After having fun with James Corden during their carpool karaoke moment last week, George Clooney and Julia Roberts went to the Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of Money Monster, starring both power actors. The film was directed by Hollywood veteran Jodie Foster.
Clooney plays cable news host Lee Gates. Serving as a stand-in for the CNBC show Mad Money with Wall Street guru Jim Cramer, Gates gives questionable tips to investors with backup hip hop dancers, strange costumes and off-the-wall sound effects. His producer, Patty Fenn (played by Julia Roberts) is preparing to take another job until a disgruntled investor goes onto the set and takes Gates hostage.
With the movie hitting the box office this weekend, Foster has been outspoken about the role of women in the director’s chair and the film industry’s turn toward big-budget, comic book films.
Throughout her long career as an actress, she did not see many women playing a key role in films behind the scenes. “I was raised by a single mom and even though the world told me that there weren’t a lot of women directors, I decided that I was going to be one,” Foster had recently told Variety.
Foster has directed four films to date, some including Little Man Tate and Home for the Holidays. Money Monster is the latest addition to her growing list of directing credits.
The movie opened on May 13 to mixed reviews, though many expect it to be profitable thanks to its estimated $27 million budget. Overall, movie critics suggest the thriller falls short on grown-up entertainment, but Clooney’s and Roberts’ performances give the movie what’s needed to make it successful.