George Clooney - Why Actors Need Directors

And directors need film editors:

Too many people run away from the label. They whisper it like you'd whisper "I'm a Nazi." Like it's (sic) dirty word. But turn away from saying "I'm a liberal" and it's like you're turning away from saying that blacks should be allowed to sit in the front of the bus, that women should be able to vote and get paid the same as a man, that McCarthy was wrong, that Vietnam was a mistake. And that Saddam Hussein had no ties to al-Qaeda and had nothing to do with 9/11.

Check the sentence structure above, especially the last two sentences. No, I'm not being petty. One writes as one thinks. At best, Clooney is disjointed and sloppy.

As for the above content, Clooney invokes the very McCarthyism he purports to be against. In his mind, if one is moderate or conservative, one doesn't want blacks to enjoy equality, women to vote, etc. While he would have you believe his is the view of freedom and acceptance of different viewpoints, it's actually just the opposite - think like Clooney, or you are a racist, and so on. Clearly what he believes, one must presume, as he isn't clear enough, is that conservatives don't strive for the same ideals as he does. That is a smear of the big lie variety, if ever I've heard one.

This is an incredibly polarized time (wonder how that happened?). But I find that, more and more, people are trying to find things we can agree on. And, for me, one of the things we absolutely need to agree on is the idea that we're all allowed to question authority. We have to agree that it's not unpatriotic to hold our leaders accountable and to speak out.

That's one of the things that drew me to making a film about Murrow. When you hear Murrow say, "We mustn't confuse dissent with disloyalty" and "We can't defend freedom at home by deserting it at home," it's like he's commenting on today's headlines.

More nonsense. Conservatives question authority every bit as much as do liberals. Clooney's rhetoric may look sweet to the far flung left, but it is as empty as many a movie house seat during one of his last misguided and overly-political box office failures.

The fear of been (sic) criticized can be paralyzing. Just look at the way so many Democrats caved in the run up to the war. In 2003, a lot of us were saying, where is the link between Saddam and bin Laden? What does Iraq have to do with 9/11? We knew it was bullshit. Which is why it drives me crazy to hear all these Democrats saying, "We were misled." It makes me want to shout, "Fuck you, you weren't misled. You were afraid of being called unpatriotic."

Incorrect. Go back and review the record and speeches, George. We didn't go to war in Iraq as a direct result of 9/11. That's just more of the big lie tactic of the left desperately trying to couch today's political issues in your favor when they are not. We went to war in Iraq to eliminate a growing threat. We accomplished that and are working hard to leave behind a state with some stability and with the adherence to the very values you appear to profess - liberty, freedom and equality. Apparently those values are only good for you and yours, not the Iraqis. Congratulations George, you made it from demagogue to racist in one paragraph.

Bottom line: it's not merely our right to question our government, it's our duty. Whatever the consequences. We can't demand freedom of speech then turn around and say, But please don't say bad things about us. You gotta be a grown up and take your hits.

I am a liberal. Fire away.

No, George, you aren't a liberal. You are the worst kind of fascist in existence. The kind that preaches freedom, but would reserve it only for yourself. The kind  of fascist who professes to be speaking truth to power, but is actually a powerful individual (in the sense of your fame, anyway) speaking lies to the masses.

Ultimately, I don't believe for a minute it springs from some evil intent on your part. No, I don't believe you are intelligent, or insightful enough to be truly evil. What you are is juvenile, relatively shallow and terribly disorganized in your thinking. Those factors cause you to convince yourself the truth is not what it is or was, but what you want it to be, or have been. It's baby talk, George, unclear and much too simple. It is the rhetoric of the dilettante, not the serious man you probably believe yourself to be

But you do photograph well. I wouldn't dream of trying to take that away from you, George.

Comments

[M.A.]

If conservatives question authority, I haven't heard it in the past few years. Instead of questioning the people in power, conservatives have trained all their anger and bile on people with no power: Democrats, college professors, movie actors. Compare that quisling authoritarianism with Clooney, who actually criticizes his own party (the Democrats) as well as the Republicans.

You're also misunderstanding what "McCarthyism" is. McCarthyism is the exploitation of a real threat in order to go after your political enemies. Bush did this by exploiting 9/11 (a real, horrible event) for electoral gains and to justify a war that had no connection to 9/11 (and removed, not a "growing threat," but a dictator who was not a threat to America). Liberal McCarthyism would be, say, exploiting a tragedy or a threat in order to sieze power. But Clooney has no political power, so he's no McCarthyite in any sense.

Again, conservatives are obsessed with attacking those who don't have power, and give a free pass to those who do have power. This is part of the power-worshipping, government-loving cult that conservatism has become.

Finally, "Good Night and Good Luck" was a box-office success. It cost $7 million and has made over $30 million so far, a nice big profit even before coming out on DVD. Whereas other movies cost $100 million and don't make back their cost, Clooney has made money for his investors. That's capitalism, which Clooney understands and which conservatives now despise.

Oh, and "why actors need directors?" Clooney has directed two movies already. Including one that got a bunch of Academy Award nominations. Next title?

[Rick]

Wow M.A. I bet Dan really appreciates you proving his point so perfectly. Admit it, you're really him, right? So the millions of "conservatives" like myself who disagree with this stupid war, who want to slam the treasury closed and who by the way have no power are totally discounted in your theory? Certainly questioning authority, in your world, means only questioning the SAME authority that YOU question? You mean I cannot wait a few more years and hate YOUR rich white guy, who is doing the exact same BS to the country? You partisan bozoes are amazing, absolutely amazing. None of you realizes that every time you hold up a mirror it is your own face staring back at you. Baaaaah, baaaah. Wake up little lamb, there's a new day coming.

[Len Hart]

Nonsense! Clooney is an actor —not a professional writer. But —so what? In any case, he accomplished what many "professional" writers fail to do. He communicated precisely a precise idea. What more do you want from a writer? The verbose criticism of him is petty carping.

[MrsLevy]

Dan needs to get a real job. He's no writer and this website isn't cutting it.

MrsLevy

[Frank]

Well said MrsLevy, well said indeed.

[Henry]

George should do more research, McCarthy was right. If you don't believe me go look up something called "Venona" there are a lot of books about it and it shows that the great majority of the people McCarthy accused were communists and were helping the USSR.

[Florida Patty]

Shoot me? Okay George.

(lock and load)

But seriously folks. George Clooney makes me want to chew foil. From the time he gave a press conference about the hounding papparazzi at the death of Princess Diana, I thought to myself what an opportunistic poser. Alas, I think he believes his own rhetoric and it's gotten him plenty of press (which is ironic considering how he went after the media). Just goes to show you, in Hellywood, if it's YOUR cause, there are none so kind as those with cameras and editors.

[marci]

Yes, Dan get a real job! I have seen soooo many mistakes written by YOU! I think George is right ON!

[Vanessa]

There seems to be another version posted earlier, or later. Check this out:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-gutfeld/george-clooney-i-am-a-ce_b_17231.html

[jows]

Totally took cloolessny down at the knees.

[tysgram]

The only time that Dan gets comments are on the Natalee Holloway articles. Seems everyone is getting a little tired of your one sided reporting. Starting to sound like Fox News Dan. One sided journalism.

[Rick]

tysgram wrote" The only time that Dan gets comments are on the Natalee Holloway articles. Seems everyone is getting a little tired of your one sided reporting. Starting to sound like Fox News Dan. One sided journalism."

And yet, you and Mrs Levy keep returning....at least she wants to have Dans forked tail babies. What do you imagine you contribute, aside from your "star worshipping" ?

[tysgram]

And yet, you and Mrs Levy keep returning....at least she wants to have Dans forked tail babies. What do you imagine you contribute, aside from your "star worshipping" ?

Posted by: Rick | Wednesday, March 15, 2006 at 07:13 AM
I am definetly not a "star worshipper", my comment referred to the one sidedness the Dans's articles have taken. When I first came here he was much more objective and even stated that even though he leaned conservative he looked at both sides objectively. I was only stating that since he has been reporting negative articles about the left people are not commenting as much as they used to. I will continue you to read Dan's articles just skip over the political ones. JMO!