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Similarly, Richard Dyer has observed that what is particularly interesting about stars in not simply their creation of characters on screen but their creation of characters on screen but the very ‘business of constructing/performing/being’ (Dyer, 1979, p. 20) - 123

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Martin Shingler 'Star Identities' (from Star Studies - A Critical Guide) COMM303(1)

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*NEW* Nespresso George Clooney Commercial

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George Clooney say F Off to coffee critics 

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George Clooney say F Off to coffee critics 

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2012

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Nespresso
According to George Clooney, even Academy Award nominees need a day job. For him, it's doing high-paid coffee commercials overseas.

During Newsweek's 2012 Oscar Roundtable, Clooney discussed his career choices:

I'm trying to make movies in my life, and particularly in the position I'm in, that last longer than opening weekend. That's it, that's my whole goal. I don't have to make money, I do films for scale and then you know, I go do coffee commercials overseas and I make a lot of money doing those, so I get to live in a nice house.

Nice house? Mansion on Lake Como? Potato, pot-ah-to.

But question Clooney about pimping himself to Swiss coffee makers,* and you and the former Batman are going to have some issues.

"I don't give a shit," Clooney continued (as a nearby Charlize Theron smiled uncomfortably). "And people will go, 'Oh, that's a sellout!' You know what? Fuck you!"

At least Clooney is comfortable with his many career endeavors, unlike other actors who go abroad to shill products to an overseas audience.

Celebrities have traditionally flocked to Asian countries to shoot high paid ( and often highly embarrassing) commercials. In an attempt to keep this part of their career a secret from American audiences, it is not uncommon for celebrities to enforce a "secrecy clause" which bars advertisers from disclosing sponsorship deals in the U.S. -- and they take it seriously. Actors including Leonardo DiCaprio and Meg Ryan have filed cease and desist orders against websites that post these ads to Americans.

Clooney's Nespresso ads aren't bad, and one of his spots even features John Malkovich.

Watch Clooney cuss out his critics below:

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George Clooney Cusses Out His Coffee Commercial Critics

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According to George Clooney, even Academy Award nominees need a day job. For him, it's doing high-paid coffee commercials overseas. During Newsweek's 2012 Oscar Roundtable, Clooney discussed his career choices: I'm trying to make movies in my life, and particularly in the position I'm in, that last longer than opening weekend.

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Becomes a global brand ambassador for Nespresso

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Becomes a global brand ambassador for Nespresso

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George Clooney - American actor, screenwriter, producer, director and activist - is extending his relationship with by becoming the new brand ambassador in the U.S. and Canada. Beginning on November 2nd, George Clooney will be featured in 's new integrated marketing campaign in North America, which brings to life Nespresso as "a cup above", across television, print and digital advertisements, a partnership web film, social media and a dedicated microsite. The campaign is the first branded television advertising campaign in North America to feature Clooney.

Extended Partnership to the North America Solidifies Clooney as Global Ambassador for Nespresso

As Nespresso's North American brand ambassador, Clooney will share with American consumers Nespresso's heritage of quality coffee, innovative design, leading sustainability and customer service. Clooney has been a long-term partner with the brand in Europe and other international markets, charming fans and coffee aficionados in broadcast and print campaigns since 2006. George Clooney also serves as a member of the Nespresso Sustainability Advisory Board, collaborating on ideas and solutions towards improving the lives and futures of coffee farmers.

"We are pleased to extend the relationship with him to North America and bring our brand story and high quality, sustainable coffee to more and more people," said Alfonso Gonzalez, Nespresso Chief Customer Officer.

"I've been working with Nespresso internationally for nine years and I really love and respect the brand, what they do, and how they do it," said George Clooney. " Nespresso and I have a shared commitment to sustainability, most recently helping to rebuild coffee farms in South Sudan."

Partnership Web Film Conveys Shared Commitment to Sustainability

Nespresso is committed to having a positive impact on the environment, farmers, consumers and society at large. As a member of the Nespresso Sustainability Advisory Board, George Clooney elaborates on Nespresso's dedicated approach to coffee quality and sustainability and his involvement in Nespresso 's sustainability efforts in a partnership web film. In the film, Clooney discusses his decade-long collaboration with the brand, its positive impact on thousands of farmers and their communities, and the work being done in South Sudan to revive high quality coffee production.

"George Clooney has shown great interest in the lives of coffee farmers and the initiatives Nespresso has undertaken to support them in producing high quality sustainable coffee and enhancing their welfare. We are happy to share these values with him and being able to share them with more consumers across the world. He has been involved from the beginning in our efforts to revive high quality coffee production in South Sudan, which has proven very successful with the recent launch of Suluja ti South Sudan, the first ever coffee to be exported from the new country. " added Gonzalez.

George Clooney has also been featured in the "Epiphany" brand campaign alongside Jack Black in other international markets since October 29th.

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George Clooney - American actor, screenwriter, producer, director and activist - is extending his relationship with by becoming the new brand ambassador in the U.S. and Canada. Beginning on November 2nd, George Clooney will be featured in 's new integrated marketing campaign in North America, which brings to life Nespresso as "a cup above", across television, print and digital advertisements, a partnership web film, social media and a dedicated microsite.

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George Clooney is Totally Crushing on Meghan Markle

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George Clooney is Totally Crushing on Meghan Markle

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March 2019 Gossip

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The Royal Baby really will arrive any week now.

But as Meghan Markle prepares to give birth and garner the world's undivided attention, she's suddenly been given a very exciting reason to cry tears of a different kind of joy.

And that reason is this...

... George Clooney totally likes her!

A lot!

The beloved actor came out in strong support of Markle last month, slamming all those anonymous reports that have claimed there's a wedge between Markle and Kate Middleton, while also taking Meghan's family to task for being such terrible human beings.

"They're just chasing Meghan Markle everywhere, she's been pursued and vilified," Clooney told television journalists at a press panel at the time.

"She's a woman who is seven months pregnant and she has been pursued and vilified and chased in the same way that Diana was and it's history repeating itself.

"We've seen how that ends."

On August 31st, 1997, Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris, leaving behind her two young sons, Princes William and Harry.

Her car was speeding away from the paparazzi at the time of this tragic accident.

Fast forward a few weeks and Clooney appeared on Good Morning Britain, explaining why he came to the defense of the much-maligned Duchess of Sussex.

"I think it's a little unfair," he said of the press' treatment of the pregnant royal, adding in more detail:

"I've seen it, when the press can turn on you for sort of ridiculous reasons and for almost nothing and it seemed... to be a little unjust since she hadn't done anything except just happen to live her life."

After Clooney's initial remarks, Samantha Markle (of course) slammed the heck out of the Oscar-winning actor.

"Hey Looney Clooney! Your lawyer wife should have taught you not to make statements without full facts," she Tweeted after Clooney warned that Markle could end up dead due to these attacks on her character.

"I doubt #GeorgeClooney would ghost his mother for no legitimate reason. Be quiet Georgie," she concluded.

Alas, Clooney is not being quiet.

"She's a really kind and smart and intelligent young woman and they're a really wonderful, loving couple," Clooney said of Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry in this new interview.

"Most of it you can just shrug off and not pay attention to, but sometimes it's unkind."

Clooney and his wife attended the Royal Wedding last May.

They're pretty good friends with Harry and Meghan and we're guessing they'll send along a pretty amazing gift once the Royal Baby is born.

With these compliments, however, George may have already given Meghan the best present of all.

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George Clooney is Totally Crushing on Meghan Markle

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The Royal Baby really will arrive any week now. But as Meghan Markle prepares to give birth and garner the world's undivided attention, she's suddenly been given a very exciting reason to cry tears of a different kind of joy. And that reason is this... ... George Clooney totally likes her!

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How ageing male celebrities are treated different to female

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How ageing male celebrities are treated different to female

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George Clooney on His Human Rights Work, Meghan Markle and Raising Twins | Good Morning Britain

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Advancing justice in courtrooms, communities, and classrooms around the world since 2016.

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Acknowledgement of his role as a good guy and him being a ladies man 

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Acknowledgement of his role as a good guy and him being a ladies man 

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An intimate interview with 'the sexiest man alive' George Clooney | 60 Minutes Australia

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George Clooney Apologises For Destroying Batman - The Graham Norton Show

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From the time you downed the last dredges of your morning coffee and were finally ready to tackle the hellscape that is your inbox, George Clooney made $27,283. Every hour, another $27,283. It pays to be George Clooney.

That estimate is courtesy of Business Insider, which crunched the numbers after Forbes released its highest-paid celebrities list for 2018. Clooney topped the list as the highest-paid actor, making $239 million between June 2017 and June 2018. Estimates have put Clooney's total net worth at $500 million -yep, that's half a billion dollars.

Clooney's salary bump is thanks to tequila. Clooney helped start Casamigos Tequila back in 2013 with some rich friends. Last June, they sold the company to drinks giant Diageo for $700 million, with the potential for another $300 million over the next 10 years if customers continue liking Casamigos. In other words, it was a billion-dollar deal. Clooney's cut was about $233 million. Add that to the money he gets from endorsements and old movies, and you get $239 million.

"If you asked us four years ago if we had a billion dollar company, I don't think we would have said yes," Clooney told CNBC back when the sale was made. "But we're not going anywhere. We'll still be very much a part of Casamigos. Starting with a shot tonight. Maybe two."

Obviously, the lesson we're taking from all this is: You always have a friend in tequila.

As for the other top-earning celebs, Kylie Jenner was the highest-paid celebrity personality (and the soon-to-be youngest "self-made" billionaire), making $166.5 million in the past year. According to Business Insider, that evens out to $19,006 an hour. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who topped the highest-paid actors list last year, made $124 million, which evens out to $14,155 an hour.

For reference, the Bureau of Labor Statistics put the average hourly wage for U.S. workers at $27.05 in July. Hope you're having a good day at work.

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George Clooney Makes $27,283 Every Hour Thanks to Tequila

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From the time you downed the last dredges of your morning coffee and were finally ready to tackle the hellscape that is your inbox, George Clooney made $27,283. Every hour, another $27,283. It pays to be George Clooney. That estimate is courtesy of Business Insider, which crunched the numbers after Forbes released its highest-paid celebrities list for 2018.

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'I’m 56. I’m not the guy that gets the girl anymore'  (2016)

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'I’m 56. I’m not the guy that gets the girl anymore'  (2016)

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George Clooney does not have plans to appear on your big screen any time soon. During an interview with The Sunday Times, the new father of twins said that acting is no longer his priority.

"Look, I acted for a long time and, you know, I'm 56. I'm not the guy that gets the girl anymore," he said. "Well, yeah, I shouldn't be the guy that gets the girl. But, look, if somebody's got Paul Newman in The Verdict, I'd jump. But there aren't that many like that. Acting used to be how I paid the rent, but I sold a tequila company for a billion fucking dollars. I don't need money."

In June, shortly after the birth of his twins, Ella and Alexander, Clooney sold his tequila company, Casamigos, founded with friend Rande Gerber, for what was reported to be up to $1 billion.

Even fresh off his new film, Suburbicon, which had the worst box-office opening for any film he's directed or starred in, Clooney isn't worried. "I'll make money other ways if I have to. I used to do coffee commercials." And anyway, he's got bigger things on his mind. Having recently established a charitable foundation with his wife, Amal Clooney, and, among other things, donated $1 million toward fighting war crimes in Africa, Clooney has been active on a global scale-and people are noticing.

"I don't have political aspirations" he told the Times, though later he admitted, "So many people since Trump was elected have really been pushing on me to get more involved in actual politics, specifically at the highest office."

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Photograph by Justin Bishop.

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Sreymoch Sareum, Angelina Jolie, Loung Ung, Kimhak Mun, and Rithy Panh

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

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George Clooney on Moving Away from Acting: "I Don't Need Money"

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George Clooney does not have plans to appear on your big screen any time soon. During an interview with The Sunday Times, the new father of twins said that acting is no longer his priority. "Look, I acted for a long time and, you know, I'm 56.

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Co-Producer

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Argo International Trailer #1 (2012) - Ben Affleck Movie HD

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Adopts a macho persona, similar to his roles in some instances but more of a good guy when the issue is personal

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''as he dismisses speculation about a future career in politics: "I fucked too many chicks and did too many drugs, and that's the truth"

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Star Power: The Impact of Branded Celebrity [2 volumes]

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Over the past century, a new breed of entertainer has arisen-one where the old division between on-camera talent and the suits behind the scenes has largely eroded. From Mabel Normand and Charlie Chaplin to Lady Gaga and Quentin Tarantino, entertainers have attempted to cross specialties and platforms to new arenas, from politics to philanthropy and more.

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Clooney's involvement in humanitarian issues has developed his star image both on screen and off it, with his role in political films appearing more authentic

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Two of the most obviously engaged celebrity figures in this type of celebritypolitical magnification are Angelina Jolie and George Clooney. Their legitimate and genuine status in the external political world is unusual and helps define how this political influence intersects with their political film work

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Additional information

Author information

Sally Totman
Sally Totman is an Associate Professor in Middle East Studies at Deakin University. She is the author of How Hollywood Projects Foreign Policy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) as well as numerous articles on the leadership of Libya under Colonel Qaddafi and the teaching of Middle Eastern politics at a university level.

P. David Marshall
P. David Marshall is a Professor and Chair in New Media, Communication and Cultural Studies at Deakin University and Distinguished Visiting Foreign Expert at Central China Normal University. He is the author of Celebrity and Power (2nd ed., University of Minnesota Press, 2014) among many other books, including the forthcoming Persona Studies (Palgrave) and an edited volume entitled the Companion to Celebrity (Wiley).

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Sally TotmanSally Totman is an Associate Professor in Middle East Studies at Deakin University. She is the author of How Hollywood Projects Foreign Policy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) as well as numerous articles on the leadership of Libya under Colonel Qaddafi and the teaching of Middle Eastern politics at a university level.

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

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Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive

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George Clooney Wins Supporting Actor: 2006 Oscars

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Nicole Kidman presents George Clooney with the Oscar for Supporting Actor for Syriana at the 78th Academy Awards. Hosted by host Jon Stewart. See more 2006 Oscar highlights: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ8RjvesnvDOwP21wtY_VnX4Inidd0ROh Become an Oscar Insider: http://www.oscars.org/insider/ Check out our Academy Originals: https://www.youtube.com/user/AcademyOriginals ABOUT THE ACADEMY The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world's preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema.

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Syriana (2005) Official Trailer - George Clooney, Matt Damon Movie HD

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It was said of Irving Thalberg, production chief at MGM and model for Monroe Stahr in Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon, that he didn't make films, he remade them, meaning that he was always re-editing other men's work. Steven Soderbergh, though he has no reason to, is a remake man in the more obvious sense, having remade Siodmak's Criss Cross as The Underneath, Simon Moore's Traffik as Traffic, and under the original titles a forthcoming American production of Erik Skjoldbjærg's Insomnia, and this week's heist movie, Ocean's Eleven.

Robbing casinos is a familiar movie plot. In 1955, five years before Frank Sinatra as Danny Ocean and his obsequious clan of former wartime buddies shook down five Las Vegas casinos in one night, a crew of college kids planned a raid on a Reno gambling spot in Five Against the House, and eight years after the Rat Pack caper there was the gritty They Came to Rob Las Vegas.

But Soderbergh's is a state-of-the-art heist flick, a gleaming stretch-limo of a picture set in the new Vegas, the gambling Disneyland from which the Mob have been ejected to be replaced by corporate sharks such as the ruthless, quietly spoken Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), who owns the Bellagio, the casino where Braques and Picassos look down contemptuously on diners and gamblers, and keeps the money from the MGM and the Mirage in his vaults.

Tess (Julia Roberts in Angie Dickinson's original role) manages the gallery side of the business and is both Terry's lover and Danny Ocean's ex-wife. So when Danny (George Clooney) gets out of the New Jersey slammer after serving four years for theft he decides to lift $80 million from Terry's impenetrable vault and reclaim his wife.

Looking like Clark Gable, but more self-contained, Clooney's Danny contacts old chum Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), poker teacher to the Hollywood stars, and gets bank-rolled by an ex-Vegas tycoon, a former mobster with a grudge against Benedict.

Like Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen, the pair set about recruiting their magnificent 11. They pick a wild bunch of experts, among them an elderly Jewish con man (Carl Reiner), a Chinese acrobat (Shaobo Qin), a Mormon electronics wizard (Scott Caan), and a black British safecracker (Don Cheadle), who talks in cockney rhyming slang, a jokey reference to Terence Stamp as the eponymous hero of Soderbergh's The Limey, whom no American can understand. Precisely what everyone's role is would take a Sherlock Holmes to infer, and part of the fun is seeing the master plan fall into place bit by bit, until the final preposterous piece completes the whole picture.

The movie is more like an elegant journey in a hot-air balloon than a trip on a rollercoaster and is that rare thing, a thriller without any violence, sex or profanity (just one four-letter word mangled in Chinese English). In a little epilogue, the gang silently contemplates its work and the beauty of Vegas at night to the strains of Debussy's 'Clair de Lune'. Unlike the 1960 Sinatra picture, it ignores showbusiness and we never see a floor show or a cabaret act.

Ocean's Eleven is devoid of morality other than a dedication to honour among thieves; it's consistently funny in a way that invites appreciative smiles rather than loud laughter; it's exciting without bringing disagreeable sweat to the palms; it's engaging, but never does anything as vulgar as taking us out of ourselves. In a word, it is what it sets out to be (and what the Sinatra Rat Pack thought they were, but more often than not failed to be) - quintessentially cool. As cool in fact as Danny Ocean emerging from jail not once but twice wearing the midnight-blue tuxedo in which he was arrested.

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It was said of Irving Thalberg, production chief at MGM and model for Monroe Stahr in Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon, that he didn't make films, he remade them, meaning that he was always re-editing other men's work.

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O Brother, Where Art Thou? Official Trailer #1 - John Turturro Movie (2000) HD

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Think back to the simpler time of 1997. Teletubbies had just hit the screens, there were no iPhones, and George Clooney was just a former soap actor trying to catch a break.

Clooney thought he'd hit the big time when he was cast as Batman in the Joel Schumacher movie Batman & Robin.

Unfortunately, the film was panned for everything from Clooney's wooden performance to the fact his suit had nipples.

But the dad-of-two has admitted that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and said the flop actually turned his career around.

When asked which of his films had the biggest impact on his work, he told The Hollywood Reporter: "It's really easy to pick: Batman & Robin. That's not a joke.

"Up until that moment, I was an actor only concerned with finding work. After the failure of that film creatively, I understood that I needed to take control of the films I made, not just the role. My next three films were Out of Sight, Three Kings and O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

Due to its failure, the planned sequel to the film was dropped.

Batman Unchained was billed to be a much darker movie where the superhero would be up against The Scarecrow and Harley Quinn, who would be the daughter of The Joker.

Unfortunately it was another eight years before anyone dared to touch the franchise again, and Christopher Nolan released Batman Begins in 2005.

Nolan recently discussed his Dark Knight trilogy, suggesting that each film was defined by its villain.

He told at the Cannes Film Festival. "Shifting genres and the nature of the antagonist felt the way to take the audience on a journey and tell them something different about Bruce Wayne."
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Twitter account and you're all set.

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Think back to the simpler time of 1997. Teletubbies had just hit the screens, there were no iPhones, and George Clooney was just a former soap actor trying to catch a break. Clooney thought he'd hit the big time when he was cast as Batman in the Joel Schumacher movie Batman & Robin.

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Batman & Robin (1997) Official Trailer #1 - George Clooney Movie HD

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Subscribe to TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/sxaw6h Subscribe to COMING SOON: http://bit.ly/H2vZUn Subscribe to CLASSIC TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/1u43jDe Like us on FACEBOOK: http://goo.gl/dHs73 Follow us on TWITTER: http://bit.ly/1ghOWmt Batman & Robin (1997) Official Trailer #1 - George Clooney Movie HD Batman & Robin try to keep their relationship together even as they must stop Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy from freezing Gotham City.

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ER ''Emergency Room'' season 1 (1994) - Doug asks Carol for another chance

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Timeline of star persona

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ROME (Reuters) - Actors George Clooney and Don Cheadle said world leaders must not be allowed to ignore the war in Darfur, as they received an award by Nobel peace laureates for their efforts to help civilians caught up in the conflict.

Together with Brad Pitt, Clooney and Cheadle - co-stars in "Ocean's Thirteen" - have used their celebrity status to raise money for refugees through their "Not On Our Watch" charity, and make sure Darfur's "continuing carnage" is not forgotten.

Experts estimate 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million uprooted in the Sudanese region's conflict, which started in 2003 and pits mostly non-Arab rebel groups against the Khartoum government and Arab militias.

Ceasefires have been agreed only to fall apart, and plans to send 26,000 United Nations peacekeepers have been thrown into doubt because of restrictions imposed by Khartoum and the failure by Western states to provide helicopters.

"We have an American election coming so this is the time to put pressure on American candidates, because believe me none of these people want to talk about this issue," Clooney said at a press conference in Rome after receiving the Peace Summit Award.

"None of them want to deal with this issue, so right now is the time to place pressure on the people who can actually affect change because we can't," he said.

Clooney, the son of a TV journalist, said the media also had a vital role to play and took issue with the extensive coverage given to the British teacher briefly jailed in Sudan last month for allowing her class to name a teddy bear Mohammed.

"A young woman was threatened with forty lashes and six months in jail and it was in the front page of every newspaper for a week in England and America.

"I would suggest that every single human being living in Darfur right now would happily take forty lashes and six months in jail over the treatment that they're getting," he said.

"You hope that that kind of coverage would be handed out to everyone, not just one woman who happens to be white and from a Western country."

TALES OF HORROR

Cheadle, who earned an Oscar nomination for his role in "Hotel Rwanda" about a hotel manager trying to save lives during the 1994 genocide, said he had listened to tale after tale of horror when he visited refugees in Darfur but also found that people still had hope.

"That is really what keeps me pulled in to this: the promise that we can provide something better for them," he said.

Earlier this year Clooney, Cheadle and Pitt raised $10 million for Darfur at the Cannes film festival, but Clooney said little had changed for the people of Darfur.

"Don and I... stand here before you as failures," he told the Nobel laureates attending the award ceremony, including former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and the Dalai Lama.

"The simple truth is that when it comes to the atrocities in Darfur those people are not better off now than they were years ago. The murders continue, the rapes continue and some two and a half million refugees are yet to go home," he said.

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Clooney and Cheadle get peace award for Darfur

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ROME (Reuters) - Actors George Clooney and Don Cheadle said world leaders must not be allowed to ignore the war in Darfur, as they received an award by Nobel peace laureates for their efforts to help civilians caught up in the conflict.

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George Clooney is a well-known activist, but this takes things to the next level. At a Nespresso event in Paris on Wednesday, the Oscar winner revealed the curious way he spends the money he earns from starring in the coffee commercials.

"Most of the money I make on the [Nespresso] commercials I spend keeping a satellite over the border of North and South Sudan to keep an eye on [Sudan President] Omar al-Bashir," Clooney said, referring to his spy program, the Satellite Sentinel Project. The surveillance program tracks Sudan's vicious army in an attempt to warn civilians before attacks occur.

Clooney has been a longtime advocate against violence in Sudan. Last year, he was arrested in Washington, D.C. at a protest he organized outside the Sudan embassy.

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir (Getty Images)

The actor, 52, said it's only fair to turn cameras on the Sudanese dictator. "[Omar al-Bashir] puts out a statement saying that I'm spying on him and how would I like it if a camera was following me everywhere I went," Clooney said Wednesday. "And I go, 'Well, welcome to my life Mr. War Criminal.' I want the war criminal to have the same amount of attention that I get. I think that's fair."

Al-Bashir has been charged with war crimes for leading genocide in Darfur by the International Criminal Court, and human rights activists are currently calling for his arrest.

In a 2011 interview with Parade, Clooney discussed what drives him as a humanitarian. "Maybe there's some of this fame spotlight I've got that I can use elsewhere," he said. "I find it's liberating to do those kinds of things and not have to worry about my career anymore."

The brutality in Sudan drew his attention in particular. "Two million people were killed in the north-south war in Sudan before 2005," he said. "I wasn't going to stand on the sidelines and not participate."

The satellite spy progam, he said, helps to shed light on human rights violations happening overseas. "I set up this satellite system on the border of Abyei, and we've had incredible success in photographing mass atrocities," he said. "The idea is, we're just going to keep the pressure on. Turning the lights on doesn't mean anything stops. But it makes it harder, and that's our job."
Plus:
Jack 'Can Do Better': See JFK's Report Card and 4 More Presidents' Grades
Former Agent Busts 5 Common Myths About the U.S. Secret Service
Watch Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, and Jennifer Lawrence in Commercials Before They Were Famous

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George Clooney Uses Nespresso Money for Satellite to Spy on Sudan Dictator

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George Clooney is a well-known activist, but this takes things to the next level. At a Nespresso event in Paris on Wednesday, the Oscar winner revealed the curious way he spends the money he earns from starring in the coffee commercials."Most of the money I make on the [Nespresso] commercials I spend keeping a satellite [...]

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March 3, 2008 Cover Story Excerpt: George Clooney wasn't supposed to say yes. A reporter interviews a movie star at a restaurant or a hotel lobby or an office, with his publicist lurking in the...

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Time Magazine - George Clooney, the last great movie star

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Time Magazine - George Clooney, the last great movie star

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Sam Jones for TIME

George Clooney wasn't supposed to say yes. A reporter interviews a movie star at a restaurant or a hotel lobby or an office, with his publicist lurking in the corner, ready to cut off any vaguely interesting questions. But to come over to my house for dinner? That's a trap no sucker has...

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George Clooney wasn't supposed to say yes. A reporter interviews a movie star at a restaurant or a hotel lobby or an office, with his publicist lurking in the corner, ready to cut off any vaguely interesting questions. But to come over to my house for dinner? That's a trap no sucker has...

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‘If you're famous and on Twitter, you're a moron’

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‘If you're famous and on Twitter, you're a moron’

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'If you're famous and on Twitter, you're a moron': Clooney on his 'Zen-like' approach to celebrity, being tougher than Clark Gable and how he longs to stroll in Central Park

Hollywood star George Clooney thinks Twitter is 'just stupid'

Actor says stars like Clark Gable would not have coped with the pressures

Despite rise to superstardom the actor says being famous is 'restrictive'

The urge to join Twitter is tempting when everyone from the Prime Minister to the Pope is posting messages about their daily lives.

But actor George Clooney says anyone who is rich and famous and on the social media site is a 'moron'.

Speaking in an interview with Esquire magazine, the Hollywood star also says the pressures of the 21st Century would have been too much for the stars from the 'golden age' of cinema.

'Not that I'm comparing myself to Clark Gable, whoever, but they couldn't survive in this environment', the 52-year-old said.

'They'd punch the s**t out of some people. It requires a Zen quality.'

Twitter addict and columnist Caitlin Moran responded: 'If I were friends with Sandra Bullock in real life, I probably wouldn't be on Twitter either, to be honest.'

Despite the actor's rise to global superstardom, he says being famous is restrictive.

In 15 years Clooney has not gone for a walk in New York's Central Park, despite wanting to, and is still surprised by his success.

'There's a funny thing about fame. The truth is you run as fast as you can towards it because it is
everything you want. You get there and it's shocking how immediately you become enveloped in this
world that is incredibly restricting.'

Clooney, who has won two Academy Awards and four Golden Globes, is not the first to criticise the use of Twitter. However, some have had to give in to social media network.

David Cameron said in 2009 that 'the trouble with Twitter, the instantness of it (is) too many tweets might make a t**t'.

But that didn't stop him setting up an account just before the Tory party conference in 2012 and now he has more than 500,000 followers.

Four years ago Hugh Laurie declared: 'As I look around my friends' tweets, I see banality on all sides.'

He now has more than 230,000 followers since he set up his Twitter account declaring in under 140 characters: 'Having damned this technology as the seed of Satan, I finally succumb'.

Actor Steven Berkoff described Twitter as a 'river of filth'.

George Clooney's latest project sees him team up with Ocean's Eleven co-start Matt Damon once again as they battle to rescue art stolen by Nazis during the Second World War in new movie The Monuments Men.

Clooney plays George Stout, who is real life was a conservationist at Harvard University's Fogg Museum when the war began. Stout led the team who braved battle to save Europe's artistic legacy.

The January issue of Esquire is out tomorrow and is also available online.

Check out the full George Clooney interview in the Esquire January issue - on sale Thursday 5 December. Also available as a digital edition.

Click here to see more exclusive photos on Esquire.co.uk

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George Clooney says anyone famous on Twitter is a 'moron'

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Hollywood star George Clooney thinks Twitter is 'just stupid' Actor says stars like Clark Gable would not have coped with the pressures Despite rise to superstardom the actor says being famous is 'restrictive' The urge to join Twitter is tempting when everyone from the Prime Minister to the Pope is posting messages about their daily lives.

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Twitter followers aren’t always an indication of talent @GeorgeCloooney #AdobeSummit https://t.co/QqLOhJobKu

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Twitter followers aren’t always an indication of talent @GeorgeCloooney #AdobeSummit https://t.co/QqLOhJobKu

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Twitter followers aren’t always an indication of talent @GeorgeCloooney #AdobeSummit pic.twitter.com/QqLOhJobKu
— burbary.avax 🔺9000 (@kenburbary) March 23, 2016

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Twitter followers aren’t always an indication of talent @GeorgeCloooney #AdobeSummit https://t.co/QqLOhJobKu

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Twitter followers aren’t always an indication of talent @GeorgeCloooney #AdobeSummit https://t.co/QqLOhJobKu

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Twitter followers aren’t always an indication of talent @GeorgeCloooney #AdobeSummit https://t.co/QqLOhJobKu

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How did the Clooneys become the most powerful couple in the world?

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There was a time, not very long ago, when the phrase 'power couple' denoted little more than two romantically involved people you might just know the name of. Hugh Grant and Liz Hurley were called a power couple. Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow were called a power couple.

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The Sentry
1629 K Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20006

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: AS OF FEBRUARY 2019, NOT ON OUR WATCH HAS MERGED WITH THE SENTRY. NOOW HAS BEEN RE-NAMED THE SENTRY, WITH THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND SCOPE OF WORK REMAINING THE SAME UNDER THE NEW NAME. THIS WEBSITE IS NO LONGER ACTIVE. PLEASE VISIT THESENTRY.ORG.

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George Clooney feared for his life when he was held up at gunpoint by a 10-year-old child soldier.

The 52-year-old actor found himself starring down the barrel of an AK47 during a trip to Sudan in 2007.

He was in the country's capital, Darfur, filming a documentary on genocide when he was held up.

"We got stopped in the middle of nowhere, where we shouldn't have been," he told Variety magazine.

"A little 10-year-old kid came over with a Kalashnikov assault rifle to my head, basically wanted to get us out of the truck."

He went on to say that although the ordeal was terrifying, it didn't deter him from travelling to the country in his role as a United Nations peace envoy, or from setting up Not On Our Watch, the humanitarian aid organisation he founded with Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Don Cheadle six years ago.

However, he did rule out any ambition to become a politician in the near future.

"I like the ability to shine light and make it loud," he said.

"But boy, the idea of administrating and legislating. What a nightmare."

At least 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since the civil war started in 2003.
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'Clooney was almost killed by child soldier in Sudan'

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George Clooney feared for his life when he was held up at gunpoint by a 10-year-old child soldier. The 52-year-old actor found himself starring down the barrel of an AK47 during a trip to Sudan in 2007. He was in the country's capital, Darfur, filming a documentary on genocide when he was held up.

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George Clooney has revealed further details about the spy satellite over Sudan which he funds to keep an eye on the Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir and his followers, who have been accused of war crimes.

At a Venice Film Festival press conference for his new film Gravity - in which he plays an astronaut - the actor claimed that the satellite was already in action and is helping to curb the murderous tendencies of the Sudanese ruler.

"I have a satellite in areas [in Sudan] where there is a lot of violence because we want to keep an eye on some of the atrocities that are going on there and because we want not just accountability but we want to make it more and more difficult to act without ramifications," Clooney said. "We find that it has been incredibly successful since now the attacks only happen at night or under cloud cover."

In response to the dictators' new tactics, Clooney said that the satellite will now be "switched up to infrared" so that acts of violence can still be seen even when it is dark or cloudy.

"It is our job to try and shine a light on those places," he said. "If it helps at all, it is worth it."

Flanked by his co-star Sandra Bullock and the director Alfonso Cuaron, Clooney reflected on his role in Gravity as an astronaut abandoned in space and fighting for his life. Yes, the American star said, he had faced moments of adversity in his own life, although none as extreme as those confronting the astronaut.

"I find myself often times in places in the South Sudan that are considerably more dangerous than I thought they would be," he said. "Often times, my version of calm and collected is not looking like a scared, screaming child. I enjoy a little adversity along the way. I think it is a good test. It is really easy to be good at things or to be calm when things are going well. You test people's personalities by how they handle tricky moments in their lives in adversity. I look up to people who handle that very well."

However, when he was asked whether he supported the idea of the US launching missile strikes on Syria, the actor declined to answer.
Video: US launches spy satellite into space

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'Gravity' star George Clooney helps keep an eye on Sudanese dictator

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George Clooney has revealed further details about the spy satellite over Sudan which he funds to keep an eye on the Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir and his followers, who have been accused of war crimes.

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George Clooney has co-authored an op-ed regarding the lasting impact of genocide on the region of Darfur and calling for peacekeepers to forego leaving the still-embattled area in Western Sudan.

The piece, titled Sudan's Rape of Darfur, is composed by Clooney, activist and author John Prendergast and Sudan policy maker Akshaya Kumar.

Published in the New York Times, it describes how, after the spike in attention towards the region following the genocide in the early 2000s, "the world has largely forgotten about Darfur."

They state that "mass atrocities continue to occur [in the region] with no external witnesses" as the joint peace-keeping mission of the United Nations and African Union has been "hammered" into silence by the Sudanese government.

The government has closed the UN human-rights office in Khartoum. The letter says this closure is "hampering investigations of human rights abuses and pressuring the peacekeeping force to withdraw."

The piece calls attention to a recent incident that took place in the refugee village of Tabit where Human Rights Watch documented an incident of mass rape.

Having collected more than 130 survivor and witness testimonies, the organisation's researchers concluded that at least 221 women had been raped by soldiers of the Sudanese Army over a 36-hour period last October.

The letter alleges that the Sudanese government obstructed any attempts by peacekeepers to investigate the incident.

Darfur has become particularly important to the Sudanese government as major gold reserves have been discovered in the northern part of the region, where Tabit lies.

According to the International Monetary Fund, gold sales earned Sudan around $1.17bn last year and, according to the letter, "the government has attempted to consolidate its control over the country's gold mines in part by violent ethnic cleansing."

Clooney and the co-authors use the letters to call for the US and "other countries" to "expand sanctions and step up enforcement to pressure Sudan to observe human rights and to negotiate for peace."

This is not Clooney's first foray into human-rights activism in the region. He was held at gunpoint by a Sudanese child soldier in 2007 and even funds a spy satellite over the country to watch out for any possible violations.
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George Clooney wrote a powerful letter about 'torture rapes' in Sudan

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George Clooney has co-authored an op-ed regarding the lasting impact of genocide on the region of Darfur and calling for peacekeepers to forego leaving the still-embattled area in Western Sudan. The piece, titled Sudan's Rape of Darfur, is composed by Clooney, activist and author John Prendergast and Sudan policy maker Akshaya Kumar.

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More than 10 years of violence between rebels and government forces in Darfur has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions. And while the intensity of the conflict has diminished since the early years, it shows no signs of abating.

In 2009 Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, became the world's first sitting leader to be indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity over the government's role in Darfur's conflict.

Yet for many in the west, Darfur is best known for its connection to the Hollywood actor George Clooney, who has been credited with putting the conflict on the world stage.

He raised money, garnered celebrity support and even addressed the UN to try draw attention to widespread atrocities in the region. Even when the world's attention wandered elsewhere, Clooney continued his work on Sudan. In 2010 he launched the Sentinel Project to track human rights abuses by satellite and in 2012 he was arrested outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington DC.

Clooney in handcuffs might make headlines but did it have any impact on the people living in Darfur? Has anything changed or is life as precarious as ever? We speak to people who have lived or worked in the region over the past 10 years.

North Darfuri
Has George Clooney make a difference to the lives of people in Darfur?
Clooney might be doing something fantastic - tracking the movements of Sudanese troops and militias - but for me as a person living in Darfur, in touch with what is happening on daily basis, I don't see that it has halted, or even reduced, the genocide. The killing, displacement, sexual assaults and rape never stopped.

The Sudanese government is perpetrating another form of genocide by arming the different tribes, especially those with Arabic origins, letting them kill each other. In the past five years the tribal fighting has intensified, using weapons provided by Khartoum. They fight over land, administrative boundaries some are just using their power to terrify others.

The Janjaweed militias are still there and after the Darfur peace agreement in 2006 some were integrated to the armed forces and the police.

There has been no improvement in the security situation: in the towns, looting, breaking shops and killing is often perpetrated by armed personnel, allegedly belonging to the armed militias. Between towns and markets, people have to pay protection fees and pay taxes at checkpoints, otherwise they compromise their safety.

In October there was alleged mass rape in a village called Tabit. An investigation team from Unamid, the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, was only allowed to reach Tabit 10 days after the incident.

The military denied the incident from the beginning as did the people of Tabit, probably because they were afraid. The peacekeepers requested to be allowed to do another investigation but they were not allowed.

Peacekeepers cannot move without government permission and must keep their movements to a minimum incase of carjackings or personal attacks. People question its presence and effectiveness: how can it protect civilians if it cannot protect its own personnel?

In general, the trust in the international community is diminishing. There is a feeling that Darfur is a forgotten place, that it's not important

What is the situation in Darfur now?
In general, the trust in the international community is diminishing. There is a feeling that Darfur is a forgotten place, that it's not important. As for Clooney, I do not hear people talking about him or expecting anything.

The most dramatic change is the escalation of tribal conflict, mass killings, and the burning of villages causing mass displacement. Until 1992 Darfur was one region, in 1993 it was divided into three areas: North, South and West. In 2012 two more areas were added: Central and East. The government considered making deals with some tribes and not others. This just created new dynamics of conflict.
Does Darfur need another global campaign? If you were in charge what would it be called? And what would it hope to achieve?

The militias are a security threat in Darfur and they also constitute a challenge to Khartoum - they don't obey the rules and have differences with the government over entitlements and payment. Some young militia members are also heavily using drugs which affects their behaviour and actions. The Doha peace deal was brokered in 2011 but no progress was made, apart from power sharing and allocation of positions to the former rebels.

Yes, for sure, but not just a media or celebrity campaign. It should be led by the major powers in the UN security council to pressure conflicting parties to reach a comprehensive and just peace.

The actions of Khartoum is what has to change. A robust peacekeeping force is also required to ensure the government complies, it should be UN mandated and establish clear working relationships with the government on access, civilian protection and the free movement of peacekeepers.
This account is from an aid worker from north Darfur, her name has been withheld to protect her identity

The campaign could be called United for a Peaceful and Stable Darfur because what we need is security

Has George Clooney make a difference to the lives of people in Darfur?
The campaign could be called United for a Peaceful and Stable Darfur because what we need is security, ensuring our own safety so we can think, work and produce - with fear nothing can be achieved.

Abdel-Rahman El-Mahdi
What is it like in Darfur now?
The global campaign on genocide was hardly felt or even heard of in Darfur, or for that matter in the more affluent, better-connected capital Khartoum.

Clooney is better known for his marriage to an Arab, the British-Lebanese lawyer Amal Alamuddin, than for his activism. Unfortunately he visited Darfur before the wedding. He was just another visiting "khawaga" (local term for a westerner or white person) who did not have much to offer the suffering people.

Almost 10 years after the global campaign on genocide not much has changed. The conflict continues, so do the reports of rape and human rights abuses.

Life in Darfur continues to deteriorate alongside the overall state of affairs across the country. Tribal militias have emerged as a prominent third party to the ongoing violence. Insecurity is rampant and the plight of the millions of internally displaced is no longer news, it is just normal.

Darfur has changed for the worse

Does Darfur need another global campaign? If you were in charge what would it be called? And what would it hope to achieve?
The separation of South Sudan in 2011 and the civil war that followed caused an influx of refugees, putting further stress on southern Darfur.

Two peace agreements in 2006 and 2011 between various parties have both failed to deliver real peace.
Abdel-Rahman El-Mahdi is the president of the Sudanese Development Initiative. He is based in Khartoum and travels to Darfur regularly
Darfur has changed for the worse, what we had in 2006 was much better than what we have now.

How were you involved in the campaign? How was Clooney received in Darfur?
The whole of Sudan needs a campaign, Darfur is part of a broader and bigger problem. Similar conflicts are rampant in other parts of the country, including the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan. What they have in common is deteriorating governance being exercised by from Khartoum.

If I was in charge I'd call our new campaign AMAL meaning hope in Arabic. Coincidentally it's Clooney's wife name but that's not intentional. It would have one objective: getting all interested parties in one room to put a stop to conflicts across the country, Darfur included. There'd be space for Clooney to play a role in the too!
What is the situation in Darfur now?
John Prendergast
Has the world lost interest? W hat could the international community have done differently?
The campaign already existed in the form of the global Save Darfur campaign before Clooney got involved. He added considerable weight and attention to the efforts when he travelled to Darfur and started campaigning in the US. His appearance on Oprah amongst others helped to attract attention and inspire action in response to what was unfolding in Darfur.

I've traveled with Clooney to Sudan and South Sudan five times. He is a very humble and empathetic person. Most people we came into contact with simply appreciated that he cared and was willing to come out of his comfort zone to be with them in their time of need.

Unfortunately it is highly unstable because the core problem hasn't been addressed: an abusive central government willing to maintain power by any means necessary.
John Prendergast is the founding director of the Enough Project, an initiative to end genocide and crimes against humanity
It is very difficult to maintain interest and focus for a sustained period of time especially on issues halfway around the world that are not perceived to be in the US national interest.

What is the situation in Darfur now?
African stories often hit the news and burn out quickly, the key is to act when the spotlight is brightest and do so in a way that promotes a sustainable solution to the crisis, rather than just managing it.

In Darfur, governments around the world focused on getting a UN force which could only manage the situation, not address the core problem: bad governance in Khartoum. This is a common story and Darfur is just one small example.

Attention to global issues is always fickle but there are solutions. Clooney and I are working on a new initiative, to be launched in 2015, that will chase the assets of some of the world's worst war criminals, disrupting networks that fund and profit from genocide. This is our contribution to the global effort going forward.

Aicha Elbasri

Since the world has forgotten Darfur, Omar al-Bashir's government has officially integrated the infamous Janjaweed militiamen into its armed forces, rather than neutralising them, disarming them and preventing them from harming more civilians. Meanwhile its air and ground campaigns smite civilians and rebels alike.

The government has pitted Arab and non-Arab tribes against each other. The rebels are still fighting the government, but they are also attacking, looting, abducting civilians. Darfur has become a free-for-all killing zone.

Weapons have been proliferating since the UN security council adopted its ineffective-partial arms embargo on the region in 2005. Millions of non-combatant women, men and children are trapped, unseen and unprotected. Countless people are condemned to wander from one camp to another, hoping to survive.
What could the international community have done differently?
Even according to the UN's modest estimates, more than 2 million people are "internally displaced" - a euphemism for homeless.

But the UN is not saying how many people have died in, or as a result of, the fighting since Darfur burst onto the global agenda in 2003. The last official estimate was 300,000 goes back April 2008. Since then, no one has kept proper records of the deaths and injuries sustained in Africa's hidden war.
Aicha Elbasri was the former spokesperson for the Unamid mission in Darfur, she resigned last year accusing the UN of a "conspiracy of silence" over the conflict
Worse has turned to worse. The Sudanese government has turned a conflict depicted as "Arabs versus Africans" into an all-out war.
Has George Clooney make a difference to the lives of people in Darfur? What is the situation in Darfur now?
Since Darfur slipped off the news and policy agenda, Unamid and the UN's peacekeeping office have fully documented three major shifts: integrating the Janjaweed in to Sudanese forces; pitting Arab tribes against non-Arab tribes, and pitting Arab tribes against each other. But they have deliberately covered them up to protect the Sudanese government, currently indicted by the ICC.

Instead of sending more troops, better trained and equipped to protect civilians, the UN has laid off nearly 6,000 peacekeepers since April 2012. This was based on the mission's sunny reports that said that the war was over and the situation had largely improved. In August 2014 the security council went as far as envisaging "an exit strategy" for Unamid, on the grounds that other projects were missing out.
Does Darfur need another global campaign? If you were in charge what would it be called and what would you hope to achieve?
The downsizing of the mission - while Darfur burns more ferociously than ever - is reminiscent of the Rwandan genocide in 1994 when General Romeo Dallaire requested more peacekeeping troops to help stem the violence, his pleas were rejected and his force was reduced to a token level.

Patricia Parker
Patricia Parker is the founder of Kids for Kids, a UK NGO working in Darfur. They loan goats which provide nutritious milk for children, and donkeys, which can provide an income for their mothers to 70 villages. She travelled there regularly until 2011 but has since been unable to arrange access. She is in regular contact with local staff on the ground who continue the work.
Sadly no. There was no evidence or even talk of him, either in the camps or the villages. What people were aware of was talk about the international community giving assistance and bringing security. Security was, and still is, the most urgent and desperately needed help.

Life is desperate. Sudan has suffered soaring inflation since South Sudan seceded in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of the state's oil output. Families can not afford protein in any form, children's hair turns white and many have died of starvation. People's annual income has dropped below £25. Women continue to be at risk of attack.

Although the camps received food the villages were left without any assistance. Aid agencies are conspicuous by their absence. What little health care there was before 2003 was withdrawn the moment violence erupted. There is none beyond the towns. People's survival capacities in times of drought collapsed.

I'd call it Children's Campaign for a Chance of Life, it would ask for clean water, food, education and healthcare. The campaign would need to help people to help themselves and provide sustainable assistance.

All aid sent to Darfur in the past decade has disappeared into the sand, there is no evidence of it anywhere. No improvement in infrastructure, and a massive deterioration, if one can call it that, in the 'standard of living'. Life is worse in Darfur than ever. The future for children is grim.

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What happened to Darfur after George Clooney came to town?

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In 2006 a Hollywood star sparked global interest in a war in Sudan. Did it make a difference? We speak to the people who were there

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George Clooney warns of Darfur-like crisis in Sudan border

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George Clooney testifies before Congress about a humanitarian crisis on the border between Sudan and South Sudan.

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Where is George Clooney when Sudan needs him?

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Where is George Clooney when Sudan needs him?

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Where are George Clooney and co now that Sudan needs them? | Nesrine Malik

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The people are rising up. But the western celebrities and the human rights industry that fought for this are absent, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik