George Clooney is slamming Sony Studio investor and hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb. He told the guru in no uncertain terms to stop spreading fear at Sony.
Clooney is one of the most recognized names in the US movie industry and has been rewarded for his efforts with Academy Awards, most recently with Argo, alongside his pal Ben Affleck.
But Clooney is not your typical actor, he is also in the business of producing provocative films that send a message and has struggled in doing so with big studios.
Now he is coming to one of those studios defense, after it was revealed that investor Daniel Loeb is putting pressure on executives Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal, regarding the less than stellar performances of summer films After Earth and White House Down .
Loeb’s fund controls seven percent of Sony’s stock’s and he wants the studio to spin off its entertainment assets.
George Clooney’s own production company Smokehouse Pictures is based at Sony.
In a recent interview with Deadline , Clooney expressed his feelings about Loeb, telling the online outlet that he knows nothing about his industry and is trying to dictate what a major studio does, just because he thinks he has financial influence.
The outspoken actor says that the hedge fund manager is mistaken in picking on the two films that didn’t perform as expected when there are others that did very well such as Skyfall, Django Unchained, and Zero Dark Thirty.
Referring to the collapse of several major financial firms, Clooney says that when they get in trouble they get bailed out and nobody gets fired, clearly talking about the government coming to their aid.
George Clooney called Loeb a “carpet bagger” who thinks he has influence with Sony and must stop trying to intimidate the studio. Do you agree with this opinion?
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