Tuesday 28 September 2010

Presentation Script

Presentation Script;

How successful George Clooney is as an actor leading him to main roles in many of his films.

Presenter: George Clooney is a very successful American actor who has starred in films such as The Perfect Storm, Goodnight and Good Luck and also the film Out of Sight, which is seen as the film that really brought George Clooney into stardom. However, this did not all come so easy to George Clooney as he faced many troubles whilst working his way to being the successful actor that we see him as today. The years that he continued to fail at his acting career must have set him out to see a future of nothing in this business. But, Clooney did not let any of this get to him and he kept going until he found work that began to make him successful as an actor in this business. He was so determined to make it as an actor, leading him to achieve the success that he has to this day. So the fact that he did not just give up on his acting meant he was able to carry on and get to where he is today.

Projector shows a quote from the illustrated biography of George Clooney (item 12)
Presenter reads the quote shown out to the audience

‘‘Across more than two decades, he has slowly climbed the ladder of success, rung by rung, with boundless energy, patience and commitment. His story is not one of overnight success. He started out in TV, scraping a living, taking any part that came his way''.

Presenter: It is not unknown that it took George Clooney a while to break into the business and one of the films that really helped him with his acting success is the film Out of Sight.

Projector: Out Of Sight trailer shown (item 8).

Presenter: This film is really the breakthrough for George Clooney, as before this film he kept starring in films that nobody liked. It is said that George Clooneys acting was fine in these films, but he was just acting in all the wrong films, including From Dusk Till Dawn. From Dusk Till Dawn did not receive a large audience, with its box office figure standing at just $25,836,616 (item 5).

Projector: From Dusk Till Dawn trailer shown (item 9).

Presenter: In films such as From Dusk Till Dawn and Batman & Robin, the fact that they didn't do very well could have made it seem that George Clooney wasn't such a good actor. However, people saw past this and realized that he did have talent. He was just unfortunate enough to be working on films that nobody wanted to watch.

Presenter: With his acting in Out of Sight and The Perfect Storm, Clooney really began to get noticed and was becoming a star. The film Out of Sight was just the beginning for him, and The Perfect Storm is the film that gets him more noticed by the public audiences.

Projector: Ending scene shown from The Perfect Storm (item 3).

Presenter: The Perfect Storm really shows that George Clooney is a talented actor and that he can handle playing lead roles, such as his role in The Perfect Storm. This is the first film that used George Clooney as the centre of the film and the success of this film just shows how the audiences love Clooney. The Perfect Storm took a worldwide figure of $328,718,434 (taken from item 5). This figure is a lot more than what Clooneys films usually took, as we can see by comparing it to that of The Peacemaker that took a worldwide figure at the box office of $110,463,140 (item 5). This is not a bad figure however compared to that of the Perfect Storm, we can see a significant difference in the numbers. The figure has risen rapidly for The Perfect Storm, suggesting that more people were eager to see the films that Clooney starred in. Batman & Robin took a worldwide box office figure of $238,207,122 (item 5), however the reviews and public feedback were very negative and even Clooney himself knows that it was a bad film. The Perfect Storm took a much bigger amount at the box office which would suggest to us that The Perfect Storm was much more successful for Clooney than The Peacemaker and also Batman & Robin. This shows how the Perfect Storm had a good response, which is something the films Clooney usually starred in didn't get. From this film onwards, the films that he starred in are quite well known and he tends to play the lead role, with his name being used as a selling point for his movies. The name George Clooney is used to promote films in order to get audiences to go see the films that he stars in.
However, it is known that George Clooney did struggle greatly to get where he is today. This includes many unsuccessful TV shows, and also films with poor responses such as Batman & Robin. Although the box office figures for Batman & Robin is not completely bad, it is known that the general response to this film was negative. Those who went to see it did not really enjoy it.

Projection board: A few lines from the biography shown (item 10).
Presenter reads the quotes shown out to the audience.

[George couldn't get anywhere when he first started and starred in many failed pilot TV shows. He had went to stay with his aunt in LA who after a while got sick of his partying and eventually kicked him out leading him to stay in a friends closet for a year].

[He found work on low budget horror films such as the return to horror high and the return of the killer tomatoes. His profile and income rose, but he was still relatively unknown. It was not until about 2001 when he became much more popular and powerful as an actor].

Presenter: George Clooney obviously had a rough beginning to his new life in LA, from being kicked out by his aunt to not getting much work. Any work that he did get turned out to be another unsuccessful TV pilot, and this frustrated George but he did not give up. He was one hundred percent determined on making it as an actor.

Projector: Webpage with the list of awards that George Clooney has been up for is shown for the audience to see (Item 6).

Presenter: We can see by looking through this list of award nominations and winning awards that Clooney did not start getting any awards until 1995, for his work on the TV drama ER. We can see that George, as well as his co stars on ER were nominated for their acting with the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Although it was only a nomination, and not a win it shows us that George Clooney was getting noticed for his acting in ER. This is when Clooney started to become noticed in the business however it is not until about 1996 when George starts getting award nominations for his film work. This shows us that Clooney begins to make it as a film actor rather than just a TV actor from about 1996. Anytime before this, he was just known as a TV actor, mainly for his work on ER. From this webpage we can see that George was nominated for and won a Saturn Award in 1996 for best actor for his work in the film From Dusk Till Dawn. He also won an MTV Movie Award in 1996 for best breakthrough performance for again his work on From Dusk Till Dawn. We can see the success of George Clooney that happened from this year onwards with the many award nominations and also wins which Clooney has had. We can also see that he is still very successful by looking at the awards that he has been up for in 2010. These would include him being nominated however not winning an Oscar in 2010 for his performance in a leading role in the film Up In The Air. Although he did not win the award, it does show us how George Clooney is still being recognized for his acting in film and still has the talent to be nominated for such awards. He did however win a KCFCC (Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award) in 2010 for best actor for his work in the film Up In The Air. This shows to us how he is still a successful actor today, proven by the fact that he is still getting nominated and winning awards today for his acting.

Projector: Shows clip from 2:30 onwards of an Interview with Clooney (Item 11)

Presenter: In this interview, George Clooney speaks about how he has 'mastered bad television'. This interview shows to us that George Clooney appreciates the time it took him to become a successful actor. He doesn't dwell on his years of being an unsuccessful actor; instead he says how it meant he was ready for stardom when it hit him. Because he was over 30 when he started to become a famous actor, he was more prepared than he would have been at the age of 20. He says in this interview how he feels sorry for anyone who would make it big at the age of 20 because he doesn't know how they would cope with the fame they receive. So, all the struggles that Clooney went through lead him to handle his fame easily, so he actually appreciates the fact that he didn't make it big straight away.
He is now still a successful actor and continues to act in films still maintaining his ability to take on the lead roles in his movies, one for example being a recent film Up In The Air.

Projector: Scene from Up In The Air is shown (item 2). (Put timing here).

Presenter: This film has Clooney as the main role and we can see how he is still talented and still has the ability to entertain his audiences. We can see how successful George Clooney has become, from looking at his first jobs in failed TV pilots to where he is now.
But, Clooney is not just a huge influence to the audience, he is also looked up to and admired by upcoming actors, such as Anna Kendrick who starred beside him in the film Up in the air.

Projection board: Quotes from Empire article is shown (item 7)

Anna Kendrick speaking about George Clooney: 'obviously, he is really intimidating as a sort of iconic figure. He's one of the most famous people on the planet'.

Presenter: This is what the upcoming actress Anna Kendrick thinks of George Clooney, and it shows how his success has lead to others seeing him as an idol. Not only do his fans see him as the amazing actor that he is, but so do other actors which really shows how successful he is in the business.
This article proves to us that George Clooney is a successful actor, by showing us how other actors admire him and his work. To be admired so much by other actors just shows us how great an actor he has become over time, despite all the struggles he had to face along the way.

Projector: A Filmography is shown on the board (Item 4)

[Lights dim, presenter points to board showing the films that George Clooney has starred in, starting from bottom of list].

Presenter: This web page shows us how as George Clooney is getting older, his work is staying big and successful. We can see by looking at this page that as he started out his work was very un successful and unknown to most audiences. However, as we work our way to the top of the list of his films we can see just how popular George Clooney has came over his time spent working within films.
One of his most successful films would be his work on the Oceans' series. This includes the first one, Oceans Eleven where we see George Clooney taking on the main role as Danny Ocean, which really showed us just how talented an actor Clooney is.

Projector: A scene from Oceans Eleven is shown on the projector (item 1). (timing here)

Presenter: As being one of his more successful films, this movie is important for George Clooney as it really proves to us that George Clooney is meant for acting and that he has the talent to work in this business. We know that this is one of his more successful films by looking at the worldwide box office figure that this film took: $450,717,150 (item 5). This is a huge step up from what Clooney was used to with the lower figures from the films such as The Peacemaker that took $110,463,140 (item 5) and also The Thin Red Line, taking only $98,126,565 (item 5).
By acting in this film as such really shows that he is successful as an actor and that his struggles when he first started out really paid him off for where he is today.

Within this presentation I have spoken about George Clooneys acting before and after his break out as an actor. I have spoke about his struggles as well as his later success and how his struggles helped him for where he is today. I think that I have shown that George Clooney is a very successful actor and that he worked his way up very well to deserve the lead roles that he is still given today.

Friday 18 June 2010

Annotated Catalogue

Item 1 - Oceans Eleven:
This film is useful to me as it shows me how successful George Clooney has became as an actor after so many years of trying to make himself a known actor. This film, which was in 2002 includes George Clooney acting the role of Danny Ocean, the main character within this film. This shows me how after all his struggles, George Clooney had the ability to act in such top roles.


Item 2 - Up In The Air:
This film, as one of his more recent roles is also useful to me because it shows me where George Clooney is as an actor today; still successful and still getting main roles. It shows me that George Clooney is still a wanted actor today, and that he most likely will be around in this business for a lot longer. If he was about ready to leave this business, I think that he would not be taking on such main roles. However, I believe this film shows how he is still capable of taking on main roles in big movies and still wants to take on these jobs. From watching this film we can see the talent which George Clooney has even to this day.


Item 3 - The Perfect Storm:
This film is useful to me as it is one of his first more successful movies that he starred in. George Clooney is used in this film as the lead actor who opened and carried the film. This shows us how the director, Wolfgang Petersen really believed that Clooney had the ability to attract audiences to the film and that he had the talent to work on such an important role. This is useful as it shows us the beginning of George Clooneys success as an actor in films and not just TV.
Although it was the TV show, ER that got him noticed in this business, he was still not that well known and much of a wanted actor. He did star in other movies before The Perfect Storm, including From Dusk Till Dawn and also Batman & Robin, however these films did not do so well, attracting such small audiences. George Clooney was a known actor before The Perfect Storm, mainly because of his role in the movie Out Of Sight in 1998. However, I think that it is not until he starred in The Perfect Storm as Captain Billy Tyne that he became a known and loved actor. By this time, his work was being noticed and he became a respected actor with many talents to bring to his movie roles. So, although George Clooney had been around way before his role in The Perfect Storm, his success does not really show until this film. We can see by watching this movie that he has real talent, even if it took him a long time to show it off and be noticed for it.



Internet:

Item 4 - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000123/filmotype
This website page is useful to me because it shows me all the films and also TV shows which George Clooney has starred in and also shows how as he gets older, his films get bigger. It shows me how he started off as a struggling actor, trying to make it big in many different failed TV shows, whereas now he gets main roles easily in films such as the Oceans series, Up In The Air and many others.


Item 5 - http://boxofficemojo.com/
This website can be very useful to me as it can show me each of the box office takings for George Clooneys films. This is helpful for me as it can give me an idea of which of his films are successful and which are not so successful. By looking at this, I can see whereabouts the films that George Clooney starred in really started to attract an audience.


Item 6 - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000123/awards
This webpage is useful to me as it has a list of awards which George Clooney has been nominated for and also which ones he won. This shows me that he is successful, because is he wasn't then he would not have won these awards or even been nominated for them. So this webpage gives me a look at what he has won because of his talent, proving that he is a success and has the talent that is needed to be successful in this business.



Magazine Articles:

Item 7 - Empire Magazine April 2010
An article including a paragraph on what Anna Kendrick (who starred alongside George Clooney in the film Up in the air). This is useful to me as it allows me to see how other people in the acting industry think of George Clooney and his success as an actor.



Newspaper:


Video Clips:

Item 8 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_GOrRyhABg
This trailer for Out of Sight is useful to me as this is a film that is seen to be one of the first films that George Clooney was successful in. By watching this trailer, we can see how George Clooney is playing a lead role, and not just in the background anymore, as he is finally seen for the talent that he has.


Item 9 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgk_SAbC5_0
This trailer of From Dusk Till Dawn is helpful to me because it is one of his first films, where we can see that he has talent but the film itself did not do very well.



TV/Interviews:

Item 10 - Biography on George Clooney from the biography channel.
This biography is useful to me as it takes me through the whole of his career, from the very start when he first decided to try out as an actor. It shows me all the struggles that he came across and overcome in order to be the successful actor that he is today.


Item 11 -Interview with George Clooney on BBC with Parkinson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jafva3ZTcAI
This interview can be helpful to me because it has George Clooney talking about his career; how it started off as a struggle, in many unsuccessful TV shows. Instead of somebody else telling is about him, he is telling us himself in this interview.



Books:

Item 12 - George Clooney the illustrated biography by Shana Cushman.
This book can be very useful to me as it takes us through all of George Clooneys career, speaking about his struggles at the beginning of his career and also the success that he has maintained today.



Unused;
Item 13 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Clooney
I thought this item could be very useful to me as it has a section on George Clooneys 'International Success'. This section would show me when George Clooney started to make it as a successful actor and also his progression throughout his films, leading him to the main roles in many of his films. However, I did not use it as I think that many of the other items put together were able to show what this webpage itself is showing. This webpage on George Clooney shows when he started to get noticed as an actor, however this is also shown to us in other items that I used. Also, a major issue with this website is that it is very unreliable. This is because the information on this website is written by the public and therefore we cannot be sure that what we are reading is actually correct.

Investigation Title

How successful George Clooney is as an actor leading him to main roles in many of his films.

Friday 14 May 2010

George Clooneys charity work

http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/68-george-clooney

Tuesday 11 May 2010

Monday 10 May 2010