Clooney Quotes: Career

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Welcome to Clooney Unlimited Quotes.

It’s not about an opening weekend. It’s about a career, building a set of films you’re proud of. Period. — George Clooney, Unknown

Ninety percent of films are pretty mediocre, but they have a built-in audience and open on 3,000 screens. — George Clooney, Unknown

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) bombed. But I can take it. Most of the films I’ve done haven’t done particularly well. I’m surprised I’m continuing to work. Directing is really exciting. In the end, it’s more fun to be the painter than the paint. I don’t believe in happy endings, but I do believe in happy travels, because ultimately…you die at a very young age, or you live long enough to watch your friends die. It’s a mean thing, life. — George Clooney, Unknown

We’ve been trying to push our involvement within the studio system, sort of push the things that we’ve learned from foreign and independent films through the ’80s and push those things back into the studio system. Like Out of Sight (1998) isn’t your standard studio film by any means; Three Kings (1999) wasn’t the ’standard Warner Bros. kind of film. — George Clooney, Unknown

…directors are the captains of the ship, and it’s your job as the lead actor to make sure that the rest of the cast understand that by doing whatever he says. — George Clooney, Unknown

See, the first thing about actors is, you’re just trying to get a job; and you audition and audition and you finally get them. And you still consider yourself an auditioning actor. I auditioned for One Fine Day (1996), I wasn’t offered that. So you’re still in that ‘Hey, I’m just trying to get a job’ thing. Then, you get to the point where, if you decide to do it, then they’ll make the film. That’s a different kind of responsibility, and it usually takes a couple of films to catch up. And then you have to actually pay attention to the kind of films that you’re making. — George Clooney, Unknown

You got to think of things at their worst, not at their best. And Out of Sight (1998) was the first time where I had a say, and it was the first good screenplay that I’d read where I just went, ‘That’s it.’And even though it didn’t do really well box office-wise-we sort of tanked again-it was a really good film. And I realized from that point on that it was strictly screenplay first. And then it becomes easier, because once you eliminate the idea of doing a vehicle. . . believe me, there’s nobody who’s encouraging us to make these films, not agents, not . . . we’re not getting paid for these things, and it’s not like we’re going to make a mint. — George Clooney, Unknown

I’m a hybrid. I succeed in both worlds. I hope that selling out on Ocean’s Eleven (2001) is not such a bad deal. The trade-off is, I get to go make something uncommercial that will probably lose money. — George Clooney, Unknown

An acting career usually has about a shelf life of ten years before people get sick of seeing you. It’s a good thing to have a job to fall back on and I really do enjoy directing. — George Clooney, Unknown

I doubt anybody gets taken seriously for very long. I’ll be on some reality show in about six years going, Hey, I had a great year in 2006. — George Clooney, Unknown

I know what my limitations are as an actor, but my strength is putting myself into a well-written part. When I get in trouble is when I have to fix it, or when I have to carry it on personality. — George Clooney, Unknown

The idea that every time you do a film you’re supposed to be tortured confuses me. I mean, guys who say ‘Oh, it’s really tough, my character is really suffering” – come on. For us, even in the rotten ones, we’ve had a good time. I don’t think you have to suffer. — George Clooney, Unknown

We’re the ones who talked about AIDS when it was just being whispered. And we talked about civil rights when it wasn’t really popular. This academy – this group of people – gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 when blacks were still sitting in the backs of theaters. I’m proud to be a part of this academy, proud to be part of this community, and proud to be out of touch. — George Clooney, 2006 Oscars Acceptance Speech

You can only get so far without discernible talent – then you either work, or use cheap publicity tricks to keep the public’s attention. Paris (Hilton) has no reason to complain if she is on the end of bad publicity. — George Clooney, Unknown

It’s 12 years and you could find ten films a year that are masterpieces. They don’t make those films anymore. You couldn’t come near making those films. (On films made between 1964 and 1976) — George Clooney, Unknown

Had I not got the Thursday night ten o’clock slot at “ER” (1994), if they’d put us on Friday night, then I wouldn’t have a film career. That’s luck, not my own genius, though I like to think it was. — George Clooney, Unknown

As an actor, I’m somewhat of a hack … I find myself stealing from the actors that I really like as opposed to coming up with interesting choices on my own. — George Clooney, Los Angeles Times, January 14, 1996

The reason why you produce is because there will be a period of time in the not-too-distant future when people will be sick of seeing you. I’m sick of me already. — George Clooney, New York Post, February 27, 2000

There’s a period of time in your life when you get a crack at something, when you make your mark as a man. And as a man, that’s it. That’s when we set what we’re going to be. I’d like to try to set that up now, to strike while the iron’s hot. Because 10 years from now it may be ‘I’d like George Clooney to block. — George Clooney, Los Angeles Times, September 7, 1997

Clooney on how he wants to leverage his fame and power as a box office commodity while he still can: “I want to say I did it when it wasn’t very easy. If it costs you a career, credibility and all those things, that means you did it on your own volition and you have to live with that. I’m OK with that. I’d rather be able to point back and say, ‘At this exact moment in history when it was kind of tricky to do this, these are the stories I told. — George Clooney, Los Angeles Times, September 18, 2005.

Love scenes are always weird. I know everyone says that, but they are. Like: “hey guys, hop in the sack now, would you?” — George Clooney, Unknown

On moving Smokehouse to Sony Pictures:
“Warner Bros. has been a great place to work and I’ve felt like part of a family for almost 20 years. So in moving on, I’m leaving a terrific company and a lot of dear friends. They’re a class act. In looking ahead, I’m tremendously excited to be working at Sony Pictures, and we all feel like it’s a perfect match for Smokehouse. Grant Heslov and I hope to deliver the kind of films that will make them proud.” — George Clooney, 2009-07-06

“We admire and respect George and Grant as filmmakers and producers and we couldn’t be more excited to be in business with them and their talented team at Smokehouse Pictures,” said Pascal. “The broad range of quality projects they have championed and the compelling and sometimes provocative material they support says everything about their company and their creative aspirations. While we have been trimming production deals overall for the last few years, we see real value in opening our doors to producers with their critical and commercial track record and their artistic point of view, and we know they will be a fantastic addition to the Sony Pictures family.” — Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman of Sony Picture Entertainment and Chairman of the studio’s Motion Picture Group, 2009-07-06

“If you actually think of yourself as a movie star, you stop being an actor. “If you start to protect the image you have created then all you are going to do is repeat the same parts over and over again. You become a caricature and the fan base will eventually leave you. “For a long time I thought work was the only necessity but now I think the only necessity is not to wake up at 65 and not have done what you wanted to do. “As I get older my priorities are changing. There has to be room for friends and family and things like that.” — George Clooney, Unknown