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.
- 2027 Oscar Predictions: BEST ACTRESS (May) - May 7, 2026
- Colman Domingo to Receive Variety Creative Conscience Award at 50th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline50) - May 6, 2026
- Winners Announced for Golden Gate, Audience Awards of the 69th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) - May 6, 2026
How Judith Light Psychs Us Out in ‘The Terror: Devil in Silver’ and the Secret to Her Long-lasting Career [VIDEO INTERVIEW] 
2027 Oscar Predictions: BEST ACTRESS (May) 
Colman Domingo to Receive Variety Creative Conscience Award at 50th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline50) 
Interview: Ildikó Enyedi on Working with Tony Leung and Léa Seydoux and Her Triptych Storytelling in ‘Silent Friend’