There were signs in the press conference room that something big, something international was afoot as we waited for the cast and crew of Hail, Caesar! , the Coen Brothers comedy that opened the 66th Berlinale.
“Hail Berlinale! Hail Caesar!”, joked the moderator Anatol Weber, as he introduced Channing Tatum, George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Ethan and Joel Coen, Alden Ehrenreich and Tilda Swinton, who got the loudest applause. The accepted etiquette in these events is that you ask nothing terribly personal or provocative and they, in turn, give the impression of letting you past that velvet rope, into their private circle of celebrities.
And for a while, this script was faithfully followed.
There were a few serious questions too, but nothing too serious. Someone asked if the Coens were nostalgic about the era depicted in the film, which is set in Hollywood of the 1950s. Joel said, “It can’t be nostalgia, for we weren’t there.” He said it was more affection, admiration. “But we’re not sure how we’d have functioned in that environment.”
Then, it was back to Clooney, “Have you ever seen a Russian communist?” He replied, “Am I looking at one right now?” The question had to do with his role in the film, where his character becomes interested in Communist teachings.
By then, everyone was resigned to the fact that this was more or less a Clooney show. The actor was asked if he’d make a sequel to Syriana , the Oscar-winning film on petroleum politics that he produced. He said, “There is a lot wrong with the world, as we all know. [But] as filmmakers, we react to events. We don’t lead the way. The film happens years after the news story breaks. And you need a good story, good characters.”
He spoke of his humanitarian work in Darfur and how he’d like to make a film around the conflict. “But we haven’t found the proper script yet.” He said he was meeting Angela Merkel the next day.
After the bonhomie Finally, a journalist from Mexico broke through the bonhomie. Referring to the Syria refugee crisis, which she called a “human catastrophe”, she asked what Clooney, as a public figure, intended to do. To everyone’s surprise, he looked at her and said, “What is it specifically that you have done for refugees?” The woman behind me muttered, “Brutal!” But the journalist was unfazed.
She went on to explain that she worked with an organisation that made toys for children and helps refugees learn German. Clooney was in no mood to back down. “Those are the people you are working with. I asked what you specifically were doing?”
He had a smile on, and yet, for a minute, we got a glimpse of a cracked facade. It was left to Joel Coen to cool things down.
“It’s absurd to say that anyone in public life or the creative world should be telling this particular story.” A question about Donald Trump brought the script back on track. “He’s a strange phenomenon,” Joel said. “It’s surreal.” Everyone laughed.
