I think his statements about Heston were pretty shitty.
However, I love Clooney. No, he’s not a GREAT actor, but he’s a good one, and a really nice guy, in my opinion. He brings to mind Cary Grant-handsome, charming, debonair, and very down to earth. He has a sense of humor, doesn’t seem too full of himself, is generous, and from what I gather, a good friend.
He’s a good guy, in my book.
Heston’s an ass, but not because he’s head of the NRA, or because he’s got Alzheimers, or whatever.
He wrote them letters, but same deal.
While his acting can be uneven from role to role, I think he’s a great director and- despite those two comments- one of the nicest guys in Hollywood. And drop dead gorgeous.
Anyone ever consider that maybe it’s an all an act so he can come across as the good guy? I don’t see how a guy can make a tasteless joke like that but still be a good guy. Especially when give the chance to modify or backtrack.
Ah but who gives a crap as long as he’s cute. That’s all that matters. Say whatever you want, just wink and smile and we’ll just melt.
But I will say that I knew somebody who worked security at the Fox Theater back in 1997. Clooney was here making Out of Sight and went to go see the Rockettes at the Fox. The security guy I knew went outside to grab a smoke and Clooney was out there too. They chatted for about 15 minutes. Clooney also was very friendly with the strippers over in Windsor, handing out tips by the $100.
It is that. It is also a ridiculous excuse for his first offensive comment. He is basically saying “because I disagree with an organization Heston is closely affiliated with, any jokes I make at the expense of Heston’s illness are perfectly within bounds.”
Frankly, I’m more offended by the second comment than by the first. The first could be written off as a not-well-thought-out joke in poor taste – not something to be proud of, sure, but something we’ve all done from time to time. His second comment ratified the joke and tried lamely to excuse it.
It would have been far classier to just say “Y’know, I shouldn’t have mocked the fact that Heston has a serious, debilitating illness, even though I strongly disagree with his views and the views of the organization he presides over. It was an insensitive joke that I shouldn’t have made and I apologize.”
And frankly, I don’t see how you can claim with a straight face that the second comment wasn’t directed at Heston. Clooney said: “I don’t care. Charlton Heston is the head of the National Rifle Association. He deserves whatever anyone says about him.” (Emphasis added). “He” and “him,” not “they” and “their.”**
…indicative that the speaker is an asshole. As has been pointed out. No one is challenging Clooney’s constitutional right to make an ass of himself.
…er…"they and them…
First of all, I’m confused. What was the joke? I need more context. I’m guessing that his joke was given long after Heston first announced his alzheimers, the joke being that he had forgotten he already announced it.
Perhaps you all were there when he said it, but I feel like we are out of context here and so I can’t say much definitive on the subject of what he said. However, I’m not that bothered by his alzheimers joke. Sure it was a little bit disrespectful, but not terribly so in my opinion. Charlton Heston is a public figure so he can expect some jokes and perhaps unpleasant comment to come his way. Furthermore, he is the president of an organization that many reasonable people don’t like too much (analogous to a tobacco company or the like, not necessarily evil but at least indirectly responsible for many deaths) so I think that he can also expect less than nice comments, of which Clooney’s comments are not the worst.
About his second comment, I agree that it was not friendly and seems mean-spirited, but I don’t think Clooney likes the national rifle association. I also don’t think he is unreasonable to dislike the national rifle association. Even though it may not deserve some of the vitriol thrown at it, the NRA pushes for loose gun laws, which contribute lots and lots of deaths each year.
As to the OP I like Clooney as an actor.
I think I’m generally a nice guy, but if you followed me around with a microphone you could dig up many subjects on which I’d seem like an asshole. The NRA debate in particular has its share of assholishness on both sides.
To expect someone to never be an asshole, ever, is to exclude almost anyone with a personality or an opinion.
Many reasonable people feel that the NRA is an advocacy group trying to protect a constitutional right which is ‘like, under attack, like even in the valley’ . . . . uh. So even if Some people don’t like it “too much”, it’s like kind of simplistic to categorize it with uhm, tobacco companies, cause, like I can’t defend my family with a pack of smokes see…
and whether CH should “expect ‘less than nice’” comments or not, Clooney’s comments (while maybe not being the worst) are still utterly classless and tasteless.
ya know, Stalin killed more people than Hitler did in WW2, so I guess Hitler was ok, because he was “not the worst”
this isn’t complicated. If I make a joke about Tom Daschle’s mom having cancer, I’m an asshole, and it doesn’t matter if I don’t agree with her politics. Of course, I wouldn’t, because I was raised with a modicom of manners and social graces, apparantly lacking in some Hollywood families.
Just so I understand. It’s ok to make a cruel and tasteless joke as long as:
a) the person telling the joke is cute
and/or
b) the target of the joke holds a political view you don’t like.
Is it A and B or just one or the other. I’d like some clarification so I can start making fun Muhammad Ali.
Yeah, and I can’t wait to start making light of Sarah Brady’s lung cancer.
I agree 100%
I like his movies (mostly), and think he generally seems to be an okay guy. The Alzheimer’s joke was tasteless, and he should have apologized instead of getting defensive, but I don’t think that one incident means that he’s a total piece of shit. He’s human. Humans do stupid things, sometimes.
I don’t think it was okay at all. BUT, that doesn’t mean I have to hate the guy, right?
Oh my god! :eek: He was cavorting with lewd women? Let’s run the miscreant out of town!
There are plenty of sleazy, no-class things that people can do – making crass comments about people with serious illnesses, responding to those crass comments with tactless pseudo-political grandstanding, spreading second-hand gossip about a celebrity and then taking the moral highground about it, appearing in a Joel Schumaker movie, calling other people to task for spreading second-hand gossip on an internet message board… people do them all the time. Not much point in getting all worked up about it.
It’s funny how everyone is so quick to jump on Clooney without knowing any kind of context at all. Why am I not surprised that that site doesn’t even try to provide any?
Lots of people aren’t going to like the “joke” anyway, but it helps to try and know as much about the context as possible. The above doesn’t answer all my questions about context, but it’s a lot better than taking what’s handed to me from an obviously Conservative site at face value.
Politics aside, I too think Clooney is a good actor (I think he proved that in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?), who has chosen his roles well since B&R. He has all the fame and money one person could possibly use in a lifetime (something he said himself), so now he has the wonderful luxury of being able to work with people he likes and admires, and can take small roles and work for scale if need be to make sure a project gets made. The last thing he is is a pretty boy stooge.
Sorry, but that “context” changes NOTHING. And the only “joke” to get is the idea that anyone still thinks Clooney has a shread of class in his body.
He’s got a twinkle in his eye that I like. I think he’s handsome but not gorgeous. He’s charming but not phony. He’s made a few bad calls but overall seems to be a pretty nice guy. He’s somewhat talented in his field.
In other words, he’s a lot like a lot of men. He’s just an ordinary guy who caught a tremendous break.
More power to him.
Just to support my ‘Clooney is a hypocrite’ theory:
I just saw on the news yesterday that Clooney was overseas promoting his movie “Solaris” with director Steven Soderbergh. Some reporter mentioned that he had found the movie “boring,” and Clooney went ballistic (there is footage of this):
“Oh, you make films, do you? I’d like to see what kind of film YOU’D make…before you get to talk about it. What a jerk…”
Ahem. So apparently, according to Clooney, it’s OK for HIM to criticize others on subjects that HE knows nothing about (Heston, the NRA, US military action against Iraq, etc.), but it’s NOT OK for a mere reporter to express an opinion about a GEORGE CLOONEY MOVIE!
“What a jerk” is right. Also, Clooney is apparently bemoaning the fact that US television has been “dumbed down.” Ha! This from a guy who just directed a frickin’ MOVIE about that great television intellectual Chuck Barris!
Um, if Heston is saying that we have the problems in schools because of ETHNIC DIVERSITY, though, that’s okay?
cite ?