Ocean's Twelve

Campus Times

Dec. 4 2004

By Kyra Kirkwood

 

George Clooney struggled to suppress his trademark "Rico Suave" grin as he recounted how cruel co-star Brad Pitt acted on the European set of "Ocean's Twelve," the sequel to the 2001 caper "Ocean's Eleven" about a skilled, yet colorful, team of criminals.

 

"There was actually no camaraderie at all on this one," Clooney sighed as he sat in front of a picture window framing a rolling Palm Springs golf course. "Certainly, Brad set the tone, and he's such a movie star. It was very hard."

 

"His primadonna-type behavior became a problem," countered Pitt, feigning seriousness.

 

Apparently, while in Rome, Pitt sent out a memo instructing the Italian crew to only address Clooney by his character's name, Mr. Ocean. Back in the States, Clooney secretly christened Pitt's car with two politically incorrect bumper stickers.

"As he drove home through L.A. rush hour traffic, people were honking at him and waving, and he thinks it's because he's Brad Pitt, so he's waving back," chimed in costar Matt Damon.

 

While the cast of Oliver Stone's "Alexander" was rumored to be wild on set, they had nothing compared to this line up. All of them got into the act: Don Cheadle, Pitt, Clooney, Damon, Bernie Mac, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts. From endless jokes about Clooney's age to quips about Damon's proper hygiene to partying nightly at a makeshift bar on the rooftop of their Rome hotel, it seems filming "Ocean's Twelve" was nothing but one long romp in the frat house.

 

"There's a very low level of maturity amongst all the guys here, so that helps," said Pitt. "We bonded very quickly."

 

Practical jokes on set of the film, which was shot all across Europe, were a daily occurrence. So commonplace were they that co-star Catherine Zeta Jones, the new kid on the block, thought no one liked her because she wasn't baptized by bumper stickers or Saran-wrapped toilet seats.

 

"But I have been informed it can take up to three years to complete, so I'm looking over my shoulder," said Zeta-Jones, self-consciously rubbing her nose and grinning sheepishly.

 

Actually, "the biggest joke was on Catherine because she really thought we were making a movie," said Pitt.

 

 

Despite the fun, frolicking and fraternizing, a movie honestly did get made.

 

Although one must wonder how.

 

Seriously, how did director Steven Soderbergh keep the cast from dissolving into giggle fits and wedgie wars long enough to shoot a feature-length film? Perhaps he waved some magic wand or reminded them of their contractual duties (or passed out A.D.D. medication), because early critics are hailing his sequel as a smashing success. Even the cast has nothing but kudos to give this director of "Traffic" fame.

 

"It's the director that makes you cool," said Damon.

 

Clooney praised Soderbergh for coming up with the idea for the sequel while on a European tour promoting "Ocean's Eleven." Sequels are hard to pull off, but the headlining cast believed in Soderbergh's vision.

 

"The truth of it was, we wouldn't have shown up if Steven didn't have a different way of telling the story," said Clooney. "Steven had a way of saying, 'let's mix up what just happened in the first one and really throw these guys off'. We thought that was an interesting idea and a reason to do a sequel."

 

So then what about "Ocean's Thirteen?" Any chance we'll see a third chapter about Danny Ocean's escapades?

 

Quickly abandoning his momentary lapse of judgment by engaging in serious talk, Clooney leaned into the table, raised an eyebrow and said, "We came up with our own theory‹a musical: 'Ocean's 5-6-7-8'."