I didn’t read this TIMES article until today, but I’ve actually thought about this before. Why are there no movie stars anymore? What’s the difference between the actors of the past, of Hollywood’s so-called Golden Age, and those we’re having today? And then it crossed my mind, if anybody, George Clooney is a movie star. There are many great actors, but real movie stars? George Clooney, definitely. Another talented actor I thought could have become a movie star was Heath Ledger, who recently passed away.

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 ever shoved a famous foot into. Partly because there are so many unknowns—you’re stuck alone chatting up the family while the reporter cooks, you accidentally let slip a cruel joke about a wedding photo, you somehow use the bathroom wrong—and partly because who the hell wants to spend Saturday night stuck at some dork’s house eating undercooked lamb? Would Gwyneth Paltrow come over? Johnny Depp? But George Clooney said yes, of course, why not, sounds fun.

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P.S.: Watched Michael Clayton yesterday. Very good movie based on an astounding screenplay, although it had a few “lengths”. Tony Gilroy is one of Hollywood’s best screenwriters as of today, in my opinion. The dialogue he writes is mostly to the point, but what sets Gilroy apart from most other writers currently working in the LA film business is his ability to use an extraordinary structure to tell the movie’s story. He did it when writing the Bourne movies (watch Bourne 2+3 back to back if you’d like to know what I’m talking about) and he did it again with Michael Clayton, which he also directed.