George Clooney's The Ides of March Gets Political in Latest Preview Clip
Posted 09.05.11 by BrentJS
A new preview clip has been released from The Ides of March, the upcoming political drama written (with Grant Heslov) and directed by George Clooney, who also stars. Described as "an intense tale of sex, ambition, loyalty, betrayal and revenge," the movie takes place during the final days of a highly contested Ohio presidential primary and centers around a brilliant and ambitious press secretary (Ryan Gosling) whose involvement in a political scandal could destroy his candidate's (Clooney) shot at the White House. The last preview clip depicted a lighthearted, awkward moment between Gosling's character and a beautiful young intern played by Evan Rachel Wood. But, lest you start thinking The Ides of March is actually a romantic comedy trapped inside a political thriller, the new preview clip that was just released is all about politics.
The Ides of March opened the 68th Venice Film Festival on August 31st. Before you watch the clip, read Clooney's informative "Director's Statement" about the movie from the official film festival website in which he explains the origin of the movie and reveals a few details about the cast and the characters they play.
The Ides of March is a film adapted from the play Farragut North by Beau Willimon. After reading Beau’s play, Grant Heslov and I optioned it and fused our concept with his well-written piece. We were in pre-production in 2007 and moving towards starting filming when President Obama was elected. Suddenly a cynical film about politics seemed badly timed. Everyone was too optimistic. So we put the project on hold. It only took about a year before all the optimism evaporated and the timing seemed perfect. It’s not a film about politics. It’s a film about a young man who learns how to succeed at the highest level, and in turn all it costs him is his soul. It’s a morality tale that happens to take place in the world of politics. He could just as easily been a lawyer or an agent, but politics is just so much more fun.
The film is anchored by Ryan Gosling. I can’t think of a better actor to play this part and feel incredibly lucky that he agreed to do this. Philip Seymor Hoffman and Paul Giamatti play rival campaign managers. They’re two of the best actors in the business and have never been in a film together. They do a great job of putting Ryan’s character through the wringer. Evan Rachel Wood is the only actress I ever considered for the role of Molly. Lucky for us all she said yes. Marisa Tomei plays a Times reporter following the campaign. She’s great in everything she does and this role is no exception. She adds class to the whole project, as does Jeffrey Wright, who plays a Senator that everyone is chasing. I was lucky enough to work with Jeffrey many years ago and he elevates any project he’s in. I play a governor who is running for president. It’s the closest I’ll ever get to actually being in politics. This is a film that has been several years in the making. I couldn’t be more proud of all the people that helped make this picture. The creative team, the crew, the distributors all joined up and worked for virtually nothing because they believed in this project. I hope I didn’t let them down. I hope you enjoy the story.
Next Showing: The Ides of March opens Oct. 7