Given the current political climate, it\u2019s no surprise that Prime Video will be airing a filmed version of\u00a0<\/span>George Clooney\u2019s<\/span><\/a> recent Broadway run of\u00a0Good Night and Good Luck<\/i>. The play, like the earlier movie, tells the story of Edward R. Murrow\u2019s fight against the federal government\u2019s attempts to clamp down on the media.\u00a0<\/span>In a\u00a0Deadline\u00a0<\/i>interview<\/span><\/a>, Clooney noted the striking similarities between the network pressure around Murrow and the\u00a0<\/span>recent efforts to shut down Jimmy Kimmel<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThose conversations (Disney CEO)\u00a0<\/span>Bob Iger<\/span><\/a> is going through is very much the conversations that (CBS executive William S.) Paley was going through, and the idea of what part of this government incursion are you going to cave to?\u201d Clooney said. \u201cIt is really fascinating.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Instead of journalists like Murrow, comedians are leading the charge for free speech this time, including Kimmel and\u00a0<\/span>the creators of\u00a0South Park<\/i>, Matt Stone and Trey Parker<\/span><\/a>. Clooney was instrumental in spreading the word about Stone and Parker\u2019s early animations, eventually leading to a deal for their landmark show.<\/span><\/p>\n Clooney doesn\u2019t like to take too much credit for\u00a0South Park\u2019s<\/i> success. \u201cI saw it on a VCR, and I kept sending it out to the guys at Comedy Central. Eventually, they gave the guys a job there,\u201d he said. \u201cI just thought they were funny, and I didn\u2019t really think they were going to be standard bearers for democracy and free speech.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Parker and Stone remembered Clooney\u2019s support and rewarded the actor with a part during\u00a0South Park<\/i>\u2019s first season. Unlike\u00a0The Simpsons<\/i>, where\u00a0<\/span>celebrities often appear as animated versions of themselves<\/span><\/a>, Parker said, \u201cLet\u2019s have celebrities on, and let\u2019s have them do minor, unimportant things.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s how\u00a0<\/span>Clooney ended up supplying the yips and whines of Sparky<\/span><\/a>, Stan\u2019s gay dog.<\/span><\/p>\n Clooney\u2019s support, however, hasn\u2019t stopped Parker and Stone from taking the actor to task when they believe he deserves it.\u00a0Clooney was featured as one of the pious, pompous actors in\u00a0<\/span>Team America: World Police<\/i><\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n And his Oscar acceptance speech was turned into a threatening cloud of smug in another\u00a0South Park<\/i> episode:<\/span><\/p>\n No harm done, according to Clooney. \u201cI must say I would\u2019ve been offended if I wasn\u2019t in it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But the actor remains alarmed at how comic voices like Parker and Stone appear to be the First Amendment\u2019s last line of defense. \u201cThat\u2019s how desperate we are,\u201d Clooney told\u00a0Deadline<\/i>. \u201c<\/span>Jon (Stewart)<\/span><\/a> would be the first to say, you\u2019re looking at me, but I\u2019m a comedian who is just trying to speak truth to power. Watch Jimmy Kimmel and how good he is at it, and John Oliver. You\u2019ve got these really smart, funny guys who are reminding us of what we\u2019re supposed to be, and making the argument for the importance of freedom of speech.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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