Key Insights
- George Clooney’s Career: He began in horror films, including Grizzly II: Revenge.
- Release History: The film had no proper release until recently, over 40 years after its production.
- Clooney’s Reaction: He humorously acknowledged the negative reviews the film received upon release.
- Future Prospects: Producers aim to maintain the film’s original 80s quality to attract a cult following.
So many stars have gotten their starts in horror movies, using the genre – whether intentionally or not – as a gateway to the mainstream. And one of the biggest no doubt is George Clooney, who not only has Return to Horror High and Return of the Killer Tomatoes to his name, but Grizzly II: Revenge. If one of those sounds less familiar to the ear than the others, it’s no doubt Grizzly II, and the primary reason for that is that it never really had a proper release until a couple of years ago. So, how does Clooney feel about his debut?
Appearing at an event in promotion of Jay Kelly – thanks to footage shot by our own Chris Bumbray – George Clooney was essentially cornered about the topic of Grizzly II: Revenge, which was originally intended to be released more than 40 years ago in 1983. Now, far more are able to – uh, let’s go with appreciate – the movie. As Clooney put it, “And by the way, just for the record, it came out, what, two years ago? And, you know, we’re getting terrible f*cking reviews!” Let’s hope the “initial” reviews of Grizzly II don’t sour any chances Clooney has of landing a Best Actor nod for Jay Kelly…
Grizzly II has a surprisingly complex backstory to it. But as far as the future of the movie and what those behind the scenes hope to upload, producer Suzanne Csikos Nagy previously said, “We didn’t want to make a 21st century movie when we looked at the footages. We wanted to keep it as original as possible to have an authentic American movie quality from the 80’s. Something that was missed or lost and found later on to attract enthusiastic cult lovers. With the casting power and the existing entertainment value with a big bear, we believe the movie will resonate with today’s audience.” So, yeah, it’s going to be amazing.
In addition to Clooney and Laura Dern (his Jay Kelly co-star, playing the title character’s publicist), Grizzly II: Revenge also features Steve Inwood, Louse Fletcher, John Rhys-Davies, and many more. And you might notice that Clooney and Dern are far down the cast list, meaning any future release will no doubt try to capitalize on their fame and Oscars…Oh, and they might try to take advantage of Charlie Sheen’s name, too!
