{"id":1989888,"date":"2025-08-31T16:38:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T16:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1989888"},"modified":"2025-08-31T16:38:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T16:38:07","slug":"george-clooneys-jay-kelly-co-star-addresses-his-absence-at-venice-film-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/george-clooneys-jay-kelly-co-star-addresses-his-absence-at-venice-film-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"George Clooney\u2019s \u2018Jay Kelly\u2019 Co-Star Addresses His Absence at Venice Film Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">While the cast of the upcoming film <em>Jay Kelly<\/em> features several noteworthy names, one of the biggest stars in Hollywood was noticeably absent from several appearances at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, Aug. 27. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/articles\/george-clooney-offers-5-word-154847035.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:George Clooney;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">George Clooney<\/a>, who stars as none other than Jay Kelly in the film, was dealing with a sinus infection, according to <em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-news\/george-clooney-venice-film-festival-jay-kelly-premiere-1236355205\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:The Hollywood Reporter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">The Hollywood Reporter<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Clooney was absent from the press junket and skipped a dinner with his cast mates, a group that includes well-known names such as Adam Sander and Laura Dern. As <em>THR<\/em> detailed, it\u2019s rare for Clooney to miss an appearance, and the report cites that he was seen leaving the Hotel Excelsior by boat on Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">George Clooney\u2019s \u2018Jay Kelly\u2019 Co-Star Laura Dern Gave the Actor High Praise in His Absence<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\">George Clooney and Amal Clooney are seen arriving in Venice ahead of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/news-photo\/george-clooney-and-amal-clooney-are-seen-arriving-into-news-photo\/2232204765\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Jacopo Raule&amp;sol;GC Images;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Jacopo Raule&amp;sol;GC Images<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Although Clooney wasn\u2019t in attendance during Wednesday\u2019s pressers for <em>Jay Kelly<\/em>, it quickly became apparent that he made quite an impact with his performance in the role on castmates. Laura Dern, who plays Liz in the film, spoke about Clooney\u2019s absence and said the 64-year-old actor was \u201cdevastated\u201d that he couldn\u2019t be in attendance, as <em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Variety\/status\/1961081746369233239\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Variety;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Variety<\/a><\/em> revealed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Dern also went on to praise the performance Clooney gave in the role of Jay Kelly during her comments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cOur remarkable George Clooney, who is so devastated that he can\u2019t be here, gave us such a gift in this amazing, raw, true performance,\u201d Dern said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Dern can be seen sitting next to Adam Sandler and Billy Crudup in the clip, both of whom were nodding in agreement throughout her comments about Clooney.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">Clooney\u2019s Strong Defense of Adam Sandler Made Headlines in Early August<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It\u2019s far from surprising that Clooney\u2019s <em>Jay Kelly<\/em> castmates offered plenty of support for the actor, especially following his <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/articles\/george-clooney-thinks-ve-underestimating-221000917.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:candid comments on co-star Sandler;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">candid comments on co-star Sandler<\/a>, who plays his on-screen publicist Ron in the film.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">During an interview with <em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2025\/film\/news\/george-clooney-defends-adam-sandler-great-actor-1236477728\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Variety;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Variety<\/a><\/em>, Clooney raved about Sandler, stating that he told the cast that the 58-year-old was far more than \u201cjust a good comedian.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThis film, more than any film Adam has done, shows what a beautiful, heartfelt, soulful actor he is,\u201d Clooney said of Sandler.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I kept telling the cast, \u2018Don\u2019t call him Sand Man. Don\u2019t talk to him like he\u2019s just some goofy comedian. He\u2019s actually a really beautiful, wonderful actor&#8217;,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Because of what his paycheck is, which is doing big goofy comedies, when he does these other, beautiful, <em>Uncut Gems<\/em> kinds of movies, it reminds people of that. He\u2019s not just a good comedian.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">While <em>Jay Kelly<\/em> will officially have its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, the movie will be released in theaters on Nov. 14, 2025. This is followed by its release on Netflix just over three weeks later, on Dec. 5.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/tv\/articles\/peacemaker-features-really-big-big-041850730.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Related: 'Peacemaker' Features 'Really Big, Big Stars' During Season 2, Says James Gunn;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">Related: &#8216;Peacemaker&#8217; Features &#8216;Really Big, Big Stars&#8217; During Season 2, Says James Gunn<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><i>This story was originally reported by <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mensjournal.com\/entertainment\/george-clooney-sick-illness-jay-kelly-movie-venice-film-festival\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Men's Journal;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Men&#8217;s Journal<\/a> on Aug 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mensjournal.com\/entertainment\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Entertainment;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Entertainment<\/a> section. Add Men&#8217;s Journal as a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=mensjournal.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Preferred Source by clicking here.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While the cast of the upcoming film Jay Kelly features several noteworthy names, one of the biggest stars in Hollywood was noticeably absent from several appearances at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, Aug. 27. George Clooney, who stars as none other than Jay Kelly in the film, was dealing with a sinus infection, according [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1989889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[310567,356284,32720,339940,36101,333428,345645],"class_list":["post-1989888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-adam-sandler","tag-amal-clooney","tag-george-clooney","tag-jay-kelly","tag-laura-dern","tag-venice-film-festival","tag-venice-international-film-festival"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/George-Clooneys-\u2018Jay-Kelly-Co-Star-Addresses-His-Absence-at-Venice.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1989888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1989888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1989888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1989889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1989888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1989888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1989888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}