George Clooney Talks ‘Jay Kelly’ and the Moments in His Career That Meant the Most [VIDEO INTERVIEW]
In George Clooney’s newest film, Jay Kelly, coming to theaters this week and Netflix in early December, the two-time Oscar-winning actor/writer/producer/director plays the titular Kelly, the story of a man who’s been an actor his entire work life and how it’s caused him to bypass so many ‘real’ things in his actual life.
“All my memories are movies,” Kelly says, something that resonates with Clooney as well.
In the film, Jay Kelly is trying to reconcile and reconnect with people in his life and past, from his own daughter to his closest confidant, his manager Ron (played by Adam Sandler), all while jet-setting to Tuscany for a lifetime achievement award.
In our brief chat (aka “speed dating with journalists”), we talk about Jay Kelly, the films in his own past (which are used in his character’s clip reel) and moments in his career that have had a lasting impact on his life.
Jay Kelly also stars Academy Award winner Laura Dern, Academy Award nominee Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, Patrick Wilson, Academy Award winner Jim Broadbent and more.
Directed by Academy Award nominee Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story) and co-written by Baumbach and Emily Mortimer, Jay Kelly will be in select theaters on November 14 and on Netflix December 5.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- 2026 Cannes Film Festival Winners: Cristian Mingiu’s ‘Fjord’ Takes the Palme, Seventh Win in a Row for NEON - May 23, 2026
- Cannes 2026: Sandra Wollner’s ‘Everytime’ Wins Un Certain Regard Grand Prize - May 22, 2026
- ‘Coward’ Review: Belgian Soldiers Find Love in Lukas Dhont’s Hidden Romance Masterpiece [A] Cannes - May 21, 2026
AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 345: Recapping the 79th Cannes Film Festival and Looking to the Awards Future 
‘The Beloved’ Review: Javier Bardem Makes a Meal Out of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s Movie-Making Buffet [B] 
‘The Dreamed Adventure’ Review: Valeska Grisebach’s Observant Thriller Examines the Grey Zones of Morality [B+] 
‘Minotaur’ Review: Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Timeless, Domestic Epic is an Unflinching Look at Putin’s Russia [A] Cannes