- Title: USA: George Clooney premieres "The Descendants" in Beverly Hills
- Date: 16th November 2011
- Summary: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 15, 2011) (REUTERS) ( ** BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) VARIOUS OF GEORGE CLOONEY ON RED CARPET WITH GIRLFRIEND STACEY KEIBLER (SOUNDBITE) (English) GEORGE CLOONEY, ON HAWAII BEING IMPORTANT TO THE FILM, SAYING: "I think it was, I think it certainly was since it was based on a book. So yeah it definitely ... it was a very ... we were there for quite a few days before we started shooting just to get the right rhythms because it's very .. it's island rhythms. It's very different. [Reporter question] It was hard to get in to, but it took me about ten days. But once you're into it, it's sort of easy and you're also happy to come back and get in the mad race a little bit too." VARIOUS OF CLOONEY ON CARPET (SOUNDBITE) (English) GEORGE CLOONEY, SAYING: "Before I even read the part, Alexander called me, and we met in Toronto and he said 'I'm going to do another movie soon.' So I was already interested because he's only done, at this point he's done five films, and he's five-for-five. So I wanted to work with him. It's really good odds. And then I read the screen play and I couldn't believe my luck because I thought it was a really great part, great movie too." WRITER/DIRECTOR ALEXANDER PAYNE TALKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) ALEXANDER PAYNE, WRITER/DIRECTOR, ON PICKING HAWAII AS LOCATION, SAYING: "As soon as I decided to make this into a film, I not only dived in to the book but I started doing fact-finding missions to Hawaii. And using the writer as my guide to open doors for me and introduce me to her world, that's how we began the process of the search." VARIOUS OF BEAU BRIDGES (SOUNDBITE) (English) BEAU BRIDGES, SAYING: "I just loved the script. It's about many things, but one of them is about a family pulling together, trying to survive, about forgiveness. It also involves indigenous land rights, people who are descended from the missionaries, trying to do with this huge trust of land that they'd taken away from the aboriginal peoples that lived there. There's a lot going on." ROBERT FORSTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) ROBERT FORSTER, SAYING: "The next thing I know, months go by and he [Payne] calls up and says I'd live to invite you to Hawaii to work on this movie.' I've never been invited before. Usually you get a call from the wardrobe person and they say what are your sizes and that means you know you got the job." SHAILENE WOODLEY POSING FOR PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SHAILENE WOODLEY, ON WORKING WITH CLOONEY, SAYING: "I believe he burps sometimes, and even sneezes! Yeah he's such a normal guy and so down to Earth. He's never in his trailer, never in hair and make-up, always on set hanging out with either Alexander or other actors or the crew members or playing basketball with the transpo-locals. There really aren't enough positive words to describe that man."
- Embargoed: 1st December 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa, Usa
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVA80LRAG33SJUMIJ3PLK4TOYCPE
- Story Text: George Clooney was in good spirits as he took his time on the red carpet in Beverly Hills for "The Descendants."
In the film, Clooney plays Hawaiian real-estate lawyer Matt King, whose wife falls into a coma after a serious boating accident. With the accident, King must now take care of the couple's two daughters on his own: 17-year-old boarding school rebel Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) and 10-year-old troublemaker Scottie (Amara Miller).
Then he finds out that his was having an affair at the time of her accident. King is understandably incensed by the discovery, but he also is curious to find out who this guy is, and his bumbling attempts at casual stalking provide some much-needed comic relief. And on top of all of that, King's enormous family has put him in charge of deciding what to do with the 25,000 acres of pristine land on Kauai that they have inherited from their royal Hawaiian ancestors.
The comedy-drama, which is adapted and directed by Alexander Payne, the location of Hawaii has as much a starring role in the film as the real life actors.
Clooney talked about how the island culture took some getting used to.
"We were there for quite a few days before we started shooting just to get the right rhythms because it's very .. it's island rhythms. It's very different," said Clooney. "It was hard to get in to, but it took me about ten days. But once you're into it, it's sort of easy and you're also happy to come back and get in the mad race a little bit too."
Payne, who is best known for "Sideways" and "Election," put a lot of time and effort into getting the island feel just right.
"As soon as I decided to make this into a film, I not only dived in to the book but I started doing fact-finding missions to Hawaii," said Payne. "And using the writer as my guide to open doors for me and introduce me to her world, that's how we began the process of the search."
The film is already getting some attention for the upcoming awards season. Clooney joked that he picked the right director.
"At this point [Payne's] done five films, and he's five-for-five. So I wanted to work with him. It's really good odds," said Clooney. "And then I read the screen play and I couldn't believe my luck because I thought it was a really great part, great movie too."
"The Descendants" opens in the U.S. on November 16. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
