Oh, that George Clooney. Always making political movies no one really wants to see, ending up on several government watchlists, and being a super-sexy movie star. But he’s no Rupert Goold, and that is why Clooney’s name will soon become synonymous with “Enron.” Goold’s West End play of the same title has been snatched up by producer Laura Ziskin, with George Clooney attached to direct. And Goold is not happy.
“Enron” is an outsized retelling of the crisis that took down the shady energy distributor, considered by many to be a microcosm of Bush-era business gone wrong. Lucy Prebble, the original playwright, will be penning the screenplay for the film (she sold the screen rights) but Goold, who directed the 2010 Olivier Award winning drama is not expected to contribute in any way, nor any of the stage cast, which led him to ask the Guardian, derisively, “How do you compete with George Clooney?”
The play eventually made it to America, but apathy and America’s general disinterest in their own crumbling economic infrastructure led to the production closing after fifteen performances. This time it will be different, says Ziskin, who commenting of the dismissal of Goold and company says, “Once you’ve done something… you’ve done it. Let that stand on its own… This is an American story.” Take that, you lousy limeys.
Clooney will starting shooting his other political project, “Ides of March,” in February and then may possibly segue into “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” sometime next fall so his dance card is full until early ’12, meaning that “Enron” isn’t likely to get in front of cameras until 2012 (unless Clooney simply takes a producer credit and allows someone else to take the reins). We like Clooney and appreciate the integrity he brings to some projects but this one just doesn’t seem very… timely?
