George Clooney says Johnny Depp and Mark Wahlberg passing on ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ is their ‘Batman & Robin’
George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh were guests at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood last weekend for a showing of their 2001 production “Ocean’s Eleven.” (The film was part of a program entitled “Better Than The Original?” and, no disrespect to Frank, Dino, and Sammy, but I think most would agree the answer is “yes.”)
During the Ben Mankiewicz-hosted chat, Clooney and Soderbergh explained where they were in their careers when they first linked up and prepped to make 1998’s “Out of Sight.” Clooney was coming off of “Batman & Robin,” a project he frequently talks about as a humbling experience with rubber nipples attached. Soderbergh had a flop with “The Underneath” (a movie that is not quite as bad as people remember, but certainly is no masterpiece). After things turned around and Soderbergh delivered “Erin Brockovich,” which won an Oscar for Julia Roberts as Best Actress plus four other nominations, and “Traffic,” which won an Oscar for himself as Best Director, plus Best Supporting Actor for Benicio Del Toro, Best Adapted Screenplay for Stephen Gaghan, and Best Editing, the planets aligned for the smart, sexy, and snappy “Ocean’s Eleven.”
“People really wanted to work with Steven,” Clooney recalled before Soderbergh reminded that “some people did say no to us.” Clooney then shared that, for the part that ultimately Matt Damon played, both Johnny Depp and Mark Wahlberg said no.
“Some very famous people told us to f— right off. Mark Wahlberg, Johnny Depp. There were others. They regret it now. I regret doing f—ing ‘Batman,’” he concluded, bringing it full circle. He also added that, when the pair sent Julia Roberts a copy of the script, hoping she’d sign on, they paper clipped a $20 bill with a note that read “I hear you get 20 a picture now,” alluding to her asking rate at the time.
The two also spoke about whether or not Danny Ocean might one day come back to film. They didn’t say no—and they didn’t say yes—but they did address the fact that through Sanda Bullock’s character (Ocean’s sister) visits her brother’s tomb in “Ocean’s 8,” even she is unconvinced that he is truly dead.
PREDICT the 2023 Emmy nominees through July 12
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions