George Clooney has been hitting the headlines for his upcoming film Jay Kelly. The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday, August 28, 2025, and received a thunderous 8-10 minute standing ovation. Early reviews are mixed-to-positive with strong praise for Clooney from several outlets (some calling it his ‘best ever’) alongside a few negative takes. Although the Ocean’s Eleven actor attended the red-carpet premiere, he couldn’t make it to the press conference due to a bad sinus infection.
The film has its North American premiere at Telluride over August 29-September 1, 2025. But according to Deadline news report, under doctor’s orders, the actor won’t be able to attend the Telluride Film Festival either.
A spokesperson for Clooney told Deadline, “Unfortunately, because of the sinus and ear infections that George is currently suffering from, his doctors have told him that it would be impossible for him to fly to Telluride to support his new film, Jay Kelly. This is, of course, extremely disappointing for him because he was looking forward to celebrating the US premiere in Telluride with his fellow cast members and Noah.”
Jay Kelly is a coming-of-age comedy-drama starring George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern and Billy Crudup in the lead roles. George, who is a successful actor himself, will be seen playing one on screen and Adam plays the role of his manager. Together, the duo travel across Europe, thinking about their life choices, relationships, and how they will be remembered.
After its Venice premiere, some critics called Clooney’s performance his ‘best ever’ and The Telegraph dubbed the film a “midlife crisis masterpiece.”
Hours before the premiere, Clooney skipped the press conference because of a bad sinus infection, but he did attend the red carpet that evening. Baumbach and co-stars Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, and Emily Mortimer handled the press conference.
The press conference’s moderator was quoted by People as saying, “As you may know, George Clooney is not gonna be here because he has a bad sinus infection. We really hope, and I think he should be on the red carpet tonight. But he is very sorry he cannot be with us.” Jay Kelly director Noah Baumbach also jokingly said, “Even movie stars get sick.”
Jay Kelly opens in select theaters on November 14, 2025, followed by Netflix on December 5, 2025.
Here’s wishing Clooney a speedy recovery.
