August 29, 2025

Adam Sandler, Billy Crudup, Emily Mortimer, George Clooney, Jay Kelly, Jim Broadbent, Laura Dern, Noah Baumbach

Words by JANE CROWTHER


Noah Baumbach and Emily Mortimer’s gentle ribbing of Hollywood begins with deliberate artifice: movie star Jay Kelly (Clooney leaning all the way into his public persona) is filming his martini shot on his latest flick, a death scene set on New York’s waterfront but actually carefully concocted in a Hollywood soundstage. As he utters his last line he asks for his co-star dog to come in later, and for another take. His team – Adam Sandler’s manager, Laura Dern’s publicist, Mortimer’s HMUA – flutter around him. But when he shuts himself in his trailer we see his interior life; one where he admits his existence doesn’t feel real, that he nurses regret, that ‘all my memories are movies’. After a failure to connect with his teen daughter (Grace Edwards) and a stinging meet-up with an old roommate (a scene-stealing Billy Crudup) Jay reassesses his cosseted, infantalised life, deciding to embark on european odyssey as he reflects on relationships with his neglected elder daughter (Riley Keogh, also bringing personal insight to her role), a co-star (Eve Hewson) and his acting class friend (Louis Partridge). Along the way there’s meltdowns, a lot of cheesecake, kookie Italians, central-casting Brits and a tone that veers between absurd and nostalgic, with nods to Fellini and Wild Strawberries. Baumbach deploys physical sets to interplay between present day and memory, and a heightened sense of realism that feels intentionally fake to reflect the inauthenticity that has crept into all aspects of Kelly’s life. Is his train ride through Italy really filled with morose German cyclists and cor blimey tourists or is this how he’s filtering it for a story on a late night talk show?

Adam Sandler, Billy Crudup, Emily Mortimer, George Clooney, Jay Kelly, Jim Broadbent, Laura Dern, Noah Baumbach
Peter Mountain/Netflix
Adam Sandler, Billy Crudup, Emily Mortimer, George Clooney, Jay Kelly, Jim Broadbent, Laura Dern, Noah Baumbach
Peter Mountain/Netflix

Based on Baumbach and Mortimer’s own experiences in the film industry (they met when Mortimer’s son, Sam, starred in White Noise), Jay Kelly recalls other insider-baseball studies of Tinseltown (Entourage, The Player, The Studio) without particular bite. This is an affectionate look at coddled talent who say they are always ‘alone’ just as staff hand them a drink, the way that famous, wealthy people expect full commitment and loyalty from their entourage without giving it back, the disconnect of a star complaining how hard they work while living in a palatial mansion and travelling by private jet. When it’s the affable Clooney essaying such narcissism Kelly’s selfishness and black hole effect on his team’s lives reads as somewhat charming and unintentional. Dressed in perfectly pressed suits, that world famous crinkly smile hiding the pain beneath, Clooney walks a performance tightrope of showing everything while simultaneously holding back. A moment where he watches his real back catalogue of film manages to convey the wonder of cinema, the bewilderment of a star whose life is chronicled by projects, and the impressive career of Clooney to date. Aiding him in this endeavour is Sandler, rumpled perfection as manager Ron who facilitates, parents and apologises for his client while trying to juggle his own work/life balance. He has a minor love story with Dern but the real romance here is the one between Ron and Jay, both men having spent decades married to each other as a work family, missing out on personal commitments with their real nearest and dearest. And it’s seeing Jay through Sandler’s teary, loving eyes that helps us an audience connect with him despite his shortcomings. Though somewhat meta in its depiction of the star ecosystem, Jay Kelly is generalist in poking fun; at its best it showcases the finesse of its players. This is particularly true of Crudup who is masterful in a scene where he Method-reads a menu. Across the table, Clooney/Kelly’s eyes light up in delight at the magic trick performed in reciting entrees and it’s one of several moments that celebrate the artistry of cinema, as well as the sense of community and awe fostered in those who love to sit in the dark and watch it.

Adam Sandler, Billy Crudup, Emily Mortimer, George Clooney, Jay Kelly, Jim Broadbent, Laura Dern, Noah Baumbach
Peter Mountain/Netflix

Words by JANE CROWTHER
Photographs courtesy of Netflix
Jay Kelly premiered at the 82nd Venice Film Festival
Out in cinemas 14 November

Brad Pitt, Wolfs
George Clooney, Wolfs

DISPATCH: GEORGE CLOONEY & BRAD PITT WOLFS
Words by JANE CROWTHER
Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS


George Clooney and Brad Pitt have been working together since they first made Ocean’s Eleven in 2001 – sharing credits in the 23 years since on Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, Ocean’s Twelve and Thirteen and Burn After Reading. And the off-screen friends were looking for another opportunity to re-team when they were pitched Jon Watts’ original script, Wolfs. The story of two ‘lone wolf’ fixers who are assigned to the same clean-up job when a DA’s dalliance with a young man ends in accidental death, the comedy-actioner premiered at the Venice Film Festival to a standing ovation. Greg Williams traveled with the duo by boat as they attended a press conference and the premiere on Venice’s Lido.

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Wolfs
Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Wolfs
Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Wolfs

‘We kind of figured there’s gotta be a good reason to get back in a film together, something we feel like we could build upon what we’ve done before,’ Pitt told journalists when he and Clooney discussed the project without their director who had caught Covid on the journey to the floating city. ‘But also, I gotta say, as I get older, working with the people that I just really enjoy spending time with has really become important to me.’

Pitt recalled that both he and Clooney immediately liked the first draft that Watts wrote and pitched to them, and was pleased that the verve of it was retained throughout production to filming in New York. ‘It’s never happened where someone presents you with an idea and you get a first draft of the script and that’s what you end up shooting.’

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Wolfs
Amal, George Clooney, Wolfs
Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Wolfs
Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Jon Watts, Wolfs

As grouchy hitmen, Clooney and Pitt banter and squabble throughout a long night where they try to unravel a conspiracy – and their teasing affection was on display when they sat down for their press conference and, later, boogied to Sade’s ‘Smooth Operator’ (a key track in the film) as the credits rolled in the Sala Grande. ‘There’s nothing good about it… It’s all a disaster,’ Clooney joked when asked about working with his 60-year-old friend. ‘He’s 74 and he’s lucky at this age to be still working!’

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Wolfs
Amal, George Clooney, Wolfs
Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Jon Watts, Wolfs

Wolfs is in select cinemas and available to stream on Apple TV+ now
Read our review of
Wolfs here



September 1, 2024

amy ryan, austin abrams, brad pitt, george clooney, jon watts, wolfs

Words by JANE CROWTHER


When a married New York DA (Amy Ryan) finds herself in a sticky situation – a dead hook-up in a penthouse suite – she calls the number of a man whose function is clean-up jobs. As the body of the boy she’s picked up in the lobby lies among shattered glass after bedroom hijinks, the voice on the line assures her he’ll take care of her problem. 

Enter George Clooney’s nameless lone wolf, an anonymous man with a body bag and a grumpy demeanour. ‘Nobody can do what I do,’ he insists. As he sets about his task, there’s a knock at the penthouse door: Brad Pitt’s fixer has also arrived. Dressed similarly and touting the same skill set, it seems Clooney’s not the only hitman in town – and now both of them are mixed up in a mess that reaches further than the luggage trolley of a high end hotel.

amy ryan, austin abrams, brad pitt, george clooney, jon watts, wolfs

The whys and wherefores of plot are immaterial in a film that understands the main attraction is seeing real-life buddies zing off each other as two grouchy middle-aged mystery men forced to work together when a standard job takes an unexpected turn. Suffice to say, drugs, cartels, shootouts, gangster weddings and a dopey business student (Euphoria’s Austin Abrams) are involved as the duo try to unravel a conspiracy overnight and in the process discover a grudging respect for each other.

Written and directed by Jon Watts as an amiable Ocean’s II, the appeal of Wolfs is the built-in chemistry between Pitt and Clooney as they banter and bitch through Chinatown foot and car chases, Croatian dance routines, and an interrogation in a hideous rent-by-the-hour hotel room. Their overlapping chatter plays like jazz, the result of years of off-screen friendship and the experience to inhabit these roles effortlessly.  Both actors have fun with their age, leaning into gags about bones cracking, needing Advil after some strenuous gunslinging and struggling to read pager messages without their glasses. Clooney’s car playlist is also a nice boomer dig; he listens to Sade’s Smooth Operator as he drives to a job.

amy ryan, austin abrams, brad pitt, george clooney, jon watts, wolfs
amy ryan, austin abrams, brad pitt, george clooney, jon watts, wolfs

It’s a tough gig for Abrams to steal any focus as the third wheel, a daffy teen who fancies a bit danger and ends up with the equivalent of a two killer dads (who might ice him but will also tell him to eat with his mouth closed), but he makes a lively impression – not least in a practical effect when he leaps over a moving car in tighty-whities and tube socks.

Clooney and Pitt clearly had a hoot making the film and the door is left open for more of the same if audiences also have a laugh. Abandon plot logic and Wolfs is daft fun with a rat pack vibe..


Words by JANE CROWTHER
Wolfs releases in cinemas 20 Sept before transferring to Apple TV+

September 29, 2023

george clooney, amal clooney, the albies

On Thursday night (28 September) the Clooney Foundation for Justice hosted their second annual Albie Awards at the New York Public Library.

The Albies are named after anti-apartheid activist and lawyer Justice Albie Sachs and exist “to shine a protective spotlight on courageous justice defenders who are at risk”. The Clooney Foundation for Justice now works in over 40 countries gathering evidence of mass human rights abuses, providing legal support to victims and working to ensure that perpetrators are held to account.

Stars in attendance included; Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Meryl Streep, Daniel Craig & Rachel Weisz, Noah Baumbach & Greta Gerwig, John Krasinski & Emily Blunt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Anne Hathaway, Mary J. Blige, Kate Moss, Sofia Vergara, Jeremy Strong, Jack Huston, Shaun White, Charlotte Tilbury and Donatella Versace.

During the ceremony, hosted by John Oliver and including performances from Alicia Keys and Andra Day, the foundation bestowed the following awards:

• Lifetime Achievement Award: to Congolese gynecologist and human rights advocate Dr. Denis Mukwege, for his heroic leadership to stop rape as a weapon of war and save the lives of women in the DRC;

• Justice for Women Award: to Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, for their fearless reporting that brought the death of Mahsa Amini, who was in Iranian police custody for not covering her hair, out of the shadows;

• Justice for Survivors Award: to Ukrainian human rights NGO Truth Hounds for their work to bring justice to the people of Ukraine by uncovering war crimes committed within the course of Russian aggression in the country;

• Justice for Journalists Award: to the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression for their advocacy for free speech, freedom of the press, and other human rights in Syria;

• Justice for Democracy Defenders Award: to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, for their defense of thousands of students, activists and journalists who have been arrested under Thailand’s laws criminalizing peaceful protest and speech.

To find out more about The Albies, visit cfj.org/the-albies. See other causes The Clooney Foundation for Justice supports at cfj.org

george clooney, amal clooney, the albies
George and Amal Clooney
george clooney, amal clooney, the albies
George and Amal Clooney
matt damon, jeremy strong, the albies
Jeremy Strong and Matt Damon
heidi klum, sofía vergara, george clooney, mary j blige
Mary J. Blige
charlotte tilbury, heidi klum, sofia vergara, the albies
Charlotte Tilbury, Sofia Vergara and Heidi Klum
daniel craig and george clooney, the albies, 2023
Daniel Craig and George Clooney
kate moss, the albies, 2023
Kate Moss
jodie turner-smith, the albies, 2023
Jodie Turner-Smith
bart freundlich, julianne moore, the albies
Bart Freundlich and Julianne Moore
jack huston, the albies, 2023
Jack Huston
the albies, 2023, the new york public library
The New York Public Library
julianne moore, emma wall, jeremy strong, the albies, 2023
Julianne More, Emma Wall and Jeremy Strong
Denis Mukwege, winner, the albies, 2023
Denis Mukwege – Lifetime Achievement Award (Winner)
sirikan charoensiri, thai lawyers for human rights, winner, the albies, 2023
Sirikan Charoensiri — Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (Award Winner)
yaropolk brynykh, truth hounds , winner, the albies, 2023
Yaropolk Brynykh — Truth Hounds (Award Winner)
yara bader, scm, winner
Yara Bader — SCM (Award Winner)
John Oliver, Amal Clooney, the albies, 2023
John Oliver and Amal Clooney
viola davis, the albies
Viola Davis
anne hathaway, the albies, 2023
Anne Hathaway
Julianne Moore, Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig, the albies
Julianne Moore, Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig
Andra Day, George Clooney, Alicia Keys, the albies, 2023
Andra Day, George Clooney and Alicia Keys
scarlett johansson, the albies, 2023
Scarlett Johansson
George Clooney, Richard Kind, the albies, 2023
George Clooney and Richard Kind
donatella versace, anne hathaway, charlotte tilbury, jeremy strong
Donatella Versace, Anne Hathaway, Charlotte Tilbury and Jeremy Strong
meryl streep, george clooney, the albies, 2023
Meryl Streep

Photographs by Greg Williams
To find out more about The Albies, visit cfj.org/the-albies. See other causes The Clooney Foundation for Justice supports at cfj.org