’Thirteen’ the charm for Clooney and pals

May 25, 2007 by admin
Filed under Movies, News

’Thirteen’ the charm for Clooney and pals
By Stephen Schaefer
Boston Herald Entertainment Reporter

Friday, May 25, 2007 - Updated: 03:14 AM EST

CANNES, France - The dashing, debonair cast of “Ocean’s Thirteen” came to the Riviera for the world premiere of their starry heist sequel but were coy about whether “Thirteen” is the final chapter in the series. The glam guys, headed by George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Don Cheadle, seemed divided about diving in for a fourth “Ocean’s.” When asked whether there might be an “Ocean’s 58” or an “Ocean’s 69,” Clooney replied: “That would be a whole different ‘Ocean’s.’ ” Director Steve Soderbergh shook his head and added, “Never again.”

But Damon, who this summer bids farewell not just to Linus, the “Ocean’s” burglar, but amnesiac Jason Bourne as well, kept his options open, saying he was “more sad” that he might not get to do another flick with the “Ocean’s” posse. “The Bourne thing I’m definitely done with,” he added. “We’ve ridden that horse as much as we can. Outside of feeling like a prostitute for putting out two No. 3s in one year . . .” “Better than three No. 2s,” Clooney instantly noted to laughter. Damon agreed. But does his vow to not be Bourne again mean that Jason dies? “I’m not going to say. I could just not do them anymore,” Damon said, adding that “the character lives on in the books,” so another actor could be born as Bourne.

Although the cast spent most of the press conference joking around, the actors did inject a note of seriousness into the proceedings. Two nights before their premiere, Clooney and friends raised $9.2 million for Darfur relief efforts with a charity fund-raiser on a yacht at nearby Cap D’Antibes. “We knew we were coming here and it’s a great international platform and chance to raise money and raise awareness, specifically about Darfur,” Clooney said. “Don, Brad, Matt and I have all been in that region in the last year and it’s a been a concern of (ours) for the last few years. We find there is a lot more attention in the United States than internationally on this issue.” Added Damon: “We felt we’d be remiss if we didnt try to direct some of those resources to this life-and-death struggle.”

As for “Ocean’s,” the stars showed they still had a few tricks up their sleeves. In the third installment of the series, the two smoothies, Clooney and Pitt, go soft and teary-eyed watching an Oprah Winfrey show. The scene and its tough-guy sentimentality brought applause from the Cannes press.