Clooney Hits Back After Tarantino Says He's No Movie Star

Asked last year who he considers a movie star, Quentin Tarantino failed to list George Clooney. Clooney has now responded, more than a year later. The strange back-and-forth, as recounted by CNN:

• Tarantino's comments: The filmmaker was apparently talking about movie stars with Deadline columnist Baz Bamigboye at the Cannes film festival, a conversation Bamigboye later recounted in a July 2023 column. "Well, it's been a long while since I think George Clooney has drawn anybody to an audience," Tarantino said when Bamigboye brought Clooney up; Bamigboye said Tarantino made the remark "somewhat unkindly." When the columnist expressed surprise, Tarantino continued, "When was the last time that he had a hit in this millennium?" and "Well, I'm asking you, when was his last hit where he drew an audience?"

• Clooney's response: Clooney seemed to be referencing that conversation during a recent joint interview with Brad Pitt in GQ. The two star in Wolfs, out next month, and the subject came up of whether they feel a sense of competition with each other. Tarantino's name was brought up, leading Clooney to say, "Quentin said some s--- about me recently, so I'm a little irritated by him." Referencing Tarantino's use of the term "millennium," Clooney said, "I was like, 'Since the millennium? That's kind of my whole f---ing career." As Pitt laughed, Clooney continued, "So now I'm like, all right, dude, f--- off. I don't mind giving him s---. He gave me s---."
• Clooney's history with Tarantino: Tarantino directed Clooney in a 1995 episode of ER, and the two later starred in From Dusk Till Dawn, which Tarantino wrote. Clooney mentioned that movie in the GQ article, saying Tarantino was "OK" in it. At the end of his remarks on Tarantino, however, Clooney did concede, "But no, look, we're really lucky we got to work with these great directors."

(More George Clooney stories.)