George Clooney, who has never been honored with even a nomination in the past, is now a three-time nominee at the 78th Annual Academy Awards, which will take place in Hollywood on Mar. 5. Clooney was nominated for directing and co-writing his journalistic tour-de-force “Good Night, and Good Luck,” in addition to getting a Best Supporting Actor nom for his performance as CIA Agent Bob Barnes in Stephen Gaghan’s “Syriana.” These two films have marked a great year for Clooney, as his “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Twelve” co-star Julia Roberts pointed out when presenting him with the Freedom Award at the Critics’ Choice Awards in early January. From the Sept. 1 premiere of “Good Night, and Good Luck” at the Venice Film Festival to Oscar Night, this could very well prove to be the best six or seven months of Clooney’s career. He has a very strong chance of winning the original screenplay award with Grant Heslov, and about a 50/50 chance against Paul Giamatti (“Cinderella Man”) for the acting trophy. Best Director, on the other hand, he has a rather diminished chance of claiming, as this is the year of “Brokeback Mountain.” The film’s director, Ang Lee, will be the one to get that trophy. “Good Night, and Good Luck,” which Clooney mortgaged his house to finance, is also up for the prize of the night, Best Picture. Again, this is the year of “Brokeback,” and while Clooney’s film has the second-best chance of winning, its chances are minimal compared to “Brokeback.”
Clooney is known for portraying the suave anti-hero, best demonstrated in 1998’s “Out of Sight.” From that point on, he was pretty much typecast as that character. This year he played against type, losing his star persona in the character. He was not George Clooney in the movies this year; he was Fred Friendly and Bob Barnes.
“Good Night, and Good Luck” was Clooney’s second directorial effort, and while his first, “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” was very underrated, he is getting the praise he deserves for this one. Clooney, whose father was a reporter, grew up in the world seen in the film, and it is very evident in his beautifully made film.
This year, Clooney will appear alongside Cate Blanchett in “The Good German” for frequent collaborator Steven Soderbergh.
-Catherine Krummey
