George Clooney Headed Back to ER

[dswallow]

January 21, 2009

http://tvwatch.people.com/2009/01/21/george-clooney-headed-back-to-er/

George Clooney has agreed to come back to the show that launched his career: ER.

Sources close to the series tell PEOPLE that ER co-creator John Wells has ordered a closed set to keep Clooney’s appearance under wraps.

It’s not known how many episodes will feature Clooney as the show films its final season. Neither NBC nor Warner Bros. reps would comment, nor did Clooney’s publicist.

[...]

[MickeS]

Maybe he can make sure ER tanks completely in the final season just like all his movies. He must be the most overrated "movie star" there is. Well, in competition with Brad Pitt maybe.

[Bananfish]

Maybe he can make sure ER tanks completely in the final season just like all his movies. He must be the most overrated "movie star" there is. Well, in competition with Brad Pitt maybe.

Yeah, like Michael Clayton, which was nominated for best picture and for which he was nominated for best actor. Oh and that bomb Syriana, for which he won Best Supporting Actor. Not to mention Good Night and Good Luck, for which he was nominated for best director. And that Ocean's Eleven sure did tank - can't figure out why they made Twelve and Thirteen, I guess they like to throw money away. Yup, him and Brad sure are having a couple of lousy careers.

[appleye1]

Maybe he can make sure ER tanks completely in the final season just like all his movies. He must be the most overrated "movie star" there is. Well, in competition with Brad Pitt maybe.You're getting Clooney and Cruise mixed up. :)

[bengalfreak]

Maybe he can make sure ER tanks completely in the final season just like all his movies. He must be the most overrated "movie star" there is. Well, in competition with Brad Pitt maybe.

Yeah, I sure wish my career as an actor had tanked as badly as George Clooney and Brad Pitt. :rolleyes:

[Sirius Black]

I'm not really a fan of Mr. Clooney. He's something of a moonbat in my book but I have to admit that as far as his acting goes, he has come a long way from The Peacekeeper and ER. His use of the sideway head bob as he said his lines is for the most part gone (see Three Kings for an example of this head bob). I wish him great success in his acting and directing career.

[Graymalkin]

Will his appearance last longer than the previous one, which was all of 10 seconds? (Five of which were spent kissing Juliana Margulies.) :)

[IndyJones1023]

I'm not really a fan of Mr. Clooney. He's something of a moonbat in my book....

Are you confusing Clooney with Cruise, too?

[TIVO_GUY_HERE]

I hear it's a 2 day shoot, so the time it takes to do 1 scene, I'm thinking it might not be more than just a cameo role.

[DougF]

I figured he wouldn't be back, especially after Julianna turned them down.

[fmowry]

Corday was just on the last episode for about 3 minutes. I'd imagine Clooney's will be similar.

Frank

[zalusky]

I'm not really a fan of Mr. Clooney. He's something of a moonbat in my book but I have to admit that as far as his acting goes, he has come a long way from The Peacekeeper and ER. His use of the sideway head bob as he said his lines is for the most part gone (see Three Kings for an example of this head bob). I wish him great success in his acting and directing career.

Actually I enjoyed the Peacekeeper a lot.

[MickeS]

Yeah, I sure wish my career as an actor had tanked as badly as George Clooney and Brad Pitt. :rolleyes:

They've had artistic success no doubt, but their ability to sell tickets on their name is virtually non-existent. Between the two of them, they've had ten movies that made more than $100M (barely scraping by in most cases), and three of those were the Ocean's movies, that they both starred in. The others were sold on "high concept", not on their names, except for maybe "Mr & Mrs Smith" (Pitt).

They, and Clooney in particular, are just hugely overrated as "movie stars" (though they are obviously popular celebrities).

[Hunter Green]

I think that is because they're choosing to do the sorts of things they do. If Clooney wanted to do a blockbuster movie I've no doubt he could do it and bring in as much money as anyone else. But you don't make something like Good Night And Good Luck because you want to increase the dollar figure on the bottom line of your biography.

[MickeS]

I think that is because they're choosing to do the sorts of things they do. If Clooney wanted to do a blockbuster movie I've no doubt he could do it and bring in as much money as anyone else. But you don't make something like Good Night And Good Luck because you want to increase the dollar figure on the bottom line of your biography.

That's my point - they don't sell tickets on their name. Pretty much all of Clooney's movies were wide releases, in 2500+ theaters, intended for mass consumption. "Leatherheads" is the latest best example, a heavily advertised comedy that opened in 2,798 theaters... and managed only $31M in its entire run. And after that "Burn after reading", a heavily advertised comedy which starred BOTH Clooney and Pitt, opened in 2,657 theaters, and ended with $60M.

It's not that these movies were necessarily failures (well, "Leatherheads" probably was considering how much advertising it had), it's just that they once again prove that the public is not interested in Clooney the actor. And an actor that the public isn't interested in seeing is not a movie star, yet the press keeps fawning over him as if he is.

[Bananfish]

If George Clooney and Brad Pitt are not "movie stars," then no such thing exists. Who is it that you think does sell tickets on his or her name?

[zalusky]

So who is today. There are so many venues today. Movies these days can be viewed in the theater, DVD buy and rent, Netflix, HBO, ...

Many people do watch but just prefer to wait three months rather than deal with the hassle of the theater.

[DavidTigerFan]

No offense to you Doug (I don't really care), but how is this not a spoiler (in the thread title no less) and the thread about the office character that was coming back (in the thread) was? Where are the spoiler nazis now?

[BriGuy20]

That's my point - they don't sell tickets on their name. Pretty much all of Clooney's movies were wide releases, in 2500+ theaters, intended for mass consumption. "Leatherheads" is the latest best example, a heavily advertised comedy that opened in 2,798 theaters... and managed only $31M in its entire run. And after that "Burn after reading", a heavily advertised comedy which starred BOTH Clooney and Pitt, opened in 2,657 theaters, and ended with $60M.

It's not that these movies were necessarily failures (well, "Leatherheads" probably was considering how much advertising it had), it's just that they once again prove that the public is not interested in Clooney the actor. And an actor that the public isn't interested in seeing is not a movie star, yet the press keeps fawning over him as if he is.

I would say very few people are true box office draws as you define them. Maybe Tom Hanks, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, and Will Smith at the moment. Even big stars like Clooney and Pitt might not truly draw interest based on their name alone.

[DevdogAZ]

I think that the projects the actors do determine whether they are box office draws. Because Clooney and Pitt have each been in many smaller, art-house type films, the general public doesn't treat their movies as "events." However, Harrison Ford only appears in a movie every few years and therefore it's a big deal. Before Tom Cruise went crazy, he was a bona fide draw as well. Tom Hanks, after his two consecutive Oscars for Best Actor, has been pretty selective about his projects and therefore, they're pretty successful when they come out. But these actors who are in multiple films each year, many of which are not really intended for mass audiences, do themselves a disservice if their goal is to become a big box office draw.

[jeff125va]

No offense to you Doug (I don't really care), but how is this not a spoiler (in the thread title no less) and the thread about the office character that was coming back (in the thread) was? Where are the spoiler nazis now?
I imagine that technically, it is a cast spoiler, but I think that like you, no one cares. It's likely going to be so heavily promoted that everyone will know about it anyway. And it's not the kind of show where this type of information gives away a major plot cliffhanger or something. If the thread title were "Daniel Dae Kim (Jin on "Lost") headed back to Lost" then there would probably be a lot of complaints (Jin's fate following an explosion was unknown at the end of last season on Lost, for those of you who don't watch it).

[IJustLikeTivo]

No offense to you Doug (I don't really care), but how is this not a spoiler (in the thread title no less) and the thread about the office character that was coming back (in the thread) was? Where are the spoiler nazis now?

At best it's casting speculation. No one has confirmed it.

[DougF]

No offense to you Doug (I don't really care), but how is this not a spoiler (in the thread title no less) and the thread about the office character that was coming back (in the thread) was? Where are the spoiler nazis now?

I don't think it's a spoiler. I didn't the the news about The Office was either. I hope that's not the impression I gave.

[dswallow]

No offense tI simply don't find casting news to be a spoiler.o you Doug (I don't really care), but how is this not a spoiler (in the thread title no less) and the thread about the office character that was coming back (in the thread) was? Where are the spoiler nazis now?

Well, I'm perfectly content ignoring spoiler nazi's in any event. :p

[DavidTigerFan]

I don't think it's a spoiler. I didn't the the news about The Office was either. I hope that's not the impression I gave.

Not at all doug, I'm just wondering why they aren't clamoring up the walls now. I didn't think you cared about the Office news, nor did I.

[5thcrewman]

He certainly has those 'Movie Star' looks!
http://abcnews.go.com/images/Entertainment/nm_Clooney_080212_main.jpg

[MasterOfPuppets]

No offense to you Doug (I don't really care), but how is this not a spoiler (in the thread title no less) and the thread about the office character that was coming back (in the thread) was? Where are the spoiler nazis now?

I was wondering the same.
I don't give a damn about the ridiculous spoiler nazis...but that Office thread was like the end of the world.

[aindik]

If the thread title were "Daniel Dae Kim (Jin on "Lost") headed back to Lost" then there would probably be a lot of complaints (Jin's fate following an explosion was unknown at the end of last season on Lost, for those of you who don't watch it).

Dude! ;)

That's a pretty ironic post, right there. Posting a real untagged spoiler in a sentence where you give an example of fake spoilers that should be tagged. :)

[TIVO_GUY_HERE]

I figured he wouldn't be back, especially after Julianna turned them down.


Maybe not.

According to TVGUIDE she is filming along side of him this week

[mattack]

Well, I'm perfectly content ignoring spoiler nazi's [sic] in any event. :p

What about grammar Nazis?

[dswallow]

What about grammar Nazis?

Depends on whether or not they email me naked pics of themselves first.

[smak]

That's my point - they don't sell tickets on their name. Pretty much all of Clooney's movies were wide releases, in 2500+ theaters, intended for mass consumption. "Leatherheads" is the latest best example, a heavily advertised comedy that opened in 2,798 theaters... and managed only $31M in its entire run. And after that "Burn after reading", a heavily advertised comedy which starred BOTH Clooney and Pitt, opened in 2,657 theaters, and ended with $60M.

It's not that these movies were necessarily failures (well, "Leatherheads" probably was considering how much advertising it had), it's just that they once again prove that the public is not interested in Clooney the actor. And an actor that the public isn't interested in seeing is not a movie star, yet the press keeps fawning over him as if he is.

Does anybody really care?

Is the average George Clooney movie better than the average weekly boxoffice winner?

Paul Blart:Mall Cop anyone?

-smak-

[MickeS]

My conclusion is simply that there are no movie stars anymore (well, MAYBE Will Smith would qualify), no matter what the press says about Clooney. :)

[anom]

At best it's casting speculation. No one has confirmed it.
I'd say this confirms it:

http://photos.extratv.warnerbros.com/gallery-images/2009/01/clooney.JPG_full.jpg

[getbak]

I'd say this confirms it:
Maybe he's shooting "Oceans 911". ;)

[fmowry]

Maybe his buddy Brad needs a prostate exam?

Frank

[Johnny Dancing]

I stopped watching ER when Clooney left the show. He joined a medical practice in Seattle, I believe, and the nurse love interest Juliana Margulies was so dedicated to being a nurse at a the Chicago ER that she stayed behind. In my mind that is when ER ended and I moved on.

I am always surprised when I see that ER is still running. I may just watch the episodes when they both come back for old times sake.

[Mindflux]

I stopped watching ER when Clooney left the show. He joined a medical practice in Seattle, I believe, and the nurse love interest Juliana Margulies was so dedicated to being a nurse at a the Chicago ER that she stayed behind. In my mind that is when ER ended and I moved on.

I am always surprised when I see that ER is still running. I may just watch the episodes when they both come back for old times sake.

The last couple seasons haven't been that bad. I quit watching when one of the doctors (I forget his name) had his arm lopped off by a helicopter blade). IMHO, it's less 'soap opera esque' now.

[Johnny Dancing]

Last year Johnny Depp was the top box office draw for the second year in a row. (He likes to do artsy movies but lately anything he is in turns into a big deal, i guess he can't hide from success.)

The others in order:
Will Smith
George Clooney
Matt Damon
Denzel Washington
Russell Crowe
Tom Cruise
Nicolas Cage
Will Ferrell
Tom Hanks

No women in the top 10 which makes sense because when going to the show, women are pretty much in control. Us guys can take over the DVD and Tivo...

[betts4]

I skimmed, so if it has been said already, sorry.

Does anyone know when is the episode going to air?

[DougF]

I skimmed, so if it has been said already, sorry.

Does anyone know when is the episode going to air?

IIRC, late February.