The Big Picture

George Clooney and Joel Edgerton discuss the challenges of filming “The Boys in the Boat” on a tight schedule and budget, while also navigating the difficulties of filming on water. Clooney shares his experience with the editing process and how it shaped the final race scene in the film, including the use of 500 cuts to create energy and excitement. Both Clooney and Edgerton reveal the roles that made them most nervous on set and tease their upcoming projects “Wizards!” and Jon Watts’ “Wolfs,” expressing excitement for audiences to see these films.

For his ninth film as director, George Clooney’s The Boys in the Boat is hitting theaters just in time for the holidays. Based on the true story of the University of Washington’s Olympics-bound rowing team, Clooney enlists fellow actor-turned-director, Joel Edgerton, Callum Turner, Peter Guiness, and more to adapt the best-selling book of the same name to screen.

Set in the 1930s, The Boys in the Boat centers on Joe Rantz (Turner), a young man attending the University of Washington during the Depression era, when he learns he may be unable to afford tuition. By chance, he discovers an opportunity to stay in school with a part-time job and a place to live, all provided for the boys on the rowing team. Under the direction of Coach Al Ulbrickson (Edgerton), the team train hard against all odds with their eyes on the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

During this interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Clooney and Edgerton talk about filming on a tight schedule, keeping the budget tight, and navigating the “disaster elements” of filming on the water. Clooney discusses the intense editing process and how it shaped the final race, and both share which roles made them the most nervous on set and tease their upcoming projects, Wizards! and Jon Watts’ Wolfs with Brad Pitt. You can watch the full interview in the video above or read the transcript below.

The Boys in the Boat A 1930s-set story centered on the University of Washington’s rowing team, from their Depression-era beginnings to winning gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Release Date December 25, 2023 Rating PG-13 Main Genre Drama Writers Daniel James Brown , Mark L. Smith

COLLIDER: You’re both actors, directors, writers…

GEORGE CLOONEY: Dancers.

Dancers, I’m so sorry. Which project were you involved with that changed the most in the editing room in ways you didn’t expect?

CLOONEY: You mean maybe as an actor where you see the film and it’s different?

It could be anything. It could be as a director, it could be as a writer, as an actor.

CLOONEY: As a director, the film doesn’t change that much in the editing room away from your vision because you’re kind of shooting it to figure that out. But acting, there’s times when you finish a film and you go, “Ehh…” and it could either be a disaster or it could be a much better film than you thought you were making.

JOEL EDGERTON: I think Warrior was one where the finished product was so much different to the original script. That’s because we would rehearse the scene and change stuff to expand on a scene. But I remember, your question brings up the first time I ever watched the movie back and was like, “That moment was from a scene that I shot for a different scene,” and felt betrayed in some way. I think it’s one of the greatest tricks for a director to do is go, “Whatever makes the scene the best.” If you get a reaction shot from someone that belongs somewhere else in the movie, just do it. But I remember thinking, “Wow, how would you do that?”

CLOONEY: “You’ve stolen what I’ve done! My art.”

EDGERTON: “I was acting over here…” Anyway.

Fincher told me that one of the keys to the way he crafts a performance is he’ll use take 2, 34, 39, and 46 and craft it all together sometimes for someone’s performance.

EDGERTON: Sounds like Bingo. “Bingo!” [Laughs]

I’m like, “Well, whatever works.” He clearly knows what he’s doing.

EDGERTON: Absolutely. Whatever happens in the edit room, I think, is about packing the best lunch.

The Coen Brothers Eased George Clooney’s Constant Sorrows
Image via Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Last question before we get into the movie. What’s the most nervous you have been the night before the first day of filming on something?

EDGERTON: Kinky Boots.

CLOONEY: Really?

EDGERTON: Yeah, it was one of my first big jobs. I was doing a Northampton accent in front of a factory full of Northampton people.

CLOONEY: [Laughs] Oh, that’s rough.

EDGERTON: And day one was my big speech of the movie. I’m certain if you track down the trailer that I was staying in that day, there’s, like, fingernail marks in it.

CLOONEY: And some crap on the floor. For me it would be O Brother [Where Art Thou?] because I’d never worked with the Coen Brothers before and I was nervous, and I was playing a big idiot. It was the very first day of shooting, it’s a scene where John Goodman slugs me in the head with a branch and knocks all this corn out of my mouth, and I was playing him like an idiot because he’s an idiot. I did the first take and then Joel came over and goes, “Yeah, you know, the thing is you’re the smartest person in every room you walk into,” and that’s the only direction he gave me, but it was perfect direction because, of course, he’s right. Dumb people don’t think they’re dumb. And it sort of changed everything, but I was very nervous starting that film.

George Clooney Felt Disaster Lurking Beneath the Surface in ‘The Boys in the Boat’

After Perfect Storm and now this, how much more respect do you have for Spielberg and Jaws after what he pulled off in the ‘70s?

CLOONEY: Dude. Can you imagine that film? The shark sinks. I mean, the hell they went through. Forgetting that you’re shooting this disaster — it’s a disaster film, everything was going wrong — you’re also getting just murdered by the studio, too, so it’s the pressure of that. And he’d mostly done television at that point and a smaller film, so the pressure that he must have been under is just insane. Insane. And it’s a masterpiece of a film.

And it’s on the water in the ‘70s. It’s crazy.

EDGERTON: I was certain that this was gonna have an element of disaster about it…

CLOONEY: [Laughs] Because I was directing it.

EDGERTON: Yeah that, and shooting from a boat to another boat. And we never went overtime. Crazy that we never went overtime. And we were so much on the water.

Related George Clooney Goes for the Gold in First ‘The Boys in the Boat’ Images The film starring Joel Edgerton is based on a true story.

It’s almost like he’s directed before.

CLOONEY: We were prepared because, believe me… Well, listen, the other part was, this is MGM before they were bought by Amazon and I was on the hook for any overages. I had to pay for anything that we went over on.

EDGERTON: Oh, that’s why we were on time.

CLOONEY: Yeah, that’s why we’re on time. I had a responsibility, man.

I’m fascinated by the editing process because it’s ultimately where it comes together, so how did this film get shaped in the editing room? What did you learn from friends and family that you were like, “Oh, these are really good notes?”

CLOONEY: Well, I didn’t screen any friends and family before we finished the film.

EDGERTON: He doesn’t have any friends.

CLOONEY: I have no friends and my family won’t talk to me, so it just really doesn’t work. My children had some notes, but that was mostly, “Poo. Don’t poo.” You know what, I had this amazing editor named Tanya Swerling who I’ve worked with a few times. She did The Tender Bar and she did Catch 22 with us, and the challenge for us was the last race in particular. We cut it with about 150 cuts in the race and we sat there and watched it, and it wasn’t exciting. And as much as we really worked hard in using the camera as a tool to make it exciting, we realized that we needed to triple it. By the end, I think we were at 500 cuts in that last race just to create that kind of energy. So, she’s an extraordinary editor and I hope people pay attention to how good she is.

Jon Watts’ ‘Wolfs’ Is Dark and “Out-There”
Image via Marvel Studios

Individual questions for both of you – I’m always excited when you and David [Michôd] work together, so I’m curious about what you can tease about Wizards! [To Clooney] I’m a big fan of when you’re acting, and I’m incredibly excited for Jon Watts’ movie that you’re doing with Brad Pitt because it’s you and Brad Pitt, and it’s Jon Watts. Can you both talk about those projects and why you’re excited for people to see them?

EDGERTON: I’ll tell you one thing about Wizards!, I’m gonna get off the plane in Sydney and go to a cast and crew screening of it, and it potentially is gonna match the vomit scene in Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness.

CLOONEY: Oh, really?

EDGERTON: There’s a scene in it that we will clearly talk about when we see each other next.

CLOONEY: Audiences are gonna be throwing up?

EDGERTON: Yeah.

CLOONEY: Good! Nice.

EDGERTON: It’s our fault, obviously, because we sat down and we wrote the story together, but it’s a batshit crazy, awesome film.

CLOONEY: It’s just gonna be so much fun.

EDGERTON: I’ll tell you, I never knew much about him before, Franz Rogowski. He’s unbelievably cool. Pete Davidson, yes, I knew about, but Franz Rogowski is like one of my favorite new actors.

CLOONEY: I really enjoyed working on Wizards!… Oh wait, Jon Watts. Jon Watts is a genius, and he loves what he does. I mean, he’s one of those guys that just knows every film reference, he knows everything. He’s so much fun to work with. I had to carry Brad, of course, because that’s a pain. He’s always like, “George, how would you do this?” I’m like, “Brad, Jesus, just come up with something on your own every once in a while. Make an effort.” But it’s fun. It’s dark, man. It’s a real proper, fun, out-there film. We’ve seen it and we’re really very excited about it.

The Boys in the Boat hits theaters on December 25.