For decades now, George Clooney and Adam Sandler have been taking Hollywood by storm. Now, they’re doing so together in Jay Kelly – the latest film from writer-director Noah Baumbach, starring Clooney as the titular A-list actor and Sandler as his loyal manage Ron, taking a trip across Europe together.
With the film about to make its way into the world, Empire sat down with Clooney and Sandler together to talk about – yes, Jay Kelly, but also – their years in Hollywood together, their relationship to movies, and each other’s work. Here’s an extract – and you can read the full conversation in the Stranger Things 5 issue.
There’s a great line in the film: “All my memories are movies.” Does that resonate for you?
Clooney: I remember the experiences of doing them. Movies are like music in that sense. It puts people at a time and a place, like music does. I think that some of that is true. But I don’t remember the movies as much as I remember who we were on the set with. I remember shooting basketball.
Sandler: I liked just sitting around, just talking [on this film].
Clooney: You with your dumb-ass dog, Meatball, hanging out. Our two trailers were like a home. A frat house.
Sandler: Absolutely. That’s what you remember.
Clooney: Do you go back and watch movies you’re in?
Sandler: Zero. But on rare occasions, I’ll catch a couple of minutes when [one is] on TV and say, “Oh, okay! Well, we must have cut that out of the movie! I remembered this differently!” You?
Clooney: Some of them, if [one is] on. But in general, they always just feel like different points of time. The only reason to look at them is to look at how much you’ve aged. Like, holy shit!
Do you have a favourite of each other’s films?
Clooney: I thought Punch-Drunk Love was amazing. That was the first time we’d seen you do something where it wasn’t just a straight- up comedy. I also have to say that you were so beautiful in The Meyerowitz Stories. And not just because it’s Noah. I really loved that. I thought you and Ben [Stiller] were great together. I felt like that movie got short shrift. Somehow it didn’t get the attention.
Sandler: You’re right. But George’s work…
Clooney: (Whispers) Say Batman. Say Batman. Say Batman.
Sandler: I thought Batman was solid as a rock! (Clooney laughs) Clooney’s had maybe ten that you could go to. I can’t pick. But I send the love.
Clooney: He sends me beautiful notes.
Sandler: I love his acting. I love how he carries a movie. I love how in charge he is. Even when we were making Noah’s movie, George would be like, “How are we feeling? What do you think?” His opinion meant so much to me. He knows about every year of cinema. He knows the history of movies, the equipment, the shots. I don’t know a guy like him.
Clooney: We had a really fun time, that’s for sure. When you look at the Ocean’s films, the reason why they worked so well was because you had all these stars kind of handing off the scene to the other one, not trying to take it. And that’s what it felt like when we were working together. That’s a rare thing that happens in films, that spirit of generosity, because if one person starts going, “This is my scene,” then everybody does it.
Read the full Adam Sandler and George Clooney interview for Jay Kelly in the Stranger Things 5 issue of Empire – on sale Thursday 23 October. Order a copy online here. Jay Kelly is in cinemas from 14 November, and streams on Netflix from 5 December.
