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Your Guide on the Quest for the Perfect Disney Vacation
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If you’re like me and the rest of the county, you have spent some time with George Clooney in the last couple weeks seeing Disney’s Tomorrowland. “Tomorrowland” is a place for dreamers, the people that truly believe the impossible is actually possible and that we all have the power to fix it. No one believes that more than Mr. Clooney himself. But while he may play disillusioned dreamer Frank Walker in this thought provoking sci-fi action adventure fable for the entire family, nothing could be further from the truth. Last week I shared Part 1 of my interview with the man with the boyish good looks, who exudes charm and makes you feel like he’s that best friend that you’ve had forever, who does believe that every person, including himself does indeed have the power to change the future but this week it’s time to share the funny side of Clooney, the joker and prankster that you’ve heard about, with some of the insider fun that went on during the filming of Tomorrowland.
Photo Credit Louise Bishop of MomStart.com
And now here’s a look at George Clooney-unscripted and uncensored:
So just what was Clooney’s favorite scene to film?
“Yeah, that’s a good question. It’s fun because, look, first let me start off by explaining to you how I came to this part, right? Brad and Damon called me and said we’ve written a part for you in a movie. And I’d been trying to work with Brad for a long time. I was like ‘Wow, that’s amazing’. And they send me the script and I open it up and the description of me is ‘A 55 year old angry, bitter, guy.’ I’m like ‘Thanks guys. Thank you so much’ But what I loved about it was that the entire film, he’s just a grump, you know. He’s just a grump through the whole thing. I loved when Britt first comes to the house. It’s really fun where it’s like ‘Shut up and who are you?’ We really had fun shooting all that stuff in the farmhouse. That was fun because all the robot guys were really sweet and nice, and not really robots, you know. And, so I think that might have been the most fun scene to shoot, all the farm house stuff.”
One of the first things you come away with from Tomorrowland is the heart-warming interaction between Clooney and Britt Robertson and Raffey Cassidy. So just how did he feel about working with these young and talented actors?
“I didn’t like them. I’ll say that… Now, we can say nice things now, but the truth is I don’t care for them (as he tried to hold in the laughter as he was making the comments) Well, first of all Britt is fantastic and her career is just at the very beginning and is going to be really fun. Raffey is spectacular and she was just 12 at the time and way too talented for her age, and sweet and funny. It was a fun part for me because I, as you well know, if you’d seen me speaking to a 12 year old the way I speak to her at say the grocery store, you’d call child services. I’m thinking ‘Who gets to yell at a 12 year old?’ But in the movies it’s so much fun because she’s not really a 12 year old. It’s fun the way they sort of set it up to where, we’re a little family of three, but she’s the adult. She’s driving the car and Britt and I are the two kids, arguing and bickering all the time.They were fantastic, and they were really sweet and I think they’re having a really fun time with this, which is, you know, that’s how it’s supposed to be. You know when I work with younger actors, I always have to try to remind them that this is the fun kind of job that most people don’t get to do. And if you get to be an actor and work, and somebody pays you for it, you’ve caught the brass ring and it’s just fun. So, that’s part of, the thing is, they really do dig it and they’re having fun, which is really a good time.”
And what of Thomas Robinson, who portrays the young Frank Walker- did Clooney have any say so who it would be? He looks so much like him, especially his facial expressions, what was the process that went into casting him?
”No, they just went around, actually they did a little plastic surgery on him… Which seems, ah, a little rough, but yeah it’s show biz. You want to be in show biz, we’re gonna have to reduce that nose. We’re gonna have to pin those ears… but seriously, he was funny. I actually would come to the set and watch him work because I never got to work with him obviously, because we were in different worlds as you know, completely different worlds, but he would walk by, I’d come over and I’d go ‘So you’re, ah, you’re me, right?’ He’s like, ‘Yup’ Alright- Don’t screw it up. He was really sweet though. A really funny kid.”
With that in mind, were there any specific scenes or memories of working with Robertson and Cassidy that stood out to Clooney?
Ever the jokester-“I don’t remember much of it. I was drunk most of the time. You know, I will tell you, there were a lot of moments, because you know, it wasn’t all done to green screen. They were nice enough to build a lot of these sets where you actually got to play in them. The most fun we had was the driving sequences, believe it or not, because, you know, we’re being towed but Raffey is actually driving and I had to teach things like you’ve got to keep looking at the road, And she’d be like (as he imitated Raffey to perfection) ‘What is the deal?’ My mother actually drives that same way, but it was fun because there was no technology. There was nothing. It was just old fashioned, three people sitting in a truck for five days, arguing and doing fun stuff. And that’s really fun for actors; because you don’t have to do any make believe. It’s all just right there and I really enjoyed that. It was also fun doing the stuff like shoving all the packs of powder down their throat because we must have done, I don’t know, 30 takes, and every time I’d say, ‘Here you go.’ (as he was laughed and demonstrated for us) and she’d be like ‘Not the whole pack’. And I was like ‘Yeah’ so much sugar in it, so much fun.
Photo Credit Louise Bishop of MomStart.com
And did Britt Robertson actually drink all those bottles of Coke?
“Yeah, now in fairness, Brad was kind enough to only do it, I think, three times. But she does down two cokes in the take and I was thinking she’s gonna explode, but she did it. Because you learn with young actors they just go for it. I remember when I was doing Descendants we had this little girl who played my youngest daughter in the film, and we did a scene where she gets to eat ice cream, and she never acted in a movie before and she just starts pounding the table. And they’re just sitting there watching her going, you can see her, take 9 and she literally was like Uuugh.”
In Part 1 of my interview, Clooney spoke about how much fun it was to be 54 and still getting to play make-believe. Was there any contraption from the future, he wished he really could have?
“I just wish the jet pack really worked. When I was growing up, it was the space race and you were eating space food sticks and drinking Tang and I really thought by now we’d be riding around in Jetson cars…well, that’s what the Jetsons told us. Well, they did tell us and I believed them, so when I saw the jet pack, I’m like I want that thing to work by now but no such luck. But that is one of the futuristic items or things that would be awesome to have. Let me put it to you this way. So you’re at LAX. You get your bags. I’ve got to get to Studio City. It’s 4:30 on a Friday. It would be the greatest moment ever, just blasting right over all the traffic. I think it would be fantastic, although, you know, I don’t know that I want everybody to have one ’cause they’d just be circling my house hovering over shouting ‘What’s Amal gonna wear to the MET Ball?’ I don’t know, I don’t know if I want everybody to have a jet pack.”
So was he able to keep any of the memorabilia from the film?
“Now here’s the thing -Disney is very, ah, they’ve got like armed guards around all that stuff. And Brad is very, possessive of all those things as well and so I will not answer what I stole because they will come take it away from me, but it shoots rays and it’s a gun.”
All kidding aside, the film does have some very emotional scenes. Were there any of them that were emotionally hard for George to film?
“Emotionally hard, no. Because I find, movies in general aren’t emotional in a sense because you’re involved in them but and you know it’s not really something honestly terrible that has happened. It is still make believe but I did find that, it was a tricky scene. There’s a moment where I have to let, Raffey’s character, the robot go, and it was a really weird scene. We’d shot it once and she kind of clicks out, but her eyes are open still and we drop her out, and it literally feels like I’m murdering her. It really does. It was odd. And you’re watching it, it’s so disturbing and it was really awful, so we went back and re-did it where she sort of completely goes out, because otherwise it really felt horrible. There are all kinds of weird balances in this film. My relationship with her is very, well we’re walking a very thin line here. And it’s a constant thing of ‘Let’s walk very carefully through these things.’ And thankfully, Brad is really good at what he does. He makes it, made it much simpler.”
What’s one of the messages that Clooney hopes people will come away with from Tomorrowland?
“Every time we turn on the news and see how bleak it is, we need to take a step back and remind ourselves it doesn’t have to end that way; there’s a future out there if you get involved and become a participant. I think that maybe along the way, it would be nice to remind ourselves that there’s an awful lot of good that’s being done. The future is yours to decide what it will be.”
Thank you George Clooney for making us all believe that we can indeed change the future.
Don’t forget to follow #TomorrowlandEvent to stay find out all the latest
“What if there was a place, a secret place where nothing was impossible? A miraculous place where you could actually change the world- wanna go?”
Tomorrowland is now playing in theaters everywhere!
I have been invited by Disney to cover the Tomorrowland Event. All expenses have been paid for by Disney but all opinions my own.
Gayle is a lifelong educator by day and avid freelance writer by night Mom to 5, Grammy to 4 she is blessed to share her life with amazing family and friends who encourage her to chase her dreams no matter where they may lead. When not in the classroom, she can be found following her son as he dances his way through life, or working with young performers in free nationally recognized after school children’s theater program that she founded 13 years ago.
“I was taught at a very young age that your voice has to matter and you have to participate. Every time we turn on the news and see how bleak it is, that it doesn’t have to end that way; there’s a future out there if you get involved. The future is yours to decide what it will be.” –George Clooney
Photo Credit Louise Bishop of MomStart.com
The anticipation of knowing that in just a few moments, THE George Clooney would be walking through the doors and sitting down literally right next to me, well let’s just say I think I remembered to breathe, but I couldn’t say for certain. But the moment he walked into the room, it was no longer about interviewing Mr. George Clooney, but rather just talking to George-the long time friend that everyone has, that immediately puts you at ease, that has you laughing, listening and thinking all at the same time but more importantly, he is listening to you as well.
Photo Credit Louise Bishop of MomStart.com
Last week I had the chance to sit down and talk to George about his role as disillusioned dreamer Frank Walker in Disney’s riveting retro futuristic adventure “Tomorrowland”.
So just how does an actor that we’ve come to love as a doctor and as a thief or even a superhero in everything from action, comedy and romance find themselves finally working with Disney again after all of these years?
“My first Disney movie was a Miramax film, called From Dusk Till Dawn. At first I wanted to work with Brad Bird. I think he doesn’t make bad films, and I just love the kind of films he makes. I know that Brad is an optimist and he wanted to write a film that said that every time we turn on the news as we do and see how bleak it is, that it doesn’t have to end that way; there’s a future out there if you get involved, and I like the idea of it. I loved the idea of the story. I liked the ending, I like the way they talked about those subject matters.”
As he continued to explain what first drew him to the project, Clooney went on to share some of his own personal views on life and living in the world we have today.
“I think that what I liked about the film was that it was a really optimistic way to tell a story and the thought that the bad part isn’t inevitable and if you participate in some way it doesn’t have to be that way. I’m always an optimist I think things are going to work out. I know that when you turn on the news that it’s always pretty bad and pretty bleak but I grew up around a lot of really bad, really bleak times. The late 60’s were pretty rough too but yet I always thought that we would figure it all out along the way. Your future doesn’t have to be this- you have the ability to be involved and make a difference. I saw that in the script and I thought that was a really good thing.”
Clooney went on to share how growing up in the sixties shaped his own outlook on life, and how it made him even more connected to the ideas and possibilities that Tomorrowland brings to the forefront.
“When I was growing up I was a part of the space race era-it was all we could think of. We were eating space food sticks and drinking Tang. Everything had to do with rockets and the Jetsons and everything that went with it. Science fairs were the biggest things in the world to be a part of and I did all of that. I grew up in the era where an individual actually had an effect whether it was as part of the civil rights movement, or the Vietnam movement, or the women’s rights moments and all the other things where people showed that change could indeed occur. If you turn on the television there’s an awful lot of doom and gloom out there It feels like that’s what the world really is but your future doesn’t have to be this. Just as in the movie, you have the ability to make a difference but it’s up to you to become a participant in your own future.
You could see the pure, unbridled delight when George talked about the opportunity to work with the special effects involved in bringing the vision of this futuristic world to life.
“Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with harnesses and other things that bring the special effects to life. Green screen is tricky because you just have to sort of make things up. But, the thing about being an actor is you really don’t ever have to grow up, right? We’re still playing make believe. I’m 54 and I’m playing make-believe. So when they put you in a contraption, and they say “Now you’re gonna fly” I mean, you’re still a 12 year old and you go “Really? Am I going to fly from here to there? Oh yeah, let’s go!” Who wouldn’t want to do that? I’ve always found that part to be magical.”
The admiration and respect Clooney felt for Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, and Thomas Robinson were apparent when he talked about his younger co-stars.
“They were fantastic, and they were really sweet and I think they’re having a really fun time with this, which is how it’s supposed to be. You know when I work with younger actors, I always have to try to remind them that this is the fun kind of job that most people don’t get to do. And if you get to be an actor and work, and somebody pays you for it, you’ve caught the brass ring.Britt is fantastic and her career is just at the very beginning and is going to be really fun. Raffey is spectacular and way too talented for her age, and Thomas is just a really sweet and really funny kid. They all really do not only love what they’re doing, they’re having fun.”
What is the one message that Clooney hopes people will come away with from Tomorrowland?
“Every time we turn on the news and see how bleak it is, we need to take a step back and remind ourselves it doesn’t have to end that way; there’s a future out there if you get involved and become a participant. I think that maybe along the way, it would be nice to remind ourselves that there’s an awful lot of good that’s being done be. The future is yours to decide what it will be.”
Want to know more from my conversation with George Clooney and just what did go on behind the scenes during the filming of “Tomorrowland”? What was the most difficult scene to film? What was the most fun and what, if any pranks were played on his unsuspecting cast mates? Stay tuned next week for part 2 of my interview with the one and only, George Clooney.
“What if there was a place, a secret place where nothing was impossible? A miraculous place where you could actually change the world- wanna go?”
TOMORROWLAND opened nation-wide May 22nd!
I have been invited by Disney to cover the #TomorrowlandEvent. All expenses have been paid for by Disney but all opinions my own.
Gayle is a lifelong educator by day and avid freelance writer by night Mom to 5, Grammy to 4 she is blessed to share her life with amazing family and friends who encourage her to chase her dreams no matter where they may lead. When not in the classroom, she can be found following her son as he dances his way through life, or working with young performers in free nationally recognized after school children’s theater program that she founded 13 years ago.
