Clooney Out With 'Syriana' DVD

CBS Early Show entertainment contributor and People magazine editor-at-large Jess Cagle looks at the DVD release of "Syriana."

Earlier this year, George Clooney went from "A" list superstar to Academy Award winner for best supporting actor with the political thriller "Syriana," out on DVD June 20.

Clooney first gained attention as a serious actor as star of the hit series "E.R." After a disastrous turn as the caped crusader in "Batman and Robin," Clooney wisely turned to critically acclaimed smaller films like "Out Of Sight," "Three Kings" and "O Brother Where Art Thou" along with blockbusters like "The Perfect Storm" and "Oceans Eleven."

"Syriana" stars Matt Damon, Amanda Peet and Geoffrey Wright in a film that weaves together multiple storylines about the oil industry, the U.S. government and politics in the Middle East. Clooney plays a career CIA operative who begins to uncover the disturbing truth about the work he has devoted his life to.

2Political films are not easy films to get made. So Clooney had to fight to get this one on screen, which made his award victories that much better.

"What it means to us is that we get to keep making films like this, and they are hard to make, hard to get made," says Clooney. "I'm sitting at the table with all the guys from Warner Bros and they see that and go well, 'OK, there's something that's marketable about that' and that's good, cause these aren't easy films to sell."

"It buys you one more film that you can do that ... you can say last time it worked, we were right about the last one," he adds.

Some have criticized "Syriana" as being difficult to understand, but that's not a problem for Clooney.

3"I don't think you're supposed to have to understand it," he says. "When [CBS President and Chief Executive Officer] Les Moonves and I were at a test screening of 'ER' no one knew what super ventricular tachyarythmia meant, but they got it. They understood the rest of the show. It made sense to them. So I think the idea is you start to understand the rest of it."

Last year's Edward R. Murrow biopic "Goodnight and Good Luck" earned Clooney two additional Oscar nominations for best director and screenplay. The two films secured Clooney's place in Hollywood history and established him as the industry's most outspoken, and best-looking triple threat.