'Jay Kelly' Press Conference with George Clooney and More

George Clooney, Adam Sandler, and Laura Dern discuss their new film, 'Jay Kelly', and the powerful messages they hope viewers take away from it.

(L to R) George Clooney, Noah Baumbach and Adam Sandler attend the Headline Gala screening of Netflix's 'Jay Kelly' during the 69th BFI London Film Festival at The Royal Festival Hall on October 10th, 2025 in London, England. Photo by StillMoving.Net for Netflix.

'Jay Kelly' follows famous movie actor Jay Kelly (George Clooney) and his devoted manager Ron (Adam Sandler) as they embark on an unexpectedly profound journey through Europe, where both men are forced to confront the choices they've made and the legacies they'll leave behind. Moviefone was in attendance at an in-person press conference, which featured director Noah Baumbach and stars George Clooney, Adam Sandler, and Laura Dern.

Jay Kelly

"Everybody knows Jay Kelly, but Jay Kelly doesn't know himself."

RDrama Comedy

Review
Score

Release Date: Nov 14, 2025

Run Time: 2 hr 12 min

Starring: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern

1) George Clooney Was Thrilled To Finally Work With Adam Sandler

(L to R) George Clooney as Jay Kelly and Adam Sandler as Ron Sukenick in 'Jay Kelly'. Cr. Peter Mountain/Netflix © 2025.

George Clooney admits that he was so excited to get to work with Adam Sandler that he was already planning to do 'Jay Kelly' before even reading the script.

George Clooney: I got a call that said that Noah’s gonna do a film with Adam Sandler and was I interested. And I said, “Yeah, I’ll do it.” And they said, “Do you wanna read the script?” I said, “Well, yes, I’ll read the script, but I'm gonna do it.” Because I knew, the track record of Noah and I really wanted to work with Adam. And then I read the script and I couldn’t believe my luck. I thought this was such a beautiful part. It’s funny, a lot of people have come up to me and said, it’s like you are playing yourself. It’s like, well, I don’t have the regrets that this guy has. My kids still like me. They’re eight. That might change. But at this point, they still like me. All the people that I've worked with, I still work with. I have a very different life than this guy. So, I didn’t really relate to him.

2) Adam Sandler Explains How He Was Able To Use Inspiration From His Management Team To Shape His Character

(L to R) Patrick Wilson as Ben Alcock and Adam Sandler as Ron Sukenick in 'Jay Kelly'. Cr. Netflix © 2025.

Adam Sandler plays Jay Kelly's manager in the film, and while he was sure to craft his own character, he did take a bit of inspiration from his team.

Adam Sandler: We have teams. We are on the other side of it. You do see how much work goes into what they’re doing. And my favorite line, I said this on our side is, “You’re Jay Kelly, but I'm Jay Kelly, too.” I feel like our teams feel the same way. My character, it was very easy to love George ‘cause he’s just a great person, a great man to be around, very giving man. And I do, when he’s talking, I look at him and I say, wow, I could listen to him all day. I feel like it was just nice. My character loved the person like our teams they truly love us. And they believe in what we’re going after and the ups and they feel the downs. That’s what we were going after.

3) Noah Baumbach Says 'Jay Kelly' Is About The Price Of Fame & Regrets

Noah Baumbach attends the Headline Gala screening of Netflix's 'Jay Kelly' during the 69th BFI London Film Festival at The Royal Festival Hall on October 10th, 2025 in London, England. Photo by StillMoving.Net for Netflix.

When asked about what 'Jay Kelly' means to him, director Noah Baumbach says it is about the realization that we only have one life, and we should do our very best with it.

Noah Baumbach: This movie is about, I think, at a certain point in life, discovering that, I mean, it’s glaringly obvious and shocking at the same time, realization that this is the only time we’re gonna do this. I think that’s what Jay comes to in some crooked, wild way in this movie, which is, I don’t have another one of these and these are the choices I've made. This is my life. So, what am I gonna do? I think that’s something that everybody has their own version of. When Emily Mortimer and I wrote the script, it was something we talked a lot about. The trappings of the movie star, the world around him, all of that was a world we know and was very interesting and compelling. But I really was more interested in these other emotional, psychological, essentially confronting mortality.

4) Laura Dern & Adam Sandler Admit That They Remember A Lot Of Moments In Their Lives By Relating Them To The Projects They Were Working On At The Time

(L to R) Laura Dern as Liz and Adam Sandler as Ron Sukenick in 'Jay Kelly'. Cr. Netflix © 2025.

In 'Jay Kelly', the title character goes through his memories, relating each one to the project he was filming at the time. Adam Sandler and Laura Dern admit they do the same.

Adam Sandler: I remember a sad one, '50 First Dates'. I remember, literally, we were going to Hawaii to shoot it. I got the phone call the day before we started shooting that my dad was sick. And then I remember that entire movie was just about going home every weekend from Hawaii to Florida to see my dad. So every time someone brings that movie up to me, I love that movie and I love Drew and I love the whole process, but I do always click with that memory of, oh man, that's when my dad got sick, and that was a roughie.
Laura Dern attends Netflix film 'Jay Kelly', NYFF Main Slate Premiere and Q&A on September 29, 2025 in New York City. Photo by Jason Mendez/Getty Images for Netflix.
Laura Dern: Like the film, there is the one reality of how cinema is our memories. How we are all attached to our story through those markers of film. But for me, the thing I think of, and this is a perfect moment to reflect on it, is the found family that comes with any, if we're blessed to have, a vocation, a passion in our life. How we find our people. And my three favorite people are all sitting next to me.

5) George Clooney Answers The Question, Would He Choose Fame Again If Given The Chance

George Clooney attends the Headline Gala screening of Netflix's 'Jay Kelly' during the 69th BFI London Film Festival at The Royal Festival Hall on October 10th, 2025 in London, England. Photo by StillMoving.Net for Netflix.

The main theme of 'Jay Kelly' is learning to enjoy the one life you have and treat others how you wish to be treated. It also explores the price of fame, as discussed earlier. George Clooney was asked if he would choose to be famous again, if given the chance to do it all over again.

George Clooney: When I was a young guy I used to watch Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous? I was cutting tobacco for $3 an hour and I’d hear some famous actor complain about their life, and I’d be like, F you, I'm cutting tobacco. So, I don’t find any reason to complain about things. I caught that brass ring. I got very lucky in my career and in my life and the chance to work with these people. Would I choose it again? Yeah. Fame is a funny thing because fame offers you the opportunity to be able to do the kind of projects you want to do. But you run towards it like a bug light and then when you get there, you really get zapped. There’s a lot of other pieces that come into play. But the truth is, what fame has afforded me is the ability to work on projects like this. I'm 64 years old. These parts don’t come around very often. I feel very lucky just to be able to get that opportunity. So, if fame has afforded me some of that, then that’s been an extraordinary experience for me. And the rest of it, yeah, there are things that you can’t do and there’s things that are limiting. But it’s a lot worse cutting tobacco.

George Clooney as Jay Kelly in 'Jay Kelly'. Cr. Peter Mountain/Netflix © 2025.

What’s the story of ‘Jay Kelly’?

The film follows famous movie actor, Jay Kelly (George Clooney), as he embarks on a journey of self-discovery confronting both his past and present, accompanied by his devoted manager Ron (Adam Sandler).