VENICE – The epic, yet intimate journey of a legendary, fictional movie star, Jay Kelly, is the focus of Noah Baumbach's film of that name, is in Competition at the 82nd Venice Film Festival. In it, a dazzling George Clooney plays a fictional clone of himself: ??a movie star searching for his true self between the folds of his authentic personality and the façade of a movie star. Burdened by the gap between these states, between his true deep identity and the persona he projects externally, he questions his identity while on a trip in Europe, where he has followed, uninvited, his youngest daughter to Italy.
"There was something incredibly fascinating about this character and the idea behind the film: to start with a crisis and then embark on a journey simultaneously physical and internal, psychological and emotional," notes director Noah Baumbach. "While researching the character we had in mind, we discovered fairly quickly that if you tell a story about an actor, you're inevitably telling a film about identity, performance, and self-discovery. Actors always try to find themselves within a character, to understand how to place themselves in something that remains external to them. Ultimately this is a process we all go through in life: trying to understand who we really are, what image we present to others, and how closely that image corresponds to our essence. Naturally, this balance changes over time and with the different "roles" we play every day: as parents, friends, colleagues, people behave differently depending on the circumstances. The film is a way to confront this constant tension between the self we show and the self we are, and the need to find a form of peace within this gap.”
Filming in Italy, which began in May 2024, took place primarily in Tuscany and Lombardy. Each location allowed the director to connect the characters' physical movement with their emotional journey, amplifying the sense of inner development and making their internal movement visible on screen.
"We shot in a studio in Los Angeles, and then we ventured outside and absorbed the energy of a location shoot. We went to Paris, and then Tuscany with a fabulous Italian crew. They're all places I know very well, so I had my own connection with them. I've shot in Los Angeles several times. Los Angeles is Jay's place. It's a corporate city, and it feels very worldly. Italy has so much history and religious history, and it was interesting to think about these two cities as counterpoints in the story, and what that might mean or represent for Jay based on where he is at those points in the story. Mark and Linus Sandgren and I talked about this a lot from a design and cinematography standpoint. Early in the film, Adam has a line that says, “Death is always so surprising, especially in Los Angeles.” There’s a sense that when you’re in Los Angeles you’re protected from all of that. There are a lot of strategies in place to make sure you don’t have to think about it. Then, as soon as Jay and Ron arrive in Italy, the first location is a cemetery. They immediately have to confront mortality. In Italy, it’s like Jay can’t go anywhere else. He gets lost in the landscape. It's a bigger world than Jay Kelly and not as controllable, but it's also truly spectacular and beautiful.
Locations included: the Bassa Piacentina, specifically the area along the Piacenza-Cremona railway line; the area of Boschi di Monticelli d'Ongina between the two overpasses; Caorso, whose avenue, station square, and Alpini Park provided a set from 2-8 May; and Milan, where, on 2 May this year, two Hollywood stars starred in a scene on Platform 20 of the Central Station, along with forty-odd extras in Nineties fashion, much to the amazement of passing passengers.
The crew and cast subsequently moved to Tuscany. Locations included: Arezzo, specifically the Petrarca Theatre, and the Argiano winery in Montalcino (Siena), which produces Brunello: a Renaissance villa built by architect Baldassarre Peruzzi, famous for hosting the poet Giosuè Carducci in the late 19th century. The main location from 21 May was Pienza, with two days at the "Buca delle Fate" restaurant; Corso Rossellino; around the Church of San Francesco; Piazza Pio II,;Piazza di Spagna; Palazzo Piccolomini and its garden. Then Montecatini Terme and other areas in Arezzo, Pitigliano (province of Grosseto) on 23 May.
The cast includes: George Clooney, Adam Sandler (as his faithful manager), and a host of international stars, Alba Rohrwacher, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Grace Edwards, Stacy Keach, Jim Broadbent, Patrick Wilson, Eve Hewson, Greta Gerwig, Josh Hamilton, Lenny Henry, Emily Mortimer, Nicôle Lecky, Thaddea Graham, Isla Fisher, Louis Partridge.
Produced by Film Production Consultants for Netflix, the film will be theatrically released on 19 November and available on Netflix from 5 December 2025.