George Clooney Confirms Brad Pitt’s Claims He’s The ’Handsomest Man Alive’ And Explains Why They Took A Pay Cut For Their New Movie

George Clooney and Brad Pitt have been friends for years. The two heartthrobs have starred in the Ocean’s movies together, and acted alongside each other in the Coen Brothers’ comedy, Burn After Reading. Historically, the two have had fun teasing each other non-stop, and going back and forth pulling pranks on each other. Now, Pitt has decided to flip the script, and pay Clooney quite the compliment. 

In a recent interview with Vogue Magazine, the Bullet Train actor decided to pay his friend a rare compliment, and claimed that he thought George Clooney was the “handsomest man alive.” Clooney was asked to confirm or deny this notion when he chatted with Stephen Colbert on Late Night. While the Ticket to Paradise star was immediately suspicious about the genuineness of the compliment paid by his friend, he decided to accept the title. He quipped:

I too think that I am the most handsome man in the world. No, I will say this. I will say that I think his first answer was himself. And I think someone said, ‘Let’s do it again, don’t say yourself.’ You know. But he is a good friend and he and I are about to do a movie together.

The teasing is obviously all in good fun, and these old friends are clearly there to support each other at the end of the day. A new Brad Pitt/George Clooney movie also gives audiences a lot to be excited about. They have worked together numerous times over the years and have incredible chemistry. In addition, it seems like this is an important project for the movie stars, as they both took pay cuts so the film has a theatrical run. Clooney went on to explain:

Sure [we took a cut]. …We did a Zoom show [to Colbert]. It’s not fun. …I will say it’s just not the same as having all of you guys here. There are certain movies in particular, horror movies, comedies, that really are the best with a group of people.)

Seeing a movie with an audience in a movie theater is a rare occurrence for non-blockbuster projects in the era of streaming. There must be visual elements or parts of this movie script that makes it more impactful to see in theaters. Clooney has a history of supporting unlikely theater releases that one may expect to live on streaming. In his latest film, Ticket to Paradise, Clooney stars alongside Julia Roberts in a classic studio romantic comedy. This is a film that wouldn’t have such a large box office draw if not for the involvement of two major movie stars. It seems like his next film with Brad Pitt will follow suit. 

The film is said to be a thriller produced by Apple Studios, after a bidding war for the project took place. It will be helmed by Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts and will follow two “lone-wolf fixer agents” who are tasked with the same job. Based on the limited description of the film, Pitt and Clooney will seemingly be foils for each other. Hopefully we will be seeing Ocean’s chemistry back in action. In addition, both movie stars will be producers on the project under their personal production companies: Smokehouse Pictures and Plan B Entertainment.

You can catch George Clooney’s latest film, Ticket to Paradise, in theaters nationwide. Also, Brad Pitt will be starring in Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, which is predicted to be a potential Oscars contender come awards season. The film will hit theaters on December 23rd. For more information on other films coming to theaters this year, make sure to check out our 2022 movie release schedule. 

Caroline Young
Writer

Writer, podcaster, CinemaBlend contributor, film and television nerd, enthusiastic person. Hoping to bring undying passion for storytelling to CinemaBlend.