LOS ANGELES -- "Ocean's Eleven" -- 11 interviews? No, thankfully. The folks at Warner Bros., whose star-strewn new picture opens nationwide on Friday, avoided total chaos by choosing to trot out just four of the principals at any one time in a series of news conferences late last month.
The media blitz, which included producer Jerry Weintraub and director Steven Soderbergh, was tackled not with one-on-one interviews for the press and media but in a hotel suite on the 19th floor of the Century Plaza Hotel. About 50 reporters placed hand-held tape recorders on the coffee table in front of four upholstered chairs and waited for the stars to appear.
As these things go, delays are inevitable. But just 30 minutes after the official start time, George Clooney, Andy Garcia, Matt Damon and Weintraub took their places in the chairs on a slightly elevated platform.
Across the hall, Julia Roberts entered an identical room where a second contingent of reporters was ready for on-camera interviews. Joining Roberts were Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle and Soderbergh.
So, which room are you in? Prepare yourself for the good-natured banter of Clooney and Co., who over the long promotional weekend deftly fielded wide-ranging questions from interviewers the likes of Barbara Walters on up to your friendly Post-Gazette representative. Yes, up.
Sometimes, the stars talked about the movie, a remake of the splashy 1960 Rat Pack ego trip, also titled "Ocean's Eleven." Sometimes they talked about everything but the movie.
No matter. They never failed to entertain, as you're about to find out:
Clooney [addressing reporters]: Please be sensitive with Brad Pitt. He's a bit touchy about losing [People Magazine's] Sexiest Man Alive title. His crown was taken away from him, and he had to give up his sash and tiara. I didn't want to say this in front of him [looking at Matt Damon], but Matt really wanted it. Next year we're going to have a write-in ballot.
Damon: George does these practical jokes, and they're really extravagant, but one he tried and wasn't allowed to do.
Clooney: We were foiled.
Damon: He was foiled. He was going to take an ad out in Variety.
Clooney: Steven Soderbergh and I went to take an ad out ...
Damon: ... like they do for the Oscars -- "For your consideration." Only they wanted to say, "Matt Damon -- for your consideration for Sexiest Man Alive." They wanted to make it look like I paid for it! But Variety said, "No."
Clooney: I told them, "It's funny. It'll kill him."
"Oceans Eleven" is the first completed project involving Section Eight, the Clooney/Soderbergh production company. The film, however, was spearheaded by longtime producer and entertainment mogul Weintraub.
When a reporter from Canada asked Clooney if he thought this movie was "risky" as a first project, Weintraub couldn't contain himself.
Clooney: This is risky? The biggest stars in the world are in this movie. It's not risky.
Weintraub: You're outta your mind because it's over. [Meaning: It's a sure hit.]
Clooney: Any film is risky, but we read a great script and got the best director in town. There's no risk involved. The minute everyone heard Steven was involved, everyone said, "I'm in."
Garcia: Let's be practical. We get the opportunity to work in a film that's financed by Warner Bros., starring George, Brad, Julia, Matt, Carl Reiner and others, and it's produced by Jerry Weintraub. Or, we can go do a movie that's shot independently, with no distribution anywhere in the world. They get some guardian angel with money ...
Clooney: ... sucker ...
Garcia: ... to finance the movie. You make the movie for the love of the movie. Hopefully, people will react to it and buy it to distribute it. Now, that's risky. To think this movie is risky is ludicrous.
Weintraub [to reporter]: You're outta your [expletive] mind. [Laughter.] Sit in the back of the room and leave us alone. Next question.
Garcia [to Weintraub]: You've just guaranteed the worst review in Canada.
Weintraub: I don't give a [expletive]. You wanna talk risky? I got some movies for ya. You know what a home run is? This is a home run.
How did "Ocean's Eleven" get made?
Clooney: It was pretty easy. Jerry sent the script to Steven and me on Friday night, and we read it over the weekend. Steven's a film snob. He doesn't like very many things, so when he called and said, "I love it and I know how to do it," well, that was a really good thing. We sent over the script to Julia [Roberts] with a 20-dollar bill attached and said, "We hear you get $20 a picture." Within the first week we had Julia, Brad [Pitt] and Steven attached. It came down to everyone wanting to work with Steven.
Weintraub: I was being facetious before. There is a risk in every film. This is a crazy business. It's not really a business. We all take a blank canvas and start painting on it, and we hope by the end of the day it will be hanging on the wall and people will wanna look at it. But when you go in with this kind of cast, great actors that all wanted to work together, you get the feeling immediately that something special will happen.
Garcia: Jerry was able to solidify the crew at the Bellagio [in Las Vegas]. It's the most important casino in the world, and we got free access for the shoot. That was an extraordinary feat of producing.
Damon: Brad Pitt named Jerry the "Pope of Las Vegas."
Clooney: That's just 'cause he wears that hat.
The original "Ocean's Eleven" starred Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., all friends of Weintraub. Before he could respond to the question about what the original group would think of this production, Clooney jumped in.
Clooney [imitating Weintraub]: Ah Jesus, Frank would love it. He would love this film.
Weintraub: There it is.
Clooney: Actually, I want to hear this answer, and Jerry would know.
Weintraub: If Frank and Dean and Sammy were alive today, and I wish they were 'cause I miss them all, if they were alive ... they would have said to me, "You guys, you gotta write something in for us, 'cause these guys are great."
What are your thoughts on the original "Ocean's Eleven" movie?
Clooney: I've seen the movie a lot, and I'm a huge fan of the Rat Pack. I idolized them when I was younger so I'd watch the film no matter what.
Garcia: But they deserved a better film.
Clooney: They did. "Robin and the Seven Hoods" is a fantastic film, but I never thought of ["Ocean's Eleven"] as a classic. We're never gonna be as cool as those guys, but we have a better film. We've got a better script and a better director.
What's security like in the casino?
Garcia: It's enhanced for our movie. I haven't seen the actual casino system.
Weintraub: Ours is more high-tech and elaborate. They have a small area. We made our set more beautiful with a lot more movie magic. But they have the same "eyes in the sky" cameras and tunnels. They know everything that is going on at every minute, at every table.
Clooney: And in Jerry's bedroom.
Weintraub: Seriously, they have a count on every dealer and how much money is on every table, every five minutes. If anybody sees this movie and thinks they're going to Vegas and rob them, they're nuts. You're better off at Fort Knox.
Garcia: [The movie's] a great calling card for Las Vegas.
Clooney: We were going to entertain the press there but, you know, Sept. 11 changed a lot of that. There's a fine line -- we're going to sell a film that is going to do the right thing entertaining people. Accidentally, it's a good film to come out at this period in time. And we're going to do our jobs. The truth is that you have to be careful being too celebratory. It doesn't seem proper to do big things in Las Vegas right now. We're still going to do a premiere, but everything is toned down considerably. We're going to Turkey to do the international premiere.
Weintraub: Which is top secret.
Clooney: Oh yeah, for the soldiers. Don't tell anybody.
Rebecca Redshaw is a free-lance writer living in Southern California.
