Clooney's `Leatherheads' movie screening

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -March 19, 2008

The 46-year-old actor-director will visit the northern Kentucky town Monday night for a special screening of his new movie, "Leatherheads," his father, Nick Clooney, said Tuesday.

"The whole town is abuzz," said Maysville Mayor David Cartmell.

Clooney, who won an Oscar for his role in "Syriana," grew up in the town of Augusta, about 16 miles west of Maysville.

The setting has special significance for the Clooney family. In 1953, "The Stars Are Singing," starring Rosemary Clooney, George Clooney's aunt, premiered in Maysville.

"He knows all about that, and he is very interested in kind of connecting the dots as far as family history," Nick Clooney said. "He thinks that would be kind of cool for the family, and one hopes for the town, too."

Nick and Rosemary Clooney were born in Maysville. George Clooney was born in Lexington, and the family moved several times before settling in Augusta.

"Leatherheads," which also stars Renee Zellweger, is a romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s professional football. The film will be in theaters April 4.

The movie will be shown at the Washington Opera Theatre, Nick Clooney and Universal Studios said Tuesday.

Cartmell said Monday night's screening will probably be the biggest event in the town of about 9,000 since the premiere of "The Stars Are Singing."

It will also be the hottest ticket in town.

Nick Clooney said about 300 seats will be available. The opera house seats about 450 people, but equipment needed to show the movie will take up space in the balcony, he said.

Cartmell said he expects the town to catch Hollywood fever.

"Next week, we'll be Hollywood on the Ohio," he said.
Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.