|
 Based
on Chuck Barris's autobiography of the same name, George Clooney's
directorial debut is about the TV legend who claims to have killed
people for the CIA. Starring Sam Rockwell as Barris; also with Drew
Barrymore and Julia Roberts. (1 hr. 53 mins.; R) — BILGE EBIRI
Spotlight: George Clooney
In George Clooney's fourth professional incarnation—following
TV heartthrob, Hollywood leading man, and indie-film producer—he
becomes a director with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.
"It's for self-preservation," he says of his shifting roles. "They're
not going to let you in front of the camera that long." Truth is,
after six years of false starts on this biopic of Chuck Barris—the
Gong Show creator who claimed to have assassinated Communists
for the CIA—Clooney decided to take matters into his own hands.
"I was pissed off because the screenplay was so good," he says of
Charlie (Adaptation) Kaufman's script. "I figured if I came
on board to direct for scale and asked the actors to work for nothing,
I could get this made." He also was on familiar game-show ground:
"My dad hosted The Money Maze when I was a kid, so I knew
how this world looked." Clooney recruited former co-workers, like
Julia Roberts, and cast Sam Rockwell in his first starring role,
as Barris. "I told Rockwell the hardest part of being a leading
man was you have to be Dean Martin, not Jerry Lewis." Was the first-time
director nervous? "Not really," he says. "I've picked things up
being on set with Joel and Ethan Coen, and Steven Soderbergh. Trailers
aren't fun for me. It's like going to New York and sitting in a
hotel room all day."
Opens December 31
• Showtimes
& tickets (movietickets.com)
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