George Clooney says he has more fun directing than he does acting because he gets to “boss people around”.
The Hollywood star steps behind the camera for his latest project, The Boys In The Boat, a sports movie about an underdog rowing team, thrust into the spotlight of Hitler’s Olympics as they compete for gold.
Explaining his drive to direct, Clooney told Sky News: “It’s more fun, you have a lot more control. I get to boss [the actors] around and I don’t have to learn how to row. I still like acting. I have fun.”
He then namedrops, as only an A-lister like Clooney can, “I’ve just done a film with Brad [Pitt]. He’s an up and coming actor…”
Starting out as a TV extra in 1978, before going on to semi-regular appearances in sitcom Roseanne and a lead part in the humorously titled Return Of The Killer Tomatoes, his breakout role came in medical drama ER.
For many he will always be Doctor Doug Ross, a role he played from 1994 to 1999.
He’s since gone on to win a plethora of awards – including two Oscars – starring in numerous films as well as successfully segueing into producing and directing.
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That’s aside from his political and economic activism, and home life as a father of two alongside his wife, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.
So, what is it about directing that floats his boat?
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Clooney explains: “Directing is a fun thing to do. It’s fun to come in in the morning and it’s fun to write a screenplay and then have somebody build a set that you wrote, it really is.
“As you get older, you need to have other things to do. You can’t just do one thing. I’m lucky because I’m 62 and I get to do the stuff I love, and a lot of people don’t get that.
“I’m well aware of it, and I celebrate it because, you know, if I’m not having fun, I think people would be really p*****d off.
“You know, if they look at my life, you go, ‘If you’re not enjoying that, then, you know, then who knows…”
For this latest film, Clooney was tasked with wrangling eight young actors who’d never held an oar before and transforming them into convincing Olympic rowers.
Training consisted of rowing four hours per day, before working out for an extra hour several months before filming began, plus training during the shoot, after wrapping each day.
And Clooney had a rule about who would make it into his cast and crew.
“I only want to work with people that want to be there and like what they do because these are long hours, they are hard. It’s hard to do.
“You know, no one’s here to complain. We’re not complaining. But they are long hours and it’s a lot of work. And so, people have to enjoy what they do, because I really don’t want to be around people that don’t want to come out of their trailer.
British actor Callum Turner, who plays real-life rower Joe Rantz in the movie, tells Sky News working with the superstar director was “a wonderful experience”.
He is sitting next to Clooney at the time, but you get the feeling he really means it.
The 33-year-old credits Clooney with “providing a space for everyone else to have fun”.
And he’s not joking. It turns out Clooney – who Turner describes as “an amazing basketball player” – installed a hoop on set to wind down while not filming, or rowing.
And while Clooney didn’t partake in the rowing itself (he says he didn’t want to give the cast “ammunition” to make fun of him) he did give the shorts a go.
He jokes nostalgically: “I always wear the shorts. I like them. By the way, when I was growing up, we wore shorts like that. It wasn’t even short shorts, they were just called shorts.”
Joel Edgerton, who plays Coach Ulbrickson in the film, dubs Clooney “gorgeous George,” adding, “he’s a beautiful man”.
The Australian star says he looks up to Clooney as both an actor and director.
“It was interesting because he’s directed movies that he’s not front and centre of or not in at all. And this is obviously one of those.
“I always wondered, with the big career that he has, why does he do that? Because he could always just take the money, the bags of gold, and walk away as an actor.”
Edgerton puts it down to Clooney really caring about stories, sports stories in particular.
He goes on: “He really had done his research. And he’s very efficient, he knows what he wants on a kind of craft level.
“And he’s got volumes of stories… And then you realise, ‘Oh, I might be in one of these stories one day – I’d better be a good guy’.
The 1975 and Olivia Rodrigo will be among the stars headlining Glastonbury Festival this year, it has been announced.
Glastonbury organisers have revealed the line-up for this summer’s event, taking place between 25 June and 29 June, after months of speculation.
The 1975 will take to the iconic Pyramid Stage on the Friday to headline, then Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young will perform on Saturday and Olivia Rodrigo on the Sunday.
Other big names performing include British pop sensation Charli XCX, rapper Loyle Carner electronic group The Prodigy.
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Young’s announcement in January came amid some confusion, as he had days before told fans he was pulling out of the festival because the BBC’s involvement was a “corporate turn-off”.
The Canadian singer-songwriter later said this decision was down to “an error in the information I received”.
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The 1975 will be headlining for the first time, having made their Glastonbury debut in 2014.
The Cheshire band, known for hits such as Somebody Else and Chocolate, have regularly made headlines due to the antics of frontman Matty Healy.
Glastonbury, which takes place at Worthy Farm in Somerset in the summer, has worked closely with the BBC – its exclusive broadcast partner – since 1997.
Image: Neil Young performing at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival last May. Pic: Amy Harris/Invision/AP
Appetite for the esteemed festival saw standard tickets sell out in 35 minutes in November.
They cost £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee, up £18.50 from the price from the 2024 festival, and were sold exclusively through the See Tickets website.
The date for the resale – where tickets not fully paid for are put back up for purchase – is set for some time in spring.
The headliners last summer on the iconic Pyramid Stage were Dua Lipa, SZA and Coldplay, who made history as the first act to headline the festival five times.
2026 is likely to be a year off for Glastonbury, with the festival traditionally taking place four out of every five years, and the fifth year reserved for rehabilitation of the land.
Ofcom received 825 complaints over the Brit Awards, with the majority relating to Sabrina Carpenter’s raunchy performance and Charli XCX’s outfit, the media watchdog says.
US pop star Carpenter, 25, sported a red sparkly military-style blazer dress for her performance at the awards show on Saturday night, paired with stockings and suspenders for a rendition of Espresso.
The song was mixed with a Rule Britannia mash-up, as dancers in military parade dress followed her.
She then switched to a red sparkly bra and shorts for her next song, Bad Chem, which she performed alongside dancers in bras and shorts while sitting suggestively on a large bed.
Image: Sabrina Carpenter performing her second song. Pic: Reuters
Carpenter later received the global success award at the ceremony, and was also nominated in the international artist and international song of the year categories.
But much of the buzz on social media surrounded her performance, which took place before the 9pm watershed.
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The singer addressed the concerns during her acceptance speech for artist of the year, saying: “I heard that ITV were complaining about my nipples. I feel like we’re in the era of ‘free the nipple’ though, right?”
Carpenter paid tribute to the UK in her acceptance speech, saying: “The Brits have given me this award, and this feels like such an insane honour in a very primarily tea-drinking country… you really understood my dry sense of humour because your sense of humour is so, so dry. So I love y’all more than you even understand.”
Actor Noel Clarke begins his High Court libel case against The Guardian’s publisher today.
Clarke, 49, is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) over a series of articles it published about him in April 2021.
They were based on the claims of 20 women Clarke knew “in a professional capacity” who allege his behaviour towards them amounted to sexual misconduct.
Clarke, known for his roles in the Kidulthood trilogy and Dr Who, “vehemently” denies “any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing”.
What will the trial cover?
Clarke is suing GNM for libel, sometimes also referred to as defamation.
It’s a civil tort – not a criminal offence – defined as false written statements that have damaged the person’s reputation. This means Clarke can seek redress or damages but no one will face charges or prison.
Clarke claims the articles The Guardian published in 2021 altered public opinion of him, damaged his reputation, and lost him work.
He said after the allegations emerged: “In a 20-year career, I have put inclusivity and diversity at the forefront of my work and never had a complaint made against me.
“If anyone who has worked with me has ever felt uncomfortable or disrespected, I sincerely apologise. I vehemently deny any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing and intend to defend myself against these false allegations.”
The Guardian is defending the claim on the basis of truth and public interest.
It said in its statement: “Our reporting on Noel Clarke in 2021 was based on the accounts of 20 brave women. After we published our first article, more women came forward.
“At trial, 32 witnesses are set to testify against Mr Clarke under oath. We look forward to a judge hearing the evidence.”
The trial will only focus on liability – not the amount of damages to be paid if Clarke is successful.
The actor tried and failed to get the case struck out in January, with his legal team saying it had “overwhelming evidence” of “perversion of the course of justice”.
His lawyers told the High Court three of the journalists involved in the articles had “deliberately and permanently” deleted messages, which meant he could not get a fair trial.
Lawyers for GNM told the court there was “no adequate evidential basis” for Clarke’s application for a strike out and said it sought “to smear Guardian journalists and editors without any proper justification”.
The trial, which will be presided over by judge Mrs Justice Steyn, is expected to last between four and six weeks.
Image: In July 2015. Pic: PA
What has happened since the articles were published?
A month before the articles about him were published in April 2021, Clarke received BAFTA’s outstanding contribution to British cinema award.
However, once the allegations against him emerged, he was suspended by the organisation and the prize rescinded.
His management and production company 42M&P told Sky News they were no longer representing him and Sky cancelled its TV show Bulletproof, starring Clarke and Top Boy actor Ashley Walters as the lead roles.
ITV also decided to pull the finale of another of his dramas, Viewpoint, following the Guardian articles.
The Met Police looked into the allegations against Clarke for any potential criminal wrongdoing, but in March 2022 announced they “did not meet the threshold for criminal investigation”.
Clarke filed the libel claim the following month and has attended several of the preliminary hearings in person.
He says he has faced a “trial by media” – and that the ordeal has left him suicidal and in need of professional help.
Image: At the UK premiere of Kidulthood in London’s Leicester Square in 2006. Pic: PA
‘Rising star’
Clarke made his TV debut in a revived version of Auf Wiedersehen Pet in 2002.
Soon after he played Mickey Smith in Dr Who and Kwame in the six-part Channel 4 series Metrosexuality.
He wrote and starred in the film trilogy Kidulthood, Adulthood, and Brotherhood, which were based in west London, where he grew up, and explored the lives of a group of teenagers given time off school after a bullied classmate takes their own life.
It was a box office success and eventually saw Clarke given BAFTA’s rising star prize in 2009.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.