George Clooney And Joel Edgerton Made The Studio 'Panic' With The Boys In The Boat [Exclusive Interview]
This post contains spoilers for "The Boys in the Boat."
Heads up, Dads of the world: There's a new Dad Masterpiece (or "Dadsterpiece") in theaters right now. After tackling a sports movie with his 2008 film "Leatherheads," director George Clooney is back in sports mode once again with "The Boys in the Boat," an adaptation of Daniel James Brown's 2013 non-fiction book about the unlikely rise of the University of Washington's JV crew team as they went on to represent the United States at the 1936 Olympics.
The sports movie boom in American cinema is long over, so in some ways, a project like this feels like a rarity. It also feels comforting and familiar in the way it engages with the tropes and rhythms of this genre. Still, there are some surprises to be had if you don't know the real story, and I had the chance to sit down over Zoom and speak with Clooney and lead actor Joel Edgerton (who plays the team's stubborn coach, Al Ulbrickson) about the film's structural challenges, what inspired them, making movie studios panic, and more.
Note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
'The one advantage we had in telling this story was that it was true'
I'm going to publish this after the movie comes out, but George, I would like to ask about a specific detail that I found really fascinating about this movie. The main team that we follow never actually loses a race. Typically in films like this, there's this moment of loss, that inspires a climb back to a big win at the end. But these guys stay on top the entire time. So I was curious if that structure provided a challenge for you, just in terms of modulating the momentum of the movie.
Clooney: Well, except that they lose a lot of other things. It takes them a long time to get their act together. And they keep messing up along the way. Joe Rantz really did have problems with his family and really did have issues of trying to manhandle the oars and really take it too fast. You're right, but they didn't lose, so it is a ...
The one advantage we had in telling this story was that it was true. There are things in this that if they weren't true, nobody would buy it. You wouldn't really believe the other coach gave them the money, or that the kid got sick the day of the race, or that they were put on the outside, or all that stuff. So luckily, that was all true. And then you go, the first group you beat is the seniors, who always irritate you. The second group you beat are the moneyed rich kids, which is always fun to beat. And the third group you beat is Hitler, and you can't go wrong beating Hitler. It just felt like the trick was to make the momentum of the actual rowing get more exciting as it went. Get tighter, closer.
'They love the sport, they love winning, and they're worried they're not going to'
Joel, for you, did you go back and look at any films or performances in preparation for playing your role here?
Edgerton: [deadpan] I always go back and just watch all my own movies just before I work.
Clooney: I make him watch some of mine, too. [laughs]
Edgerton: [laughs] We talked a lot about "Hoosiers," actually. Just the traditions of sports movies. And then in real life watching a lot of, particularly British soccer coaches and various coaches, basketball coaches, that look like they're about to keel over and die, because they look like their job is so stressful and they hate being there and that they hate everything. And it means that they obviously love everything. They love the sport, they love winning, and they're worried they're not going to. And I love that kind of coach, because it's not the warm fuzzy coach. In fact, I think most warm fuzzy coaches, if they looked at their stats against the angry coach, probably win less. Because kids look up to coaches like tough dads, I think. And when you see dad's not happy, what do you want to do? You want to make him happy. And in a sports context, that means you want to try harder.
'When studios see those dailies, they panic'
Were you able to get into the groove, the rhythm of your character immediately when filming began? I've heard a lot of actors say, "Oh, in the last week of filming, that's when I really locked in."
Edgerton: Oh, yeah. I think that's a universal thing. I wish, as an actor, you were able to take your character for a walk well ahead of shooting. And rehearsal sometimes does that. But, there's nothing like being on set to really put the bear chasing you or the fire under you. And the trouble is, sometimes it is a little bit of a clunky process in the beginning. What I loved about this film is it has such an old school film quality to it. Not just in the way it looks, beautiful cinematography, and some of the story elements and the romance is very old Hollywood movie romance, but even in the cadence of the dialogue. One of the things we talked about early on is taking away a lot of the air and things out of these exchanges so there's a real rhythm to it that conjures up that feeling of watching an old movie, too. Just having some of those tasks in my head allowed me to get into step.
Clooney: But you also ... it's an interesting thing, because the very first thing we shot was, I think, you coming out and telling the guys ... wasn't that [what we shot first]?
Edgerton: I think it was that day at the school when we tell them that the junior team is going to take over.
Clooney: Yeah. That was early on. So, part of it is also you have to commit early to doing a character that we don't see until the very end that he's — we don't see this journey. And it's hard to commit to doing that and not breaking and not going, "I'm really a good guy and I really want the best for my team," and stuff like that. It's hard to do it. Trust me: When studios see those dailies, they panic. "Oh, he's not likable!" And I'm like, "That's right, he's not. That's the whole point here."
Edgerton: The great thing in the script, too, is that all of these speeches, which usually, a lot of times in sports movies, are filled with morale boosting, inspirational words, were all just about numbers and facts and statistics and very dry factual speeches that also are infused with the, "You're probably going to lose, but if you do this, this, and this, you might win." And it's like, "Oh, well, how inspirational is that?" Rather than freak out about that, we wanted to really lean into ... And that's why there's that whole schtick about, "Great speech, Coach." It's not a great speech.
Clooney: If you remember that last bit we had where you say, "For what it's worth, I'm proud of you," wasn't in the script. You said, "I think we're going to have to let the air out of the balloon somewhere in here and show that." And it's a funny thing because as an athlete — I was a jock, played all these sports in school and stuff — that moment when the guy says, "I'm proud of you," it still chokes me up, because it's like that moment where I'm going, "Yeah." And it's not much. It's not like, "You guys are the best," It's simple.
Edgerton: It reminded me, actually, and when I was doing that, I was thinking about a moment I had with my dad, who ... my dad's a pretty warm guy, but he's not outwardly effusive. Just the moment I had at the end of high school where I was trying to lie to him about what I was going to do with my life and when he found out I was going to try and be an actor, and he said something just really succinct and really beautiful to me, that was basically saying to me that he had faith in me.
Clooney: Wow.
Edgerton: And it was unexpected and it had a lot of impact, but it was barely a few words. And I knew that I had his blessing.
Clooney: Oh, it kills you.
'Soderbergh still says it was the worst moment for us as director and actor ever'
George, your basketball exploits have become the stuff of legend. I was curious if there's a memorable basketball moment that you've had from a set over the years that sticks with you in some way?
Clooney: I actually played a lot of basketball, and I've had some very funny stories that I've considered to be great moments in my life, where we were actually winning some games. But I remember playing, I was doing "Out of Sight" with Soderbergh, and they took us down to Angola prison, which is 10,000 capital offenders. They're all going to spend the rest of their lives in jail, and we're in general population.
Edgerton: Nothing to lose.
Clooney: Yeah, I mean, nothing to lose. And they give you a red vest. We're all wearing yellow jumpsuits like everybody else. They give you a red vest in case violence breaks out, so that the prisoners know who to grab and hold hostage, you know? [laughs] And then, Soderbergh has me playing basketball. And I go out to play basketball and there's all these real prisoners hanging around. And I'm playing basketball and he comes over and he goes, "You're playing too well." And I'm like, "Dude, I can't — all these f**king guys are watching. You can't let me..." He goes, "You're playing too well." So now I have to play and bounce a ball off my foot and stuff. And all these guys are laughing and giving me sh*t. And I'm telling you, it was — Soderbergh still says it was the worst moment for us as director and actor ever, because I walked over to him and I go, "I hope you're f**king happy, dude." [laughs]
[laughs] That's awesome.
Clooney: He made me mad.
Joel, I have to ask you real quick, have you heard anything about "Obi-Wan" season 2? Do you feel like that first season satisfied Uncle Owen's story or do you think there's more room for –
Edgerton: I haven't heard. Either it's happening and they don't want me ...
Clooney: Not possible.
Edgerton: ... or it ... I don't know, I haven't, no. The short answer is no, I haven't. And I'm not even faking that I don't know.
Clooney: Really?
Edgerton: Because, there's the whole secrecy stuff.
Clooney: Yeah. Oh, that's right. Yeah. They keep everything under wraps.
Edgerton: But, if it does happen and I am in it, I'll probably be wearing brown, or some shade of brown. That's all I know.
"The Boys in the Boat" is in theaters now.