George Clooney’s journey in the film industry began with his debut in the budget-constrained horror flick Grizzly II: Revenge.
In a conversation with ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan for Jay Kelly, the acclaimed Oscar-winning actor shared his initial enthusiasm about his first ever role in a movie. “At 22, I was thrilled and thought it was an incredible opportunity,” he said.
Unbeknownst to Clooney, his first foray into acting would soon see him stranded as a result of the production’s financial woes.
“It was my debut role, so initially, I was just excited to be involved,” he explained. “But then we ended up stuck in Budapest because the production ran out of funds and the crew was abandoned there.”
The production of Grizzly II: Revenge came to a halt and was left incomplete, potentially never to be released. However, Clooney’s later rise to fame prompted the producers to finally complete and release the film, leveraging his star power to attract an audience to the resurrected project.
Finally made available in 2021 via Video on Demand, Grizzly II received poor reviews, currently holding an 8% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and is considered one of Clooney’s least successful films.
Clooney watched the long-postponed film, which had been awkwardly edited using miscellaneous stock footage. “They patched it together with random bear footage and other fillers,” Clooney noted. “It turned out to be a complete mess.”
This unfortunate project also features Laura Dern, another Oscar-winner and Clooney’s co-star in Noah Baumbach’s latest film Jay Kelly, essentially making it a Grizzly II cast reunion.
Reuniting on screen over forty years since their roles in the notorious bear-themed B-movie, Clooney and Dern recently reminisced about their early acting days.
Clooney shared, “Laura and I were joking just the other day about how bizarre it is to receive bad reviews for something we did four decades ago,” adding, “Laura was only 15, and both of us were killed off in the opening scene! Yet, the film was marketed as starring us.”
The cast of Grizzly II: Revenge surprisingly includes several well-known actors such as Charlie Sheen, Oscar-winner Louise Fletcher, an uncredited Timothy Spall, and John Rhys-Davies, making it a film with a remarkably high-profile roster.
Similarly, Jay Kelly boasts an impressive cast including Adam Sandler, Greta Gerwig, Riley Keough, Isla Fisher, Eve Hewson, Patrick Wilson, and Stacy Keach, alongside Clooney and Dern.
The recent Jay Kelly has been far better received, with a 79% positive score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film began showing in select theaters on November 14 and is set to premiere on Netflix on December 5.
Ava Thornton is an entertainment journalist with a keen eye for the latest in Hollywood, indie films, and streaming trends.
Her work blends insider knowledge with a deep appreciation for storytelling.
