Will GEORGE regret the loss of his privacy.

This thread is about George, nobody else.

This private man, who said so much "my private life is private". and acted like that for many years.  Has had a very public couple of months.  

Will he, with hindsight  regret the decision he has made, about what making so public a most personal time of one persons life?

Has he opened the flood gates for the public (and press) to feel more intimate/confident with his personal life and therefor expect more than he ever gave in his highly controlled past?

Now not only his decision alone, how far to let people in  to his life and home.  Will this fall easy with him after sometime. Or will he suffer regret, and wish things had been "low key", and remained the same as before he became engaged.   All for the sake of 4 days, a life has been changed.

This is a good question Alison. I am asking myself the same thing.

George's private life has really never been that private.

He's been working the press for years. If he wants something to stay private - whether paps or media try to dig something up - it will stay private.

I don't think he has any regrets. It has been discussed at great length on this site about how so many were surprised how public he was with his wedding. IMO he had the wedding that he wanted to have. I emphasize "wanted". It wouldn't have happened the way it did unless he really wanted it to. I think his life has changed, for obvious reasons. And I don't think it would have changed unless he really wanted it to.. There are certain parts of George's life that I feel have changed for the better. At some point an old bachelor dating young women and still claiming the love of his life is his work is sad. Im happy for him and only wish it had been me he met in Italy. Ha ha.

LornaDoone, I hear what you say, and agree! 100%, but it has always been on HIS (alone) terms.  Stacy et al, were never really given any leeway.  Pap shots of Stacy (pre-planned) were I am sure lways done with G's consent.   Things have changed.

Donnamaria,  Swept up with passion and in love, is probably not the best time to change the habit (personal nature) of a lifetime.  And if you do, after so many years do you leave the window of regret open, at some later stage.

As I said above, a lifetimes work and public perception utterly changed forever, in  just 4 days.

I think George has given the illusion of being very private.  But I think he has been "selling" his private life for a long time but maybee not to this degree?  

I think George and Stan have plan with all this publicity. Will he regret it? I think it depends on  how it works out for him.  It is too early in the game yet.

Silje, thank you for your reply.  You are a wise cat indeed.

I don't think much will change for him. He has always been a paparazzi target and will continue to be one, but the amount of actual information the media gets about his private life will depend on him - as it always has. The only difference I can see is that he will have to put a muzzle on Amal and her family.

it has always been on HIS (alone) terms

Yes, George will control his private life as he has in the past. I don't think Amal will be anymore forthcoming than she has been. She is a pretty discreet person which I'm sure George appreciates. She's a lawyer! I don't think George and Stan are as manipulative and calculating as they are protrayed here. IMO.

George hasn't lost his privacy they shared their wedding that is all. They have since gone back to their lives nothing new there.

We're talking about the guy who had television cameras filming the inside of his refrigerator during Oscar season, right? The guy who set up "candid" photo ops with professional photographers to introduce new girlfriends to the public?  The guy who basically accused his girlfriend of being a gold digger DURING a magazine interview? 

Yea, he's a real privacy nut.   

Well the tour of his house was a favor for Charlie Rose, his friend. Never heard of these so-called "candid" photo ops to introduce his gfs? What are you talking about? And the goldigger gf, who is that?

Donnamarie wrote:Well the tour of his house was a favor for Charlie Rose, his friend.  Never heard of these so-called "candid" photo ops to introduce his gfs?  What are you talking about?  And the goldigger gf, who is that?

 The "candid" photo ops were with Stacy and Amal, in People magazine, the ones we've all seen. 

 The gold digger girlfriend was Sarah Larson: he played voicemails from people who claimed to know her in Vegas telling him she was after his money, for her to respond to, in front of a journalist writing a magazine piece on him.  

And an interview with Charlie would have been just as big a favor; he didn't have to give a tour of his home.  That was Oscar-campaigning at it's finest.

Well I will agree that he did control the way he introduced Stacey and Amal as his gfs.. Especially with Amal I saw the way he provided official photos of them being together as a way to protect her public image more than protecting himself. I'm not sure that's so bad. In the case of Stacey I figured he just wanted a reasonable amount of time to pass since his breakup with Elisabetta before he let it be known that he was dating someone new. So he waited until the Toronto Film Festival. Though by then it was already known unofficially they were seeing each other.

I've never heard this story about Sarah? Where did you read that? It just does not sound like he would do something like that. I really question that story.

He obviously likes to control what the public knows about him. If he reveals anything he does it on his own terms. He is always the first to say that he has been very lucky to have achieved what he has in his career so he can't complain about not having a really private life, not being able to go out in public without being recognized. He accepts it.

I don't think that questions should be about GEorge, I think the question should be asked about Amal.

Donnamarie wrote:
I've never heard this story about Sarah?  Where did you read that?  It  just does not sound like he would do something like that.  I really question that story.

 

Donnamarie, it's a true story.  It's the article written where he was Googling himself and then also watched the video Two Girls and a Cup that almost made Stan barf.  I don't recall which magazine.  But, he did have somebody investigate the voicemails.

George does not have a very private life now, it seems to me he is more open about himself and now he is married with Amal. He just seems like a different person, always happy and smiling but not more than before. I hope he continues that beautiful smile and care for other people like he always did. love you bg

There is so much we don't know about George. He can keep parts of his life private if he wants to. There is a lot written quoting "sources" and "close friends" but not very much from the actual couple.

this may be the article from the New Yorker ...

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The New Yorker article isn't the one.The interview Mel meant took place in NY. I think it might have been for Esquire., but I could be wrong.

However, the New Yorker article is wonderful!

It is the Esquire interview where the 2 girls and a cup video is talked about but there is nothing about what Missa mentioned regarding Sarah Larson and playing voicemails. She is mentioned though.

I read both articles now. Takes awhile. 

The New Yorker has the Sarah Larson message story. I have to say this pissed me off. Why would he read this message to her in front of the reporter?!  He treats like her she was props.

The Esquire has the Google himself and 2 Girls and 1 Cup story.

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Thanks Silje, I stand corrected.

Yes. It is the New Yorker story. The voicemail is from an anonymous caller saying "Dude drop the bitch or you'll be sorry". George did play it in front of Sarah and the jounalist. Sarah had already heard it and she elaborated with the jounalist on other things that are being said about her in the press. George mentioned he had a police officer friend looking into the message and how it could be traced. At the most it may have been a little unfeeling of him to make light of the call in front of her but I seriously didn't think anything more about it.

melbert wrote:Thanks Silje, I stand corrected.

Mel, well at least you remembered both those articles from the spring of 2008. I haven’t heard of them before.

And Donnamarie, the way it's written in the article he plays the message to Sarah the first time in front the journalist. And this is not something he should have shared with the media. 

Thanks, Silje. Just blew 20 minutes re-reading the New Yorker article. Forgot how good it was. It was a nice reminder of why I'm a George  fan.

I think he shared it to let the person know they were looking for them. Sarah knew a lot of crap was being written about her.

Donnamarie wrote:Well  I will agree that he did control the way he introduced Stacey and Amal  as his gfs..  Especially with Amal I saw the way he provided official photos of them being together as a way to protect her public image more than protecting himself.  I'm not sure that's so bad. In the  case of Stacey I figured he just wanted a reasonable amount of time to pass since his breakup with Elisabetta before he let it be known that he was dating someone new. So he waited until the Toronto Film Festival.  Though by then it was already known unofficially they were seeing each other.

I've never heard this story about Sarah?  Where did you read that?  It  just does not sound like he would do something like that.  I really question that story.

He obviously likes to control what the public knows about him.  If he reveals anything he does it on his own terms.   He is always the first to say that he has been very lucky to have achieved what he has in his career so he can't complain about not having a really private life, not being able to go out in public without being recognized.  He accepts it.  

There was a staged photo of Stacy and George on his terrace in LA within a month or so of his breakup with EC.  Way before the Toronto Film Festival. I remember clearly because I was like WTF?  Can this possibly be true?  Professional wrestler Stacy Keibler?

He is perfectly willing to let people into his "private life" when it serves his purposes.  I assume that will continue and the decisions will be made in consultation with Amal.  Does make me a little cynical that the wedding publicity was about more than having a lovely celebration and making some money for charity.  George does seem towards an "the end justifies the means" philosophy.

fava wrote:



  George does seem towards an "the end justifies the means" philosophy.

It's interesting that you say this. When he was talking about IOM, he did say exactly that. Sometimes the ethical lines are blurred in order to get what you think will be the best outcome. Could be that's the philosophy he applies to his life as well.

Alisonfan wrote:This private man, who said so much "my private life is private".

Ok, if we achieve anything here can we get over the fiction that George's life is private?

He's said that very often and yet much of his private life he's made publicly available. He's done photoshoots inside all of his houses, he's introduced the paparazzi into his private life and made life very easy for them to get photos. George, when it suits him, can completely make his private life public. When it suits him.

I think it's pretty fair to say that his wedding was one of those time when it suited him to share his private life in public.

One thing I'll say for George however - at risk of seeming to contradict myself a little here - is that he's very good at revealing so much and closing the door on the rest. So far of his wedding all we've seen is pictures of them coming and going on boats. I know there'll be the exclusive pictures of the ceremony itself coming out soon, but even then I'll bet that a lot of details will still be missing. We'll get the impression that we've seen it all when in fact we'll only have seen what George wanted to show.

When you think about it, a wedding is probably one of the most public days in everyone's life: all those guests, all those photos, the ceremony, the party, the hen/stag nights, the rehearsal dinner, and, and, and, and. Why not so for George too?

Donnamarie wrote: Never heard of these so-called "candid" photo ops to introduce his gfs?  What are you talking about?  And the goldigger gf, who is that?

He did this for Betty but much more noticeably for Stacy Keibler when he had released so-called candid pictures of them laughing together, his arm around her. It's in one of the first Stacy Keibler threads in this forum.

jd68 wrote:There is a lot written quoting "sources" and "close friends" but not very much from the actual couple.

Thanks for saying that. I'm horrified in another thread where people were holding George accountable for something someone else maybe said. There's a reason hearsay isn't admissable in court and that's because a lot of it turns out to be speculative bullshit.

Silje wrote: well at least you remembered both those articles from the spring of 2008. I haven’t heard of them before.

Take a look at this forum: ALL the best Clooney interviews going back years are all here.

When I saw this thread title, I admit, I let my eyes do the 'OMFG eye-roll.' But there may be some nuances worth considering in all this.

First, it bears reminding that George is signed to what is considered the top (if not the best) talent agency in the business, and is on the roster of the agent who would make anyone's Top 10 list. He also has one of the premiere, old-school PR reps in Hollywood. None of that is by accident, and the mere structure of his representation tells you that almost everything that happens is by design.

Add to this -- and this is nothing more than speculation on my part -- that George may have a healthy-sized vengeful streak (the counterpart to intense loyalty to friends and family), and I would propose that more than a few of his 'candids' and comments were a result of male ego-driven spite, a tendency to be a control freak, and a well-oiled image machine.

For instance, there were rumors surrounding EC when she filmed the episodes for the cable TV show (can't remember which one) that a lot of the men were making a fuss over her (the "He'd be crazy not to marry you" kind), and she kind of rubbed George's face in it. Then (again, rumors) when he first told her he thought they should end it, she refused to move her things out of his house, claiming it was her home, too.

So George issued a "joint" statement that they had parted -- while he was out of town, and before she had actually moved. And when EC was photographed a short time later hanging with a male friend, then came the pic of Stacy at the home that EC had claimed.

A shorter rendition with Stacy: She is the one who said "our house" and "at home" when talking about George. I don't think he ever did. But he has made it a point now with Amal to say "We have a home..." He says a ton by first saying nothing, and then very little. It is tried-and-true image management.

His wedding festivities were part of a public statement: "I am all in. She is mine, and I am hers." (He never even bothered to let his body language stake a claim to the others, except maybe a libidinous hug of EC.) Plus, more than a little of "This is what you get when George Clooney marries you." All the while keeping the intimate moments closed away.

What we "know," we may know in detail, but the known actually amounts to very little in terms of his entire life. So I don't think he will regret anything, because he won't lose the part of his privacy that he wants to keep close. If anybody on the outside knows something, it's because it's been deemed okay for them to know.

Great post, Way2, and you've put brilliantly what some of us have thinking all along

I think at the great age of 53 George must have learned a lot, both about himself and what he now needs for the rest of his life, and about the wider world that he inhabits. Which, btw, probably none of us here know anything about ?
I think he will able to enjoy the next 50 years, or so,
of his life with no regrets.
Let us hope so anyway.

Joanna wrote:I think at the great age of 53 George must have learned a lot, both about himself and what he now needs for the rest of his life, and about the wider world that he inhabits.

Yes, if nothing else, I'm sure George has learnt that he himself is the best judge of what's going on in his life and that his fans, while well-meaning, aren't in a positionto understand his real needs, motivations and what's good for him.

None of this of course will stop me from running my mouth off on any and all of these subjects!