"Things are easy when you've figured out how to live," observes Clooney. "You're able to cut through all the crap that tends to weigh people down and you just focus on what you want out of life and pursue that. For me, the key to life is knowing what you want and being able to go out and get it. It takes hard work, but once you get to the point where you're achieving your goals and not wasting time, everything in life becomes much easier. I like being in that position!"
And hard work has been the key to Clooney’s existential mastery. A decade ago, Clooney formed his own film company (together with director Steven Soderbergh) and began producing and often writing his own movies. This resulted in some good (Michael Clayton, Syriana, Good Night and Good Luck, Ocean’s 11) and some bad (Solaris, Ocean’s 12, Leatherheads) work, but George remains committed to pushing the envelope and leaving behind a formidable legacy as actor, director, and producer. And when he’s not working on a film project, the man revels in his sanctum sanctorum on Lake Como where he feels freer to play host to the latest babe in his life (his current flame is Italian TV presenter Elisabetta Canalis) and movie star friends like Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.
Clooney is a throwback to Hollywood's golden era when movie stars were real men who lived life to the hilt – think of Cary Grant, Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Kirk Douglas, and Burt Lancaster, cinematic icons who drank till dawn and bedded women with reckless abandon.
Not only does Clooney find himself in the enviable position of being one of the world's top actors, he's also discovered an inner peace and calm that has made his fabulous life that much more satisfying.
« My life doesn’t change that much, » muses Clooney. « I still hang out with the same friends, I like to spend time in Italy and hop around Europe a bit – and then I go back to work. I’ve learnt over the years that I’m happiest when I feel I’m being productive and doing what I love most – which is making movies. I try not to worry about anything else. »
This kind of philosphical perspective comes in handy when your last film (« Leatherheads ») bombed and you’re once again leading the fabled bachelor life. But the 48-year-old Clooney is hardly the kind of man who looks backwards. His shark-like determination to create a substantial body of work remains his personal leitmotiv. Work is the one thing in life that keeps him grounded and explains his apparent inability or unwillingness to tie himself down to anything as messy and complicated as a relationship! Though his latest love, the supremely sexy Canalis, appears to be serious, the odds are against the commitment-phobic George succumbing to any single woman’s charms for very long.
In tribute to George Clooney, the following portrait of a week in the life of this glorious movie God is intended to inspire others to reach for similarly Olympian heights of pleasure. Learn to conquer your fears like George, never let a messy thing like a relationship deter you from your goals, and turn your world ninto a divine comedy. Take a lesson from the Clooney script and transform yourself into a supremely self-confident existential road warrior bent on sucking as much beauty, passion, and excitement out of life as possible.
(Clooney currently has two new films about to be released, Men Who Stare at Goats, directed by his friend and producing partner Grant Heslov, and Up in the Air, in which Clooney places a conflicted corporate downsizing expert, a role which may well earn him a Best Actor Oscar to go alongside the one he won as Supporting Actor for his work in Syriana.)
MONDAY – LAKE COMO, ITALY
9:22 am - Wake up. Still groggy from previous night’s reveling with Brad, Matt, and Elisabetta. Stare at ceiling, try to recall the village where you left your motorcycle, kiss Elisabetta on cheek, pick up iPhone, call L.A. assistant, apologise for waking her up, ask her to fax you this week’s travel itinerary.
9:50 am - Breakfast with Elisabetta. Italian maid Regina brings you pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice and plate of home-baked croissants. Regina scolds you for leaving bottles of wine and stacks of screenplays all over house. You apologise. "Scusi, scusi…"
10:53 am – Brad drops in. Looking exhausted, he lies on couch and begs you to adopt some of his children. You politely decline. You offer him a vodka spiked with anti-oxidant dose of blueberry juice. Brad tries to name all his children. Fails.
11: 42 am – You go the street entrance to your house, wave to the admiring tourist hordes who have come to pay you tribute, and take your daily bow. You sign a few autographs before the caribinieri seals off the street and urges you to go back inside in order to avert a possible riot. Crowds scream and squeal. Attractive woman exposes her breasts and asks you to father her children. You politiely decline. Tell assistant to get her phone number anyway.
1:38 pm - You and Brad decide to take a motorcycle trip to a small town to the south. You and Brad order 1996 Brunello di Montalcino. Pay 2000 Euros for meal in cash, tip 500 Euros to waiter. Brad wonders whether you are available to babysit Wednesday night. You politely decline.
3:45 pm - Upon leaving restaurant, 200 screaming Italian teenage girls move towards you and Brad. Brad tries to call his bodyguards but his French cellphone has no reception. 40 paparazzi are outside. You call your private helicopter to rescue Brad. Brad is finally able to leave.
While the crowd is distracted by the daring helicopter rescue, you escape on your motorcycle. The paparazzi give chase on their bikes, but you take a secret shortcut through woods, causing several paparazzi to meet unfortunate end at bottom of ravine. You consider calling ambulance, but conveniently forget emergency number.
5:07 pm - Back at the villa, you find Brad lying in couch reading French phrase book that Angie has assigned him for homework. You take Brad for a motorcycle ride. Brad crashes into tree. You take Brad to local infermeria, call Angie, have his cuts and scrapes bandaged, then call your private helicopter and send Brad back to his sprawling estate in southern France. Brad asks whether he can come back tomorrow. You politely decline.
8:39 pm – You and Elisabetta enjoy a private dinner on terrace overlooking Lake Como. Cesare, your private chef, has prepared his usual fabulous pasta dish.
"Romance and commitment are two different things. I think I am very romantic and very tender towards women. I love women. But I also love my freedom and that's probably a factor which plays a role in wrecking my relationship. It's a strange coincidence, because I never intended for those relationships to go sour, it's just happened like that."
10:54 pm – You dance cheek-to-cheek with Elisabetta on terrace while Eros Ramazotti music serenades you.
11:25 pm – You and Elisabetta retire for the evening. You have had your servants spread rose petals on the stairs leading to the bedroom. You smile to yourself that at least you don’t have to do the sequel to Leatherheads.
"I enjoy going on motorcycle trips in Italy and stopping in small towns and enjoying drinks with the locals. The Italians have a very infectious spirit and that makes me feel very relaxed and less caught up in the business of being who I am. That’s a big part of what draws me back to Italy. I just appreciate the way Italians enjoy life. We should all learn the beauty of four hour meals."
TUESDAY
7:05 am - You wake up early so your chauffeur Giorgio can drive you to airport where you are taking a private plane to Paris for an awards ceremony at the Elyseé Palace.
11:00 am – Elysée Palace. President Sarkoszy awards you the Legion d’Honneur or some kind of medal whose significance you don’t quite understand. Carla and Elisabetta go shopping while you and your new friend “Nick” enjoy several rounds of 100-year-old Cognac while discussing the situation in Darfur.
1:00 pm – At an official state lunch, you get to meet the French cabinet, the President of the Academie Francaise, the favourites for the Prix Goncourt, and latest winners of some strange French reality show.
1:45 pm – Sarko offers you cabinet post. You politely decline.
4:30 pm – At an impromptu private concert, Carla serenades you, Elisabetta, and le President in the Hall of Mirrors. After years of practice as a movie star, you maintain glacial smile throughout performance while actually sleeping.
5:45 pm – As an official state limousine takes you to your hotel, you ask the driver to stop so you can get out and offer a homeless man a 100 Euro note. Homeless person swears at you, quotes some obscure text from Louis Althusser, and offers you a shot of Pastis. You take a swig from his bottle and get back into limo.
6:12 pm – Arrive at Ritz Hotel. Three bellhops carry Elisabetta’s bags to your suite. Elisabetta takes a nap prior to dinner later that evening with Luc Besson and other French prominent members of French film industry. You go to hotel bar where you have drinks with Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis. Johnny apologies that they couldn't make it to official ceremony earlier in the day.
7:30 pm – Private hotel masseuse lathers your back in Tahitian oil while you read script, discuss new project with Steven Soderbergh on cellphone, and enjoy a cognac. American ambassador calls and asks whether your speech is ready prior to your address to the United Nations General Assembly.
9:18 pm - Arrive at restaurant with Elisabetta, Johnny, Vanessa, and Bernard Henri-Levy who, uninvited, has decided to attach himself to your group for the rest of the evening. Arielle Dombasle tries to enter restaurant a few minutes later but security turns her away claiming not to recognise her after latest facelift.
10:36 pm - You and Bernard Kouchner devise new refugee plan for Darfur. Helena Christensen shows up and takes your photo. Leaves her phone number under your wine glass.
1:20 am - After Carla has fnished impromptu private concert, Elisabetta wakes you up. The Ritz has sent their private chauffeur to take you back to hotel. You politely decline. Instead, you and Elisabetta play it safe and take Johnny and Vanessa's limo back to hotel with official escort from twenty or thirty paparazzi motorcycles. You and Johnny sing La Marseilleise.
WEDNESDAY
9:41 am – You decide take Elisabetta to La Palette, your favourite breakfast place in Paris in the 6ieme. You and owner of resto trade affectionate insults and then hug each other.
11:04 am – With no paparazzi in sight, you take Elisabetta for a brief stroll. Thankfully, only a few people stop, wave, and ask for autographs. You decide to drop in on Lagerfeld’s studio in the neighborhood. Karl has been commissioned by Vanity Fair to do a photo session with you and you try to work out the details.
"It's doubly difficult to maintain a relationship if you're a driven person like I am who's extremely dedicated to my work and who tends to be selfish about hanging out with his friends, enjoying a few drinks, and so on. It takes a special woman who's willing to put up with that stuff and still think that the rest of the relationship is sufficient…The minute you start dating, it's pictures and stories and 'Who is she?' and it puts the pressure on immediately."
1:19 pm – You and Elisabetta arrive at CDG airport to catch private plane to London where the premiere for The Fantastic Mr. Fox animated film for which you lent your voice is taking place at the BFI London Film Festival.
4:06 pm – After depositing your bags and stopping for a change of clothes at the Prime Ministerial Suite at the Dorchester Hotel, you join Bill Murray and other cast members for the Mr. Fox press conference.
Reading from prepared script of humorous quips to the same ten questions that are asked of you at every press conference, you convulse journalists in laughter. Spend next hour giving interviews. Repeat same ten answers and humorous anecdotes to ten different journalists.
7:12 pm – You are joined by Elisabetta on red carpet for premiere screening of Up in the Air. You joke with well-wishers behind rope as you work the crowd and sign autographs. You stare briefly at Elisabetta in her revealing Dior gown and shake your head and smile to yourself.
9:34 pm – Audience gives standing ovation at end of film. You get up on stage and take your customary bow.
10:15 pm – Dinner with Tony Blair, Kate Moss, Jamie Hince, Bono and Michael Caine.
11:57 pm – Having said good night to Elisabetta who went back to hotel because she has an early flight back to Italy, you and the rest of the gang go to the Soho Hotel bar for several rounds. You drink everyone under the table except for Kate Moss.
2:37 am – You leave bar. Kate Moss slips her cellphone number in your breast pocket. Jamie Hince notices this and then Kate and Jamie stage a huge drunken fight in front of paparazzi while you speed off in your limo.
THURSDAY
8:25 am – Arrive at Heathrow Airpot to catch flight to New York City where you are scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly on the ongoing Darfur crisis.
1 pm – Press conference prior to UN address. Your father, Nick Clooney, a former journalist and news reader, is at your side. You explain how frustrated you are that nothing has changed in Darfur and that the situation is still tragically desperate.
3 pm - Address General Assembly. Urge nations to come to agreement on helping resolve Darfur humanitarian crisis.
4:22 pm – Take shuttle train to Washington D.C. where you are a guest at White House where you will have dinner with Barack Obama.
7:00 pm – White House dinner. You give brief toast to President Obama and challenge him to one-on-one basketball.
11:49 pm – Take red-eye flight to Los Angeles.
FRIDAY
8:28 am – Wake up in your own bed in L.A. home. Go to kitchen and fix a smoothie for yourself. Call Elisabetta. Call your father Nick to discuss upcoming humanitarian mission to Africa.
10:33 am – Production meeting at Warner Bros. Studio where you are planning to direct your next film starring Megan Fox and Clive Owen.
"I love the work, I need the work, and it's the thing which makes me happiest in life. I don't have a family or children to look after, and so I can be very singleminded about my career and devote myself to my work without any regret or guilt. I've kind of settled on this way of living. "
12: 15 pm – Meet your traditional gang of L.A. friends for lunch at Le Petit Four restaurant.
"I’ve stayed close to the same group of guys in L.A. that I’ve known for the last twenty-five years. We enjoy watching football games, going out into the desert on our bikes, and just hanging out. It’s a chance for us to get away from everything, children, women, the rest of the world…"
2:09 pm – Meet back at your house and then you, long-time friend and production partner Grant Heslov, and your gang take your motorcycles for an afternoon bike trek in California hills.
6:18 pm – Lay wreath at grave of Max, your late great potbelly pig who was your housepet for 15 years.
"It was the longest relationship of my life...Women have had different reactions to Max over the years. But I always said, "Love me, love my pig."
"He was pretty good at testing some of the women I brought home. If he didn't like a girl, I knew she wasn't right for me…I could tell if Max didn’t like a girl by watching him screech and chase them around the house. That was a pretty good sign....He was a helluva pig!"
8:34 pm – Catch last flight at LAX back to Italy.
SATURDAY
1 pm – Arrive at Villa in Laglio. Elisabetta greets you and has arranged for special pasta dish to be prepared for you. You jump on your couch. The house phone rings and Regina answers. Brad is on the line. You tell Regina to tell him you’re in Mozambique. You fall asleep on couch.
"I've learned to be calm. Calmness is my saving grace. You're much calmer the older you get. When you're young, you're trying desperately to make your mark, and then as you get a bit older you calm down. "
"Having the villa in Laglio has helped me find some peace of mind away from Hollywood. Spending a lot of time there over there the last six years has changed my life. It’s been an oasis when it comes to being able to write and focus on my film projects."
3:25 pm – You take Elisabetta for a cross-crountry motorcycle trip. You stop in a coastal village where you enjoy a peaceful stroll through the 14th century streets.
6:36 pm – Still on motorcycle, you and Elisabetta arrive in San Remo where Brad and Angie, together with Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana, have secretly arranged a surprise party for you at a jazz club. You and Brad are asked up on stage together with Matt Damon to perform the song, "Tu Vuo’ Fa L’Americano," which Damon and Jude Law sang in the film The Talented Mr. Ripley. The audience at the club screams with applause.
"The Italians have a very infectious spirit and that makes me feel very relaxed and less caught up in the business of being who I am. That’s a big part of what draws me back to Italy. I just appreciate the way Italians enjoy life. We should all learn the beauty of four hour meals. "
"My favourite memory as far as that is concerned came a few years ago when I invited my friends to go on a motorcycle trip across the Alps. That was one of the best things I ever did. Some of the guys I still ride with are friends from when we were teenagers and I try to make it a pont to get everybody together at least once a year in Como and then make some sort of journey with our bikes. That’s my eternal teenager side."
11:30 pm – You, Elisabetta and the rest of the group continue the party at your giant suite at the Royal Hotel San Remo. You and Brad find time to chat about a new film project that you want to direct.
"I go crazy if I don't have something to work on even when I'm staying at the most beautiful places including my own house in Italy. I need to feel that I’m leaving some kind of legacy and not just cruising through life. Work is the thing that matters to me most. Having the chance to work in a creative medium and being able to develop and write and direct films is what keeps me interested in life. "
SUNDAY
11 am – Back in Laglio, you and Elisabetta do some sunbathing on the terrace garden overlooking Lake Como. A police boat intercepts and arrests paparazzi who have tried to catch a shot of you and Elisabetta.
1 pm – Take call from Tony Gilroy (director of Michael Clayton). Elisabetta has lunch in village with Italian group of friends who have come up from Rome while you work on new script.
3 pm – You decide to take a motorcycle trip by yourself to other side of Lake Como. You enjoy some pastry and a cappuccino at your favourite café. Some of the owner’s children pose with you for a photograph. A young Italian beauty comes over to your table and asks if she and her girlfriend can join you for the evening. You politely decline.
"I'm pretty close to where I want to be. There's a huge kick to being able to live part of the year in Italy, ride my motorcycle, stopping off in small towns and enjoying a drink at some old, out-of-the way café. It's great to be able to lose yourself that way. You have to be willing to work hard to create your own sense of freedom and that's where the real art of living comes in. "
8 pm – Quiet candlelight dinner with Elisabetta on terrace. Later, your romantic evening is interrupted by a call on your ultra-private cellphone. You take the call. Your publicist has called to tell you that you’ve won the Sexiest Man Alive award again! You throw your cellphone in Lake Como.
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