The Circus is in town.
It's the awards season everywhere, and while it may not be as big a venue on the circuit as Hollywood or even London, the German capital Berlin does host its own film festival, the Berlinale, currently in its 66th iteration.
Every year, the event attracts a fair number of international movie stars, directors, and their entourages. The Famous and The Beautiful – two distinct groups of people with a cross-section that makes up the A-List – rub shoulders for two weeks, and at the end, a jury of their peers, nominated separately every year and in 2016 capably presided over by three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep, award the much-coveted trophy, the Goldener Bär (Golden Bear) for Best Film, and a number of Silver Bears in other categories to boot.
Why a bear? Well, the animal is in the crest of the city-state of Berlin and has become its mascot, not least for the marketing purposes of its tourism agency. And if you play around a little with its spelling, Berlin easily becomes Bärlin…
One of the super stars stopping by for a day to promote the entry in which he played, Hail, Caesar! (directed by brothers Ethan and Joel Coen) last week was no less than George Clooney.
Like many other people on this planet, each for their own different reasons, I like Mr Clooney as a film actor. Born in 1961, he is up there with the best of his time, certainly one of the most popular ones, and I have seen many of his movies.
I do have to state at the outset though that in my humble cinema-goer's opinion he and his contemporaries such as Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise (Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Leonardo DiCaprio are about ten years younger; Richard Gere, born 1949, somewhat older and uncomfortably in-between) are not quite in the same league as their counterparts of the previous generation, all Titans of The Silver Screen – Dustin Hoffman (born 1937), Robert De Niro (1943), and Al Pacino (1940). While Mr Hofmann's work of late I think has been less remarkable, check out The Intern and Joy for Mr De Niro, and Danny Collins for Mr Pacino (all released last year). Outstanding performances across the board.
George Clooney's filmography is as long as my arm, so maybe I'll just mention a few that I enjoyed particularly – and the Ocean's series (Ocean's Eleven, 2001; Ocean's Twelve, 2004; and Ocean's Thirteen, 2007) is out of scope as that would already take up three.
So here goes, in strictly chronological order:
Syriana (2005) – His portrayal of CIA field agent Bob Barnes won Clooney his only Oscar, in the category Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. If you were not suspicious of the "dirty politics of oil" in the Middle East before watching the film, you surely have been ever since…
Michael Clayton (2007) – This time, Clooney plays the title figure, a "fixer" in a big law firm brought in to manage a "situation" in the context of a major chemical company facing a class action suit. Believe me, it's a bad world out there. Clooney was nominated for the Oscar but didn't get it.
Up in the Air (2009) – In his role as Ryan Bingham, who works for Career Transition Counseling (CTC), a "downsizing" consultancy, Clooney's life consists of criss-crossing America with his roll-on bag and firing people in the most professional manner possible on his clients' premises. And he does get to land in all those fly-over states, too. His one big goal is to achieve ten million Frequent Flyer Miles with American Airlines… Again, nominated for an Oscar, and again, missed out. – This is probably my favourite, not least because of co-star Vera Farmiga.
Mr Clooney has also successfully tried his hand at directing, for example The Ides of March (2011), a grim morality tale about the dirty politics during a presidential election campaign. Great entertainment!
And, as a producer, he won the Academy Award for Best Picture for the political thriller, based on a true story, Argo in 2013. Remarkably, he is the only person who has been nominated for Academy Awards in six different categories. So much for his impressive credentials in the film industry.
Anyhow, before I come to the point of the Clooney story here, I do want to emphasise one category of films in which he has acted that maybe are his greatest achievements. In these, he (and the other stars) are cast "against type": Clooney is not the smooth, somewhat smug, but irresistibly sexy operator who has made selling FIAT cars, Martini vermouth, and instant coffee pods an art form in itself ("Nespresso. What else?"). In this part of his work, he basically plays bumbling idiots who couldn't operate an espresso machine if their lives depended on it – a predicament I share.
These films are all directed by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, and they are hilarious in a very intelligent, dark-humour, and cynical way:
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) – a 1930s Deep American South adaptation of Homer's Odyssey in which three escaped convicts hunt for a hidden treasure, relentlessly pursued by a non-forgiving lawman.
Burn After Reading (2008) – a wonderful persiflage of all things espionage, Washington DC, and CIA. It is definitely my favourite in this category, and the world owes it the poignant term "cluster fuck" for an operation that's really gone wrong.
Hail, Caesar! (2016) – a satirical take on the 1950's studio system in Hollywood, and to what great lengths producers and managers had to go to keep their stars in line. As such, it has elements of Argo in it, but I will say no more. We don't do spoilers.
Which brings us neatly back to Berlin and Clooney's appearance at the Berlinale last week.
Well, almost, because there is one film in his long career that I haven't touched on yet, but which is very topical to what is to follow: Batman & Robin of 1997, in which Clooney plays the title hero (of course), supported by Chris O'Donnell as Robin, and engaged in a life-or-death conflict with Mr Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman). As you would expect, nothing less than the future of civilisation hangs in the balance.
This film was directed by Joel Schumacher who had also made Batman Forever in 1995. This had in turn been preceded in 1989 by Batman (Director Tim Burton) which kicked off the "franchise" in modern Hollywood history. While different actors played Batman in each of them, the illustrious list of baddies is much more interesting – these roles really allowed for extravagant performances, comparable to the villains in the James Bond movies. Name three each.
But none of these Batman films, respectable efforts in and of themselves though they were, come anywhere close to what was to follow: Batman Begins (2005); The Dark Knight (2008); and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
These three films have at least two things in common: Christian Bale plays Bruce Wayne / Batman, and much more importantly, they are directed by Christopher Nolan. Together with his other works, they have made him one of the highest-grossing directors in movie history, and placed him among the most successful and acclaimed filmmakers of the 21st Century.
And before we come back to George Clooney and his whirlwind visit to Berlin last week (he has long left again anyway, so we won't miss anything by digressing) here's a true story I am proud to be able to tell:
Christopher Nolan was born in 1970 of a British father and an American mother – an air hostess by the way, feeding the cliché of many male frequent travellers as they ponder over the question, "Coffee or Tea?" I faintly remember a long-ago novel, an airport book in the true sense of the word, with the suggestive title, Coffee, Tea, or Me? This obviously predates The Age of Political Correctness and does huge injustice to all air hosts / hostesses; stewards and stewardesses; or flight attendants for the Americans, whose job surely cannot be an easy one. On the other hand, they do get around of course – remember Up in The Air?
Nolan grew up in England (his brother Nicholas, who co-writes his movies, in the U.S., just for good measure) and attended the University College London (UCL) where he studied English Literature. Actually, he chose this school at least as much for its great film-making facilities as this was his calling from earliest days.
In 1998 Nolan directed his first feature, Following which he personally funded and filmed with friends. His first success was Memento in 2000, where the plot is brilliantly told backwards in chronology, a cult film if ever there was one.
Nolan later recalled: ""[The] difference between shooting Following with a group of friends wearing our own clothes and my mum making sandwiches to spending $4 million of somebody else's money on Memento and having a crew of a hundred people is, to this day, by far the biggest leap I've ever made."
Next came Insomnia (2002) with Al Pacino (!) as a Los Angeles homicide detective trying to solve a murder case in Alaska in summer, where the sun never sets. Sleepless days, as it were.
Nolan's commercial breakthrough came in 2005 when the first film of what is now called The Batman Trilogy was released, Batman Begins. It was, as already mentioned, followed by The Dark Knight (2008), and finally by The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
In-between these blockbusters, which revived a somewhat tired franchise, re-defined the genre of action movies, and gave a whole new cinematographic dimension to graphic novel hero story adaptations, Nolan directed Prestige (2006) about two rival magicians of the 19th Century as well as the, quite literally, mind-blowing Inception (2010) which won four Oscars. His latest work, Interstellar (2014) "only" won one for Best Achievement in Visual Effects, but it popularised space travel and astrophysics like no other work of fiction before – everybody was talking about "wormholes".
While you will hopefully find all this information interesting, you will possibly also wonder where I am going with it. Well, here comes the punch line – eventually.
After graduating from UCL in 1993, Christopher Nolan stayed in London for another few years, trying to establish himself as a film maker.
And that's where I come into the picture - both still and moving!
At that time, I was building a comprehensive media training program for my then employer and had found a very good London-based media trainer, Kevin Isherwood, to do it with. On one of my first visits to his premises in Central London, he introduced me to his camera man:
"This is Chris."
You will have guessed by now. In order to make a living while pursuing his dream of making movies, Christopher Nolan worked as a freelance associate for the media trainer I had chosen. In the words of the Wikipedia entry on him: "Meanwhile he earned a living by producing corporate training videos."
I still remember him vividly. A very nice guy, low-key, obviously a great professional, and endowed with a good sense of humour, which he needed given all the preposterous stuff he had to film and edit.
But honestly, who would have thought.
One day a few years later, when I turned up for yet another session with some managers of my company, Kevin the media trainer mentioned in passing: "Oh, by the way, you will have to get used to working with a new camera man. Chris has left." When I asked him about Nolan's whereabouts, my friend (which he had become over the years) just said: "He's gone to the States and is trying to make it as a film director there. I wish him luck."
And that was that.
In the summer of 2010, my son and I, separately and unbeknownst to each other, went to watch Inception on the same day - he in Washington DC and I in Geneva, Switzerland. The next day, we spoke on the phone and found that coincidence very funny. We were also both absolutely bowled over by the film. If you haven't seen it yet, you must do so!
Ever keen to impress my kids, but of course especially my son, I told him the story of my connection with Christopher Nolan. And impressed he was, which he will rarely admit to being when I expose him to one of my "wartime stories".
But that didn't prevent him from challenging me. So he asked the obvious question: "Would Nolan still know you? Would he take your call if you had his number in Hollywood?"
And I said, "Yes, I think so. After all, we worked together quite frequently over a number of years, and we developed a good relationship over the course of many funny training sessions."
Admittedly, they did not always feel quite so hilarious to the trainees in real time, but let me assure you it was all taken in a very good spirit, and we unfailingly ended up laughing together when reviewing the interviews on tape.
So here is the question again: Would Christopher Nolan still remember me? And would he speak to me on the telephone if I were to contact him? To wit, he is a megastar, one of the hottest directors in the world. But the way I recall him, I still think, yes he would.
The good thing is of course that it will never be put to the test. So, I'm sure my son thinks, "Let Dad dream on."
But regardless, there is one thing no-one can ever take away from me – my collection of edited video highlights of those media training sessions. "Early Nolans", to use the language of fine art.
I only wish I could say I discovered Christopher Nolan, this titan of film-making, and recognized his creative genius before anybody else. But, sadly, I didn't. For you to judge how that reflects on me.
So I will never be the Leo Castelli to his Roy Lichtenstein.
But then, Decca Records famously turned down The Beatles because, as their manager Brian Epstein was told, "Guitar groups are on their way out."
I find it very comforting to know that, in the end, Quality will always prevail. And Genius triumph.
So now you will understand why, of all the graphic-novel based, super-hero movie franchises out there – Spider-Man, Superman, Batman – I have always rooted for the last.
Meanwhile, back in Berlin, one-time Batman actor George Clooney had a remarkable public appearance far away from the red carpet and far beyond the Berlinale screening of Hail, Caesar!
This was linked to another side of his life which we haven't touched upon yet – his engagement for many worthy causes that has earned him the honorary title of "political activist". In his unrelenting efforts to leverage his fame as a film star to addressing the wrongs of this world his repertoire is quite far and wide, some might say eclectic, having included in the past the resolution of the Darfur conflict, dealing with the aftermath of the 2012 Haiti earthquake, achieving the worldwide recognition of the Armenian genocide of 1915 onwards, handling the humanitarian consequences of the 2004 Tsunami, and supporting the victims of 9/11.
And of course in September 2014 he married one Amal Alamuddin, a British-Lebanese "human rights lawyer", in one of the most lavish, extravagant, and media-attention seeking weddings ever, carefully staged in Venice, Italy. For days, much to the dismay of its residents, my eldest daughter included, the Lagoon City, not easy to navigate at the best of times, was basically shut down.
In her day job, Ms Alamuddin, who nowadays goes by the name of Mrs Clooney (brand recognition), is a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London. In this capacity, and since getting married, she has recently had a couple of high-profile public appearances, both of which in the end didn't pan out all that well.
In October 2014, Amal Clooney became involved in the repatriation of ancient Greek sculptures called the Elgin Marbles which have been part of the collection of the British Museum since 1816. I'm not so clear on what all this has to do with human rights or who actually retained her legal services, but if it was the Government of Greece, it was a case of Love's Labour Lost – in May 2015, Greece decided to stop legal proceedings to recover the sculptures, having no doubt recognised they had more imminent issues to attend to.
And then, much more recently, Mrs Clooney had her fifteen minutes of fame outside her marriage in the context of representing her client Julian Assange.
Julian Who? Well, don't get me started. He is the founder of WikiLeaks and since August 2012 has been holed up in the UK embassy of Ecuador – a beacon of political democracy, personal liberty, and freedom of speech – that granted him "political asylum" to protect him from extradition to Sweden where he is wanted for, well, rape. If ever there was a monument to Grievance and Entitlement, this is he.
So anyhow, on 5 February, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), an obscure UN panel of equally unknown human rights lawyers issued a non-binding legal opinion that stated Assange had been subjected to arbitrary detention and should be free to leave the Embassy without being arrested; even better, that he was additionally entitled to compensation payment for the wrong he had endured.
The pictures of Mr Assange grand-standing on the tiny balcony of the Embassy building at 3 Hans Crescent in Knightsbridge, holding aloft an impressive tome with the well-known UN crest on its cover page that contained the "ruling", made for great TV. In parallel, Mrs Clooney did her best to explain to cameras the eminent nature of the lawyers' panel, all of whom she claimed to know well, and the finality of its "verdict".
Well, thankfully, their findings were rejected by both UK and Swedish prosecutors as well as UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Philip Hammond who considered them interesting but not relevant, and far from compelling.
But all of the above were a mere prelude to the appearance George and Amal enjoyed in Berlin on Friday 12 February, when they visited Dr Angela Merkel in the German Chancellor's office. It doesn't get much bigger.
Meet the Clooneys, Frau Bundeskanzlerin.
And what, pray, could they be talking to her about? Well, of course the refugee crisis in Europe and, specifically, in Germany that has by now taken in far more than 1 million displaced people.
In the words of Mr Clooney: "I am here to speak with Dr Merkel to see what I can do, what Hollywood can do to help."
Seriously?
I can just imagine the scene on Monday 8 February when Dr Merkel will have gone through her agenda for the week with her team. She may have said, "And on Friday, I am speaking to Mr Obama, right?" To which her staffers will have replied, "Well, Frau Bundeskanzlerin, sorry, but we have had to move the President as this was the only slot Mr and Mrs Clooney could free up in their busy schedule."
Fast-forward to Friday evening. Dr Angela Merkel (PhD in Physics), having in the meantime benefitted from the Clooneys' advice, stopped on her way home at the local supermarket as she will to shop for dinner and a couple of good bottles of red wine, is standing at the stove in the small kitchen of her modest apartment, cooking as she will for herself and her husband, Dr Joachim Sauer, Professor of Quantum Chemistry and every year rumoured to be a candidate for the Nobel Prize, and says to him: "Joachim, you will never guess who came by at the office earlier today. Such a nice couple…"
And I'm sure she slept much better that night, less so because of the red wine, but finally equipped with a plan about what to do and secure in the knowledge of having gained such capable allies.
I'm searching for an analogy, but I'm finding it very difficult. So let's try this:
In the upcoming football European Championships to be played in France, the local team (against all expectations of course) has got off to a rocky start and is struggling to complete the tournament successfully. I happen to be on a business trip to Paris and generously offer my advice to Didier Deschamps, their Manager: "I'm here to ask what I can do, how my expertise can help."
Now, I do think I know a lot about football, I've played it for many years (not so successfully) and I've coached it (slightly more successfully). But I doubt anything I could contribute would make a hoot of difference to the fate of the French team and the professional future of its boss. It would be a frightening thought if it did…
From the myriads of headlines and media pieces reporting on the Clooneys' visit, this sums it all up:
"George Clooney And Wife Amal Alamuddin Change The World Amidst Divorce Rumors, Angelina Jolie Feud
"George Clooney and wife Amal Alamuddin are determined to effect positive changes in this world. According to news reports, the A-list couple has recently taken the challenge of alleviating the refugee crisis in Europe.
"Both the actor and the barrister met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently to discuss how they can provide help to people affected by the civil war in the Middle East…
"This was definitely a noble act from George and wife Amal. The couple proved that there are far more important things in the world that needs immediate attention than the nasty rumours constantly thrown at them.
"It was previously speculated that the newlyweds are having marriage troubles and could possibly divorce sooner than expected. Other rumours claimed that Amal disliked George's friends, not to mention that she reportedly has an ongoing feud with actress Angelina Jolie."
http://www.jobsnhire.com/articles/35021/20160212/george-clooney-and-wife-amal-alamuddin.htm
You couldn't make it up. What do you think – is the irony intentional?
So, Mr and Mrs Clooney, I salute your continued willingness to contribute your fame to good causes, if only to draw the world's attention to problems that may or may not receive enough of it. But surely, this cannot be said of the current refugee crisis in Europe, and to assume there was anything you could add that Dr Merkel and the elected heads of Government and State in that part of the world had not already thought of and were working on is just that – assuming.
George, this is Berlin, not Gotham City. And Batman was just a role you played twenty years ago. Don't re-enact it in real life. Don't be Clooney-Man. Please leave it to others to save the world.
Maybe you should look into this instead: There is a wonderful institution – the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors and Advocates, first pioneered by Hollywood actor Danny Kaye in 1954, and then taken on by Audrey Hepburn and many, many others since: http://www.unicef.org/people/people_ambassadors.html
These celebrities do great work in highlighting the problems in many parts of the world, in the case of UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) focussed on the fate of children of course (and what better cause could there be). The organisation's mission is simply:
"UNICEF works for a world in which every child has a fair chance in life. UNICEF believes: All children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfil their potential - to the benefit of a better world."
And naturally, among the refugees trekking across Europe to the safe haven Germany, the most vulnerable are children.
UNICEF Ambassadors tend not to lounge on elected politicians' sofas, stealing their time for a good photo and TV opp. If anything, they can be seen somewhere in the desert, symbolically pumping the first water from a well that will change the lives of people for many miles around, having lent their names to appeals for donations.
I really believe that having achieved something in a totally unrelated field, especially when it's in the entertainment business – and this is more than just an oblique reference to Bob Geldof (I used to be a fan – remember "I Don't Like Mondays"? – but no longer) and Bono (never) – does not mean you can lecture those whose job it is to address the world's problems, and who have the democratic legitimacy to do so, and the burden that comes with it. We can only hope the right people run for public office so there's enough quality to choose from. Sadly, I'm not so sure.
And no, I am not going to go into the U.S. Presidential election now. But tell me, what is Donald "The Donald" Trump's claim to fame again that would remotely qualify him to end up in The White House, overseeing "The Free World"? And Dr Ben Carson, the neuro-surgeon also unexpectedly turned candidate for the Republican Party?
That said, at least they are running for elected office. Ronald Reagan, a Hollywood actor, after all became a successful President – primarily because he knew to surround himself with good, experienced people. But like him, seeking a role at State level might be a good start in terms of training on the job, instead of immediately gunning for POTUS. It's just that celebrities who feel entitled to the ear of government in order to signal their own virtue have not only never done much good, in spite of their claims to the contrary, they also annoy the hell out of me
Mr Clooney is a gifted (I hesitate to say, great) movie actor and adept at the not-so-subtle art of self-promotion. He is also very good at selling various consumer products, both fast-moving and not. Mrs Clooney's credentials as "Human Rights Lawyer" I can't really judge, but her track record so far is somewhat underwhelming. So let them get on with their jobs in their chosen fields of professional activity. Let them also do good by lending their popularity to worthy causes that may or may not lack advocates. Let them by all means enjoy a long and happy marriage. And wouldn't it be nice if Amal and Angelina were to become friends after all.
But please let them not for one moment believe there was anything they could do or say that would give Angela Merkel less sleepless nights right now.
And speaking of doing what you do best – in December 2015, it was announced that Christopher Nolan would direct and produce a film based on World War II, titled Dunkirk. Its release is scheduled for 21 July 2017. Watch this space! I can't wait.
Every year, the event attracts a fair number of international movie stars, directors, and their entourages. The Famous and The Beautiful – two distinct groups of people with a cross-section that makes up the A-List – rub shoulders for two weeks, and at the end, a jury of their peers, nominated separately every year and in 2016 capably presided over by three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep, award the much-coveted trophy, the Goldener Bär (Golden Bear) for Best Film, and a number of Silver Bears in other categories to boot.
Why a bear? Well, the animal is in the crest of the city-state of Berlin and has become its mascot, not least for the marketing purposes of its tourism agency. And if you play around a little with its spelling, Berlin easily becomes Bärlin…
One of the super stars stopping by for a day to promote the entry in which he played, Hail, Caesar! (directed by brothers Ethan and Joel Coen) last week was no less than George Clooney.
Like many other people on this planet, each for their own different reasons, I like Mr Clooney as a film actor. Born in 1961, he is up there with the best of his time, certainly one of the most popular ones, and I have seen many of his movies.
I do have to state at the outset though that in my humble cinema-goer's opinion he and his contemporaries such as Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise (Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Leonardo DiCaprio are about ten years younger; Richard Gere, born 1949, somewhat older and uncomfortably in-between) are not quite in the same league as their counterparts of the previous generation, all Titans of The Silver Screen – Dustin Hoffman (born 1937), Robert De Niro (1943), and Al Pacino (1940). While Mr Hofmann's work of late I think has been less remarkable, check out The Intern and Joy for Mr De Niro, and Danny Collins for Mr Pacino (all released last year). Outstanding performances across the board.
George Clooney's filmography is as long as my arm, so maybe I'll just mention a few that I enjoyed particularly – and the Ocean's series (Ocean's Eleven, 2001; Ocean's Twelve, 2004; and Ocean's Thirteen, 2007) is out of scope as that would already take up three.
So here goes, in strictly chronological order:
Syriana (2005) – His portrayal of CIA field agent Bob Barnes won Clooney his only Oscar, in the category Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. If you were not suspicious of the "dirty politics of oil" in the Middle East before watching the film, you surely have been ever since…
Michael Clayton (2007) – This time, Clooney plays the title figure, a "fixer" in a big law firm brought in to manage a "situation" in the context of a major chemical company facing a class action suit. Believe me, it's a bad world out there. Clooney was nominated for the Oscar but didn't get it.
Up in the Air (2009) – In his role as Ryan Bingham, who works for Career Transition Counseling (CTC), a "downsizing" consultancy, Clooney's life consists of criss-crossing America with his roll-on bag and firing people in the most professional manner possible on his clients' premises. And he does get to land in all those fly-over states, too. His one big goal is to achieve ten million Frequent Flyer Miles with American Airlines… Again, nominated for an Oscar, and again, missed out. – This is probably my favourite, not least because of co-star Vera Farmiga.
Mr Clooney has also successfully tried his hand at directing, for example The Ides of March (2011), a grim morality tale about the dirty politics during a presidential election campaign. Great entertainment!
And, as a producer, he won the Academy Award for Best Picture for the political thriller, based on a true story, Argo in 2013. Remarkably, he is the only person who has been nominated for Academy Awards in six different categories. So much for his impressive credentials in the film industry.
Anyhow, before I come to the point of the Clooney story here, I do want to emphasise one category of films in which he has acted that maybe are his greatest achievements. In these, he (and the other stars) are cast "against type": Clooney is not the smooth, somewhat smug, but irresistibly sexy operator who has made selling FIAT cars, Martini vermouth, and instant coffee pods an art form in itself ("Nespresso. What else?"). In this part of his work, he basically plays bumbling idiots who couldn't operate an espresso machine if their lives depended on it – a predicament I share.
These films are all directed by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, and they are hilarious in a very intelligent, dark-humour, and cynical way:
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) – a 1930s Deep American South adaptation of Homer's Odyssey in which three escaped convicts hunt for a hidden treasure, relentlessly pursued by a non-forgiving lawman.
Burn After Reading (2008) – a wonderful persiflage of all things espionage, Washington DC, and CIA. It is definitely my favourite in this category, and the world owes it the poignant term "cluster fuck" for an operation that's really gone wrong.
Hail, Caesar! (2016) – a satirical take on the 1950's studio system in Hollywood, and to what great lengths producers and managers had to go to keep their stars in line. As such, it has elements of Argo in it, but I will say no more. We don't do spoilers.
Which brings us neatly back to Berlin and Clooney's appearance at the Berlinale last week.
Well, almost, because there is one film in his long career that I haven't touched on yet, but which is very topical to what is to follow: Batman & Robin of 1997, in which Clooney plays the title hero (of course), supported by Chris O'Donnell as Robin, and engaged in a life-or-death conflict with Mr Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman). As you would expect, nothing less than the future of civilisation hangs in the balance.
This film was directed by Joel Schumacher who had also made Batman Forever in 1995. This had in turn been preceded in 1989 by Batman (Director Tim Burton) which kicked off the "franchise" in modern Hollywood history. While different actors played Batman in each of them, the illustrious list of baddies is much more interesting – these roles really allowed for extravagant performances, comparable to the villains in the James Bond movies. Name three each.
But none of these Batman films, respectable efforts in and of themselves though they were, come anywhere close to what was to follow: Batman Begins (2005); The Dark Knight (2008); and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
These three films have at least two things in common: Christian Bale plays Bruce Wayne / Batman, and much more importantly, they are directed by Christopher Nolan. Together with his other works, they have made him one of the highest-grossing directors in movie history, and placed him among the most successful and acclaimed filmmakers of the 21st Century.
And before we come back to George Clooney and his whirlwind visit to Berlin last week (he has long left again anyway, so we won't miss anything by digressing) here's a true story I am proud to be able to tell:
Christopher Nolan was born in 1970 of a British father and an American mother – an air hostess by the way, feeding the cliché of many male frequent travellers as they ponder over the question, "Coffee or Tea?" I faintly remember a long-ago novel, an airport book in the true sense of the word, with the suggestive title, Coffee, Tea, or Me? This obviously predates The Age of Political Correctness and does huge injustice to all air hosts / hostesses; stewards and stewardesses; or flight attendants for the Americans, whose job surely cannot be an easy one. On the other hand, they do get around of course – remember Up in The Air?
Nolan grew up in England (his brother Nicholas, who co-writes his movies, in the U.S., just for good measure) and attended the University College London (UCL) where he studied English Literature. Actually, he chose this school at least as much for its great film-making facilities as this was his calling from earliest days.
In 1998 Nolan directed his first feature, Following which he personally funded and filmed with friends. His first success was Memento in 2000, where the plot is brilliantly told backwards in chronology, a cult film if ever there was one.
Nolan later recalled: ""[The] difference between shooting Following with a group of friends wearing our own clothes and my mum making sandwiches to spending $4 million of somebody else's money on Memento and having a crew of a hundred people is, to this day, by far the biggest leap I've ever made."
Next came Insomnia (2002) with Al Pacino (!) as a Los Angeles homicide detective trying to solve a murder case in Alaska in summer, where the sun never sets. Sleepless days, as it were.
Nolan's commercial breakthrough came in 2005 when the first film of what is now called The Batman Trilogy was released, Batman Begins. It was, as already mentioned, followed by The Dark Knight (2008), and finally by The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
In-between these blockbusters, which revived a somewhat tired franchise, re-defined the genre of action movies, and gave a whole new cinematographic dimension to graphic novel hero story adaptations, Nolan directed Prestige (2006) about two rival magicians of the 19th Century as well as the, quite literally, mind-blowing Inception (2010) which won four Oscars. His latest work, Interstellar (2014) "only" won one for Best Achievement in Visual Effects, but it popularised space travel and astrophysics like no other work of fiction before – everybody was talking about "wormholes".
While you will hopefully find all this information interesting, you will possibly also wonder where I am going with it. Well, here comes the punch line – eventually.
After graduating from UCL in 1993, Christopher Nolan stayed in London for another few years, trying to establish himself as a film maker.
And that's where I come into the picture - both still and moving!
At that time, I was building a comprehensive media training program for my then employer and had found a very good London-based media trainer, Kevin Isherwood, to do it with. On one of my first visits to his premises in Central London, he introduced me to his camera man:
"This is Chris."
You will have guessed by now. In order to make a living while pursuing his dream of making movies, Christopher Nolan worked as a freelance associate for the media trainer I had chosen. In the words of the Wikipedia entry on him: "Meanwhile he earned a living by producing corporate training videos."
I still remember him vividly. A very nice guy, low-key, obviously a great professional, and endowed with a good sense of humour, which he needed given all the preposterous stuff he had to film and edit.
But honestly, who would have thought.
One day a few years later, when I turned up for yet another session with some managers of my company, Kevin the media trainer mentioned in passing: "Oh, by the way, you will have to get used to working with a new camera man. Chris has left." When I asked him about Nolan's whereabouts, my friend (which he had become over the years) just said: "He's gone to the States and is trying to make it as a film director there. I wish him luck."
And that was that.
In the summer of 2010, my son and I, separately and unbeknownst to each other, went to watch Inception on the same day - he in Washington DC and I in Geneva, Switzerland. The next day, we spoke on the phone and found that coincidence very funny. We were also both absolutely bowled over by the film. If you haven't seen it yet, you must do so!
Ever keen to impress my kids, but of course especially my son, I told him the story of my connection with Christopher Nolan. And impressed he was, which he will rarely admit to being when I expose him to one of my "wartime stories".
But that didn't prevent him from challenging me. So he asked the obvious question: "Would Nolan still know you? Would he take your call if you had his number in Hollywood?"
And I said, "Yes, I think so. After all, we worked together quite frequently over a number of years, and we developed a good relationship over the course of many funny training sessions."
Admittedly, they did not always feel quite so hilarious to the trainees in real time, but let me assure you it was all taken in a very good spirit, and we unfailingly ended up laughing together when reviewing the interviews on tape.
So here is the question again: Would Christopher Nolan still remember me? And would he speak to me on the telephone if I were to contact him? To wit, he is a megastar, one of the hottest directors in the world. But the way I recall him, I still think, yes he would.
The good thing is of course that it will never be put to the test. So, I'm sure my son thinks, "Let Dad dream on."
But regardless, there is one thing no-one can ever take away from me – my collection of edited video highlights of those media training sessions. "Early Nolans", to use the language of fine art.
I only wish I could say I discovered Christopher Nolan, this titan of film-making, and recognized his creative genius before anybody else. But, sadly, I didn't. For you to judge how that reflects on me.
So I will never be the Leo Castelli to his Roy Lichtenstein.
But then, Decca Records famously turned down The Beatles because, as their manager Brian Epstein was told, "Guitar groups are on their way out."
I find it very comforting to know that, in the end, Quality will always prevail. And Genius triumph.
So now you will understand why, of all the graphic-novel based, super-hero movie franchises out there – Spider-Man, Superman, Batman – I have always rooted for the last.
Meanwhile, back in Berlin, one-time Batman actor George Clooney had a remarkable public appearance far away from the red carpet and far beyond the Berlinale screening of Hail, Caesar!
This was linked to another side of his life which we haven't touched upon yet – his engagement for many worthy causes that has earned him the honorary title of "political activist". In his unrelenting efforts to leverage his fame as a film star to addressing the wrongs of this world his repertoire is quite far and wide, some might say eclectic, having included in the past the resolution of the Darfur conflict, dealing with the aftermath of the 2012 Haiti earthquake, achieving the worldwide recognition of the Armenian genocide of 1915 onwards, handling the humanitarian consequences of the 2004 Tsunami, and supporting the victims of 9/11.
And of course in September 2014 he married one Amal Alamuddin, a British-Lebanese "human rights lawyer", in one of the most lavish, extravagant, and media-attention seeking weddings ever, carefully staged in Venice, Italy. For days, much to the dismay of its residents, my eldest daughter included, the Lagoon City, not easy to navigate at the best of times, was basically shut down.
In her day job, Ms Alamuddin, who nowadays goes by the name of Mrs Clooney (brand recognition), is a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London. In this capacity, and since getting married, she has recently had a couple of high-profile public appearances, both of which in the end didn't pan out all that well.
In October 2014, Amal Clooney became involved in the repatriation of ancient Greek sculptures called the Elgin Marbles which have been part of the collection of the British Museum since 1816. I'm not so clear on what all this has to do with human rights or who actually retained her legal services, but if it was the Government of Greece, it was a case of Love's Labour Lost – in May 2015, Greece decided to stop legal proceedings to recover the sculptures, having no doubt recognised they had more imminent issues to attend to.
And then, much more recently, Mrs Clooney had her fifteen minutes of fame outside her marriage in the context of representing her client Julian Assange.
Julian Who? Well, don't get me started. He is the founder of WikiLeaks and since August 2012 has been holed up in the UK embassy of Ecuador – a beacon of political democracy, personal liberty, and freedom of speech – that granted him "political asylum" to protect him from extradition to Sweden where he is wanted for, well, rape. If ever there was a monument to Grievance and Entitlement, this is he.
So anyhow, on 5 February, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), an obscure UN panel of equally unknown human rights lawyers issued a non-binding legal opinion that stated Assange had been subjected to arbitrary detention and should be free to leave the Embassy without being arrested; even better, that he was additionally entitled to compensation payment for the wrong he had endured.
The pictures of Mr Assange grand-standing on the tiny balcony of the Embassy building at 3 Hans Crescent in Knightsbridge, holding aloft an impressive tome with the well-known UN crest on its cover page that contained the "ruling", made for great TV. In parallel, Mrs Clooney did her best to explain to cameras the eminent nature of the lawyers' panel, all of whom she claimed to know well, and the finality of its "verdict".
Well, thankfully, their findings were rejected by both UK and Swedish prosecutors as well as UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Philip Hammond who considered them interesting but not relevant, and far from compelling.
But all of the above were a mere prelude to the appearance George and Amal enjoyed in Berlin on Friday 12 February, when they visited Dr Angela Merkel in the German Chancellor's office. It doesn't get much bigger.
Meet the Clooneys, Frau Bundeskanzlerin.
And what, pray, could they be talking to her about? Well, of course the refugee crisis in Europe and, specifically, in Germany that has by now taken in far more than 1 million displaced people.
In the words of Mr Clooney: "I am here to speak with Dr Merkel to see what I can do, what Hollywood can do to help."
Seriously?
I can just imagine the scene on Monday 8 February when Dr Merkel will have gone through her agenda for the week with her team. She may have said, "And on Friday, I am speaking to Mr Obama, right?" To which her staffers will have replied, "Well, Frau Bundeskanzlerin, sorry, but we have had to move the President as this was the only slot Mr and Mrs Clooney could free up in their busy schedule."
Fast-forward to Friday evening. Dr Angela Merkel (PhD in Physics), having in the meantime benefitted from the Clooneys' advice, stopped on her way home at the local supermarket as she will to shop for dinner and a couple of good bottles of red wine, is standing at the stove in the small kitchen of her modest apartment, cooking as she will for herself and her husband, Dr Joachim Sauer, Professor of Quantum Chemistry and every year rumoured to be a candidate for the Nobel Prize, and says to him: "Joachim, you will never guess who came by at the office earlier today. Such a nice couple…"
And I'm sure she slept much better that night, less so because of the red wine, but finally equipped with a plan about what to do and secure in the knowledge of having gained such capable allies.
I'm searching for an analogy, but I'm finding it very difficult. So let's try this:
In the upcoming football European Championships to be played in France, the local team (against all expectations of course) has got off to a rocky start and is struggling to complete the tournament successfully. I happen to be on a business trip to Paris and generously offer my advice to Didier Deschamps, their Manager: "I'm here to ask what I can do, how my expertise can help."
Now, I do think I know a lot about football, I've played it for many years (not so successfully) and I've coached it (slightly more successfully). But I doubt anything I could contribute would make a hoot of difference to the fate of the French team and the professional future of its boss. It would be a frightening thought if it did…
From the myriads of headlines and media pieces reporting on the Clooneys' visit, this sums it all up:
"George Clooney And Wife Amal Alamuddin Change The World Amidst Divorce Rumors, Angelina Jolie Feud
"George Clooney and wife Amal Alamuddin are determined to effect positive changes in this world. According to news reports, the A-list couple has recently taken the challenge of alleviating the refugee crisis in Europe.
"Both the actor and the barrister met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently to discuss how they can provide help to people affected by the civil war in the Middle East…
"This was definitely a noble act from George and wife Amal. The couple proved that there are far more important things in the world that needs immediate attention than the nasty rumours constantly thrown at them.
"It was previously speculated that the newlyweds are having marriage troubles and could possibly divorce sooner than expected. Other rumours claimed that Amal disliked George's friends, not to mention that she reportedly has an ongoing feud with actress Angelina Jolie."
http://www.jobsnhire.com/articles/35021/20160212/george-clooney-and-wife-amal-alamuddin.htm
You couldn't make it up. What do you think – is the irony intentional?
So, Mr and Mrs Clooney, I salute your continued willingness to contribute your fame to good causes, if only to draw the world's attention to problems that may or may not receive enough of it. But surely, this cannot be said of the current refugee crisis in Europe, and to assume there was anything you could add that Dr Merkel and the elected heads of Government and State in that part of the world had not already thought of and were working on is just that – assuming.
George, this is Berlin, not Gotham City. And Batman was just a role you played twenty years ago. Don't re-enact it in real life. Don't be Clooney-Man. Please leave it to others to save the world.
Maybe you should look into this instead: There is a wonderful institution – the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors and Advocates, first pioneered by Hollywood actor Danny Kaye in 1954, and then taken on by Audrey Hepburn and many, many others since: http://www.unicef.org/people/people_ambassadors.html
These celebrities do great work in highlighting the problems in many parts of the world, in the case of UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) focussed on the fate of children of course (and what better cause could there be). The organisation's mission is simply:
"UNICEF works for a world in which every child has a fair chance in life. UNICEF believes: All children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfil their potential - to the benefit of a better world."
And naturally, among the refugees trekking across Europe to the safe haven Germany, the most vulnerable are children.
UNICEF Ambassadors tend not to lounge on elected politicians' sofas, stealing their time for a good photo and TV opp. If anything, they can be seen somewhere in the desert, symbolically pumping the first water from a well that will change the lives of people for many miles around, having lent their names to appeals for donations.
I really believe that having achieved something in a totally unrelated field, especially when it's in the entertainment business – and this is more than just an oblique reference to Bob Geldof (I used to be a fan – remember "I Don't Like Mondays"? – but no longer) and Bono (never) – does not mean you can lecture those whose job it is to address the world's problems, and who have the democratic legitimacy to do so, and the burden that comes with it. We can only hope the right people run for public office so there's enough quality to choose from. Sadly, I'm not so sure.
And no, I am not going to go into the U.S. Presidential election now. But tell me, what is Donald "The Donald" Trump's claim to fame again that would remotely qualify him to end up in The White House, overseeing "The Free World"? And Dr Ben Carson, the neuro-surgeon also unexpectedly turned candidate for the Republican Party?
That said, at least they are running for elected office. Ronald Reagan, a Hollywood actor, after all became a successful President – primarily because he knew to surround himself with good, experienced people. But like him, seeking a role at State level might be a good start in terms of training on the job, instead of immediately gunning for POTUS. It's just that celebrities who feel entitled to the ear of government in order to signal their own virtue have not only never done much good, in spite of their claims to the contrary, they also annoy the hell out of me
Mr Clooney is a gifted (I hesitate to say, great) movie actor and adept at the not-so-subtle art of self-promotion. He is also very good at selling various consumer products, both fast-moving and not. Mrs Clooney's credentials as "Human Rights Lawyer" I can't really judge, but her track record so far is somewhat underwhelming. So let them get on with their jobs in their chosen fields of professional activity. Let them also do good by lending their popularity to worthy causes that may or may not lack advocates. Let them by all means enjoy a long and happy marriage. And wouldn't it be nice if Amal and Angelina were to become friends after all.
But please let them not for one moment believe there was anything they could do or say that would give Angela Merkel less sleepless nights right now.
And speaking of doing what you do best – in December 2015, it was announced that Christopher Nolan would direct and produce a film based on World War II, titled Dunkirk. Its release is scheduled for 21 July 2017. Watch this space! I can't wait.
