Click to play videoThe 4th Dubai International Film Festival kicked off with the screening of George Clooney starrer Michael Clayton on Sunday evening. CNN-IBN's Somen Mishra caught up with Clooney to talk about films and life.
Somen Mishra: Hi George, welcome to CNN-IBN. The last time you were here in Dubai with your film Syriana and today you are here with Michael Clayton.
George Clooney: Right.
Somen Mishra: So are you moving towards the films with a political theme, like this one and Syriana and then Good Night and Good Luck?
George Clooney: Well you know I’ve been doing it for a while now, Three Kings was about 10 years ago and that was as political as you can get, I did a project called Fail Safe that was about nuclear holocaust. The most fertile ground for story telling right now in the United States is to serve the upheaval of the American government.
Somen Mishra: Is it true that your good friend Brad Pitt introduced you to Indian actor Irfan Khan who you’re considering to cast in your Ocean's next film?
George Clooney: We're not doing an Ocean's next film, so that’s all made up, but I like the story it's good (laughs).
Somen Mishra: Do you enjoy acting more or directing?
George Clooney: Directing is more fun while acting you're sort of relying on the director, but in direction you get to be the dictator.
Somen Mishra: And finally, is Ocean’s 14 not happening for sure?
George Clooney: No, no. We're not doing an Ocean's 14, after we did Ocean's 12, we felt that we didn’t do it as good as we could have. We felt there was a better movie out there, so Steven and I sat down and we came up with this concept for Ocean's 13. We went out and we shot it. We feel like we made a really good film, we were reviewed very well, we felt like we made it, the film we wanted and now we're out, so we just wanted to get out with a good one.
Somen Mishra: One last thing, you're not only considered one of the sexiest men in the whole world but also one of the most powerful actors, what does power mean to you?
George Clooney: Well, power is a funny thing, it only lasts for a brief time and its sort of fleeting, but what it means is that I can get a film like Michael Clayton made when a studio won't make it, we can go out we can raise the money. I can get Good Night, And Good Luck made I can get Syriana made, believe me those aren’t films anyone is rushing to go out and make in the studio world.
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