Transcript: The Clooney Maneuver

Rob Long on the art of landing a Hollywood side gig more lucrative than your main gig

This is Rob Long with Martini Shot for The Ankler.

Every television showrunner I know has at one point had a run-in with an actor which ended up with the actor saying, “Hey, it's my face out there.”

Usually it's over a specific line or turn of phrase — sometimes it's about something larger, an action or an attitude that the writer wanted the character to express — and in these cases, the thing to do is balance the needs of the story and the moment and toss out whatever ego part is driving the dispute, and unless there's a really compelling reason why the line has to be that line, "Hey, it's my face out there," is a pretty rational argument for an actor, when you think about it.