STARS ALIGN

ADAM SANDLER. GEORGE CLOONEY. TWO VERY DIFFERENT A-LISTERS WHO’VE NEVER JOINED FORCES… UNTIL JAY KELLY.

WORDS JOHN NUGENT

WE GET TOGETHER WITH HOLLYWOOD’S GLITZIEST ODD COUPLE

ON THE SURFACE, GEORGE CLOONEY AND ADAM SANDLER MAKE STRANGE BEDFELLOWS.

One is an actor, writer and director, who moved past his ’90s-TV-heartthrob status to become one of Hollywood’s most recognisable leading men, an old-fashioned A-lister in the Cary Grant mould. The other is a comedy superstar, whose prolific film output since leaving Saturday Night Live has earned him billions in box office, a legion of loyal fans and a lucrative Netflix deal (with occasional stints working with serious dramatic directors like Paul Thomas Anderson and the Safdie brothers). One is known for suave sophistication; the other is known for the line, “He called the shit ‘poop’!”

Not exactly alike, then. But in Jay Kelly, the latest film from writer-director Noah Baumbach (of Marriage Story and Frances Ha fame), they are the best of pals. In a neat bit of meta-casting, Clooney plays the Jay Kelly of the title, a very Clooney-esque actor described in the film as “the last of the old movie stars”, while Sandler plays his long-suffering but fiercely loyal manager Ron Sukenick. When Jay reflects on his starry life and his neglected family, he decides to embark on a madcap trip across Europe, with Ron and his team attempting to keep up with him. It’s a rich, outlandish stew of Preston Sturges-style comedy-drama — a film about family versus work, Hollywood versus real life, pratfalls versus pathos.

On the eve of the film’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival in late August, Empire met up with Clooney and Sandler in a suite at the floating city’s swanky Hotel Excelsior, where they were warm and charming company: Clooney dressed in a trim navy suit, Sandler in a golf shirt. Over the course of our conversation, the two traded banter and barbs, compliments and genuine affection, dropping names and swapping stories with endless energy. The Sandman and the Cloonman: this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.