What could be more fun than trip to Palm Springs’ luxurious Bighorn Golf Club for an afternoon with the A-list ensemble behind Ocean’s Twelve—George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia and the film’s producer Jerry Weintraub? To hear them tell it, only the behind-the-scene antics they pulled on each other that WON’T make the DVD extras! But let’s let them tell it their way:
The film looked like so much fun to make, and the stories from the set are outrageous. Is there one really over-the-top story that you guys have that we haven’t heard yet?
Matt: Those are the stories when you get busted over the border. No really, there were antics.
George: Yes, there were some antics. The fun part for us was being in Rome at the roof of our hotel. Jerry basically built us a restaurant/bar at the top of this hotel so we didn’t have to go anywhere. So every night after work, we’d get together after not seeing each other practically the whole day.
Jerry: We love the “Ocean’ s 11 restaurant.” I wish you could’ve all come.
George: But Brad definitely does things to me. You might have heard, when we were in Rome, he left a memo in Italian to the crew saying that “Mr. Clooney would appreciate it if you only referred to him as ‘Daniel Ocean’ or ‘Mr. Ocean,’ and don’t look him in the eyes.” It really sounded like I was trying to stay in character, so for about a month, that went around. I finally realized it when people kept calling me “Mr. Ocean.”
Brad: Oh, that’s his story now, because it did make the paper, about his prima donna behavior. It became a problem in this movie. He can paint it however he wants to paint it, but it was a problem.
George: So I got him back by putting a bumper sticker on the back of his car. One was “I’m Gay and I Vote.” And the other was “Small Penis on Board.”
Matt: That was when he drove home through L.A. rush hour traffic and people were honking and waving.
Don: And he’s thinking it’s because he’s Brad Pitt…
Brad: Yeah, George likes to take credit for that, but I’m very proud to be a gay voter and I don’t feel my small penis is anything to be ashamed about. I would like to take credit for those stickers.
Where there any pranks played on Catherine, or did she go after you guys?
Brad: I think the biggest joke is on Catherine because she actually thought we were making a movie. Being the new kid, no one told her. She was memorizing lines and doing character breakdowns, and we just let her roll with it.
Catherine: I’m glad they didn’t play a trick on me, but I have been informed that it takes up to three years to complete, so I’ve known George Clooney for two and I’m looking over my shoulders for the next year.
How differently did each of you approach this material as opposed to the first film?
Matt: For me, this time, I actually didn’t read the script. And if you approach it that way, then you’re always going to be surprised!
George: Yes, we seem to find that to work very well. I did that with Batman & Robin too (laughs).
Don: But I think it was so much more fun playing characters that screwed up, it was a lot more fun this time around.
How difficult was it to get everyone back for the sequel?
George: Brad was a little upset because of the Jude Law thing, [being named People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive.”]
Matt: I’m friends with Jude, so I’m a little worried for him because Brad was really pissed off.
Brad: I think Matt was the most shaken. He campaigned hard, put up a good fight. The kid really tried his best, and I think it was tough coming in, but if he sticks with it, I think we’ll see some really good things from him. George and I are working with the younguns. Jude is at the top of his class, he’s a great player, so it was natural.
George: I will say this though, Matt’s on the list, Bruce Willis, too. Anyways, we’re excited for Matt. For years now, this is something he wanted. But Jude really ran a good campaign. Being on the list though means in the event he can’t serve, Matt will be there.
Jerry: Brad was guaranteed in this film to get the girl, because George got the girl in the first one.
Brad: Because you have no idea about Rusty’s sexuality in the first one.
George: She gets around, that Catherine Zeta-Jones, [she was my love interest in our last film]. I was a little upset about that, but I’ll get her back. I’m doing a love scene with Michael Douglas later.
Jerry: And in order to get Matt to be voted “Sexiest Man Alive,” we have to do one where he gets the girl.
Compare and contrast Catherine and Julia Roberts as leading ladies.
Matt: We haven’t actually worked with either of them. They weren’t really in the movie. Catherine had a restraining order against George.
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George: It wasn’t really a restraining order. It was 50 feet. Well, Catherine is not pregnant with twins. They’re both really fun. It must be really intimidating to jump on board with someone else who’s already done one of these, and Catherine just jumped in with both feet and had a blast, or at least that’s what she said.
Catherine: I am intimidated every day I go on a movie set. I’m terrified and always want to re-shoot the first day or first week. But here, it was easy and simple, and people welcomed me with open arms and it was great. But I do get terrified.
Jerry: Catherine came on the set the first day and she was the new lady in town. And she was a little worried walking into this. And after the first day of shooting, Brad came back from “Troy” in a dress, and Catherine came in and she looked to die for. She was absolutely gorgeous; she had high-heels on, and tight jeans–
Catherine: I think they get the idea now…
Jerry: All the guys were around her in seconds and she was the center of attention, as she should be. She never has anything to worry about because not only is she beautiful on the outside, but she’s beautiful inside.
Group: Awwwwwwww.
Brad: We were really excited to have Catherine, first of all because she brings this great elegance to the film and a lot of the film is focused on her alone, so she has to be able to carry it. The great thing about Catherine is that there’s this great beauty and great elegance, but at the same time she won’t mind getting under the table.
Catherine: I’m sure I was hated by females around the world, because I was able to kiss Brad. My husband would ask me, “What are you doing today, honey?” and I would be, like, “Oh, I’m kissing Brad.” “And what about this afternoon?” “Oh, I’m kissing Brad.” So, it’s a tough job but someone has to do it!
And Julia seemed pretty game to parody her own situation, both as a major movie star and as a soon-to-be mom.
George: Julia was in the middle of shooting the first month and we read in the papers that she was pregnant. Then we had to re-think what we were doing. It was up to Julia, if she was up for doing something that altercated that, which was like making fun of herself or her celebrity. And that’s hard to do, because you’re using yourself as a target, and she just jumped into it.
Matt: That whole sequence hinges on her completely going for it, and her being star-struck when Bruce Willis comes in. That whole sequence is driven by her. And in terms of shooting, that was probably the most fun. We were completely over the top and Julia was great when taking a leap off the cliff.
How did the legacy of the original Rat Pack the current Ocean’s movies?
Jerry: Well I was there for that one. I worked with Sinatra in those days, so for me, in my house, there’s a big poster of the original “Ocean’s” group and below that is a shot of our guys. And then there’s a book from Frank he gave me in 1976 and then there’s a picture of Frank and I, so it’s my homage to Frank–he’s always around in my head. But I don’t think “Ocean’s 11” has any connection to that first one except for the camaraderie of between this group, which is the same as the first group. We all socialize when we’re not working together and hang out. It’s a group that’s really like an ensemble or small theatre company.
Brad: We mess with each other. We take each other out at every opportunity we get. And last night we got home from a junket and we go over to Jerry’s house and he’s getting a massage. So George asked, ‘Do you have a camera?’ and I said yes I do. He asked ‘Do you have a flash?’ I said ‘Yes, I do.’ We went into the room and it was nice and moody. [We give the signal to the masseuse] and George warmed up his hands and the masseuse takes her hands off Jerry and in comes George. He started massaging Jerry’s belly and inner thighs and all you hear is [ecstatic] “Ahhhhh.” That’s just the kind of activities that show our maturity
George: There’s a big room of well-known people and they gravitate around Carl [Reiner] and Elliot [Gould], who are incredibly fun and intelligent–They’ve been through it all. And it’s fun to sit around and listen to their stories, and they’re interested in listening, they teach you a lot about living your life the right way. They’re just the coolest guys.
Don: I am definitely closer to everyone. I see Elliot at poker every week. The first day back at work, and we all sat around for two hours talking and reminiscing and getting re-acquainted. We were wondering if we were ever shooting, and we went to lunch, and when we got back Steven had all these drawings done on chalkboards with different angles and had drawn out everything in his head.
Andy: Steven definitely provides a great environment; he’s very loose and is very interested on how he focuses on his actors. I didn’t get the chance to work with everyone at the same time, but it’s a great cast and it’s a privileged situation to be in.
George: This isn’t a group of guys who just got together for one movie before this. We’ve worked on a lot of projects together. This group of people, we not only enjoy working with each other, but being around one another, so there’s a good sense of camaraderie.
The look of this film is a little less glamorous than the first, less Vegas glitz and more European grit.
Matt: I think we’re just older and we just look less glamorous. And by “we,” you know who I’m talking about.
George: Thank you.
But Catherine and Andy had some impressive wardrobes.
Catherine: Being European, I had to be very official, and it’s great to know European agents wear red leather to work. I remember when reading the character, I never thought of that.
Andy: I don’t think you can wear [my character’s] clothes outside the movie. I did keep my cane that I created, but I haven’t seen it yet. This wardrobe was a little out there.
What did you learn about each other while making this movie?
George: We learned a lot from the bumper sticker.
