Clooney Dazzles In Maysville

Football Flick "Leatherheads" Has Premiere In Tiny Kentucky Town

(CBS/AP) 

Nick Clooney said it was his son's idea to have the special screening in Maysville, where his family has deep roots.

"This little town has given the Clooney family a lot of gifts over the years, and here's another one," Nick Clooney said. "It's really wonderful to see this kind of response from all these wonderful people."

Karen Rayburn Edwards drove about an hour-and-a-half from her northern Kentucky home and was among the early arrivals to stake out a prime spot near the red carpet. A few snowflakes were falling, and Edwards was wrapped in a blanket several hours before the scheduled premiere, but said it was worth the long wait.

"Our blood runs hot for George," she said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance."

Edwards was holding a sign letting everyone know that Monday was her birthday. She hoped to have her picture taken with the actor, saying it would be a perfect birthday gift. As it turned out, she got a better treat - she gave Clooney a kiss.

Megan Muse, a local bank teller, took vacation time to get a glimpse of Clooney. She said the attention was priceless for the town: "I've never seen Maysville so many times on the Internet, on TV."

The Hollywood-style event also says plenty about Clooney, she said.

"It shows he's a good guy," Muse said. "He doesn't let Hollywood get to him."

Downtown businesses displayed "Leatherheads" posters in their front windows. Special lighting was set up outside the opera house to give a Hollywood feel when Clooney and Zellweger walked the red carpet.

Nearly 275 people were expected to see the first showing. The audience included Clooney family and friends, as well as Gov. Steve Beshear and his wife, supporters of the renovated opera house, and a group of local high school students. It might have been the hottest ticket in Kentucky.

"I had no idea how many relatives we had here," Nick Clooney joked.

Demand for tickets was so overwhelming that Universal Pictures added a second screening later Monday night. A lottery was used to distribute the passes.

Nick Clooney said he was looking forward to seeing the movie for the first time.

"I wait to see it like everybody else does," he said. "I get my popcorn and rub elbows same way as everybody does."

Nina Clooney sounded like a proud parent when talking about her son's progression as an actor and director.

"I will see him do something, and I will think, `Wow, that's just the best,"' she said. "And then I turn around, and he will come up with something else that tops that and takes it to another level. I love watching that growth in him as a person."

It's not the first time Maysville has hosted a special screening for a Clooney. In 1953, Rosemary Clooney came home for the premiere of her movie "The Stars are Singing," at a theater a couple of blocks from the opera house.

George Clooney's visit was part of a publicity surge for the town of about 9,000 about 60 miles southeast of Cincinnati.

The local Mason County High School boys' basketball team won the state high school tournament on Saturday night. Former President Bill Clinton was scheduled to visit Maysville Tuesday as part of a Kentucky campaign swing for his wife, Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"We've hit the publicity trifecta," Cartmell said.