The story of a Hollywood superstar coming to terms with the fragility of his privileged existence might not seem the most universal story, especially one starring George Clooney at his most suave and charismatic. But while speaking at Deadline’s Contenders London event, Jay Kelly director Noah Baumbach pulled back some of the layers of his film, flanked by actor Adam Sandler, producer David Heyman and casting director Nina Gold.
The film begins with the title character having an epiphany and setting off on a journey to Italy with his manager (Sandler) and his long-suffering publicist (Laura Dern) in tow. Baumbach revealed that the idea was a long time coming. “A few years ago, I had this notion,” he said, “and I didn’t really know what to do with it. So I kind of let it just sit while I made a couple other movies and I started to collect ideas for it. But I still felt like I didn’t quite know where it all sat. One day I was talking to Emily Mortimer, who’s a friend and someone I’ve always admired, and then suddenly, as I was telling her the story, she was asking me questions. I felt like, actually, I think maybe I do know what this story is now, because there was something about the way she was responding to it that was giving me inspiration. So I called her the next day and said, ‘Do you want to write this together? If it’s a bust, we can quit after a couple of weeks.’”
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Thankfully, the idea wasn’t a bust. But what was it that inspired him so much in the story of an A-list actor? “An actor is somebody who plays roles for a living, and is always sort of not themselves,” he explained. “And he’s a movie star top of that. When we go to the movies, the reason why movie stars are so impactful for us is that they’re so watchable — we want to see them represent us. So [in the film], there’s this sort of notion that, if a movie star kind of represents us in all our failings and humanity, what does that mean exactly? It explores the notion, too, I think, that when you become famous you sort of lose your name in some way. Your name becomes something different than what it was when you started.”
Producer David Heyman noted that this was his third film with Baumbach, and singled out the director’s distinctive vision for praise. “Every single decision he makes, every single frame, is managed and curated,” he said. “Noah’s a wonderful collaborator. I feel like I learn and grow [when I work with him], and everybody who works with him feels the same. He’s inclusive. This story made me laugh, and it made me cry, because it’s about all of us. Yes, it’s about the world around us, but it’s about the human condition. It’s about regret, it’s about acceptance, and it’s about life.”
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