Netflix has released the official teaser trailer for Jay Kelly, the latest film from writer-director Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story, Frances Ha), starring George Clooney as a famous actor and Adam Sandler as his devoted manager.
Watch the trailer above and read on for the info.
More on Screen Realm:
A journey through fame, identity, and legacy
Clooney stars as Jay Kelly, a world-famous movie star whose carefully maintained image begins to unravel. By his side is his long-time manager Ron (Sandler), and together they embark on a European press tour that quickly turns introspective. As the journey unfolds, both men are forced to reckon with past choices, personal relationships, and the legacies they might ultimately leave behind.
At one point in the trailer, Jay is asked, “What do you say to people who say you only play yourself?” His reply: “You know how difficult it is to be yourself? You try it.”
Clooney’s real-life response to ‘playing himself’
That line may strike a chord beyond the film. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Clooney addressed the critique that he often “plays himself” onscreen. “Do people say that I only play myself? I don’t give a shit,” Clooney said. “There aren’t that many guys in my age group that are allowed to do both broad comedies like O Brother [Where Art Thou?] and then do Michael Clayton or Syriana. So if that means I’m playing myself all the time, I don’t give a shit… Have you ever tried playing yourself? It’s hard to do.”
Reflecting on his career trajectory, Clooney added, “I didn’t really get successful, in the kind of success that can be blinding, until I was 33 years old. I’d been working for 12 years at that point. I had a real understanding of how fleeting all of it is and how little it has to do with you, quite honestly.”
Cast and creative team behind Jay Kelly
Joining Clooney and Sandler is a stacked cast that includes Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Grace Edwards, Stacy Keach, Jim Broadbent, Patrick Wilson, Eve Hewson, Greta Gerwig, and Emily Mortimer, among others. Mortimer also co-wrote the script with Baumbach.
The film, produced by David Heyman (Marriage Story) and Amy Pascal (Little Women), marks Baumbach’s fourth Netflix feature, following The Meyerowitz Stories, Marriage Story, and White Noise.
Release dates
Jay Kelly opens in select U.S. cinemas on November 14 and streams globally on Netflix from December 5.
