George Clooney Eyes Romantic Comedy

Actor Is Scouting North Carolina Locations For Possible Film

(AP)  After a string of serious films, George Clooney may be considering a role in a romantic sports comedy.

Jack Thomson, executive director of Historic Salisbury, said he met the Oscar-winning actor on Monday at Salisbury's restored train depot as Clooney was checking out the North Carolina town for an upcoming movie called "Leatherheads." Thomson described the film as a romantic comedy with 1920s football as the backdrop.

"He came here because historic preservation is successful on a scale rarely matched elsewhere," Thomson said. "Our buildings are the real McCoy and even better than a Hollywood set."

Clooney, 45, earlier this year won the best supporting actor Oscar for his role as a CIA operative in "Syriana." His next movie, "The Good German," is slated for release in December.

Variety reported in September that Universal, a subsidiary of NBC Universal, was recruiting Clooney to both direct and star in "Leatherheads," which the trade paper said had been at the studio for more than a decade.