South Park certainly nailed George Clooney in their “Smug Alert” episode, but they never prepared us for how to handle simultaneous Clooney Smug attacks. So, when rival movie studios schedule their own Clooney movie releases within a week of each other, will moviegoers respond with glee or apathy?
At this point, Overture has “The Men Who Stare at Goats” — a war-themed dark comedy — set for wide release on Nov. 6. One week later, Paramount has a limited opening penciled in for “Up in the Air,” a dramatic comedy that generated big positive buzz at the recent Toronto International Film Festival.
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“Air” is considered the more commercial of the two movies, but either could figure in award-season campaigning. “Air” was originally set for a December release but was moved up in a previous round of slot jockeying.
Ah yes, in addition to all the publicity issues and possible financial impact, those all-important award-season considerations, if planned correctly, could result in an even greater reserve of Clooney Smug. They’ll work this crap out, but, personally, I think the exercise of mentioning scheduling conflicts was worth it merely for the opportunity to laugh at the “slot jockeying” verbiage. That’s totally a Clooney-appropriate term.
