Clooney Tackles Ethics in New Film 'Michael Clayton'

In "Michael Clayton" George Clooney plays a fixer for a major corporation.

ByABC News via logo
February 12, 2009, 4:28 PM

Oct. 8, 2007 — -- International film star and salt and peppered hottie George Clooney is used to getting favorable reviews on his looks, his wardrobe and his attitude.

But now, even before its nationwide release, Clooney's new film "Michael Clayton" already is generating Oscar talk. In the film, Clooney plays a high-priced fixer for a major corporation.

"This is a really well-written script," he said on "Good Morning America" Monday.

Clooney attributed much of the movie's critical success not to himself but to writer and director Tony Gilroy. Gilroy is making his directorial debut and is the veteran writer behind the Jason Bourne series starring Matt Damon.

"He wrote a really smart, sort of semi-thriller," Clooney went on. "[He] researched the hell out of it and knew what he wanted out of the characters. All you had do was pay attention to the screenplay."

According to Clooney, "Michael Clayton" raises some interesting ethical questions.

"The question is, 'How far are you willing to move that line of ethics in order to justify how you live your life? This came from an actual event that happened, when a car company's cars were blowing up. And they were going to recall...[but] In an office memo, they said, 'Well, if you absorb the 300 people a year it kills, the class action suits will be cheaper.'"

The heavy subject matter hasn't slowed the film down, which is currently in limited release. It already has earned some nice box office cash, grabbing $47,000 per screen.

It was an accomplishment Clooney said he was excited about.

"These aren't films that open and are huge studio films," he told "GMA." "They require an audience and reviews and things...so you can make them."

Clooney is used to commercial success. His career is filled with box-office money makers.

The A-list actor has had an abundance of commercial success with the "Ocean's" franchise, which released its third installment during the summer and has generated hundreds of millions at box offices worldwide.