for the ending credits come from?

GC: It’s also that thing that you like–it’s sort of at the end of The Graduate–after they finish and you have the ending, and then you sit in the back of the bus and you watch happily ever after and then you watch sort of that, “Ah, ah,” moment. I always love seeing what happens after the climax.

EI: Since you are in Toronto, does Canada’s policy towards Darfur meet with your expectations? Why or why not?

GC: Well, it has. For the most part, they’re not invested from doing too much business there. Not everybody has. It’s a tricky time right now, because China’s finally stepping up a little bit. We’ve got some real movement for the first time in two years. We’ve got a chance week because there are meetings going on with Bashir, and others with the Pope, which is very interesting. But listen, I’d rather have people talking even if you don’t like them and you think they’re unsafe, which I do. I’d rather have them sitting in a room talking, and France has been incredibly effective right now, as they are also in the Iran issue. We’re in a position right now where we actually, for the first time, have a shot at a peace treaty among, not just the government part too, but with all of the warring parties. So we have a chance. It’s not very good, but it’s the first chance we’ve had. And most of the countries involved have done a very good job in dealing with the companies that invest in this event. So yes, they have and they’ve done a very good job.

EI: Are there many film scripts about Darfur? Do you get to see most of them?

GC: Yeah, you get most of them. The truth is it’s very difficult, though. We talked about this before. You can’t be topical in these films because it takes you two years for something to happen, to write the script and shoot it and get it out. Usually, it’s a little late by the time it comes out. Unfortunately, it’s not late on this, because it’s lasted much longer than it should have. But usually, you find that preachy movies about anything can be too strident and you find ways to try to deflect and not go directly at it. Unfortunately, most of the scripts you get are sort of a direct, very strident kind of piece and they’re not entertainment. I find that if you’re going to do that, then do a documentary. If you’re going to do a film to make entertainment, do a City Of God, which was wonderful film. Find a way to make it entertaining, and I don’t mean happy entertaining, but make a film or go make a documentary.

EI: Did you guys meet with any legal fixers, and what was the attitude about doing a movie about it?

GC: They were thrilled. I certainly didn’t get the picture, but I have an agent. Does that count? [Laughs]

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