Haute 100 Update: George Clooney Already Generating Much Oscar Buzz with ‘The Ides of March’ and ‘The Descendants’

The Academy Awards are still six months away, but for George Clooney, the Oscar buzz is already brewing. Entertainment Weekly released their list of 12 “Oscar Watch” movies and Clooney makes the list twice. The timeless heartthrob made the list with two movies in which he stars – The Ides of March, which premiers next week at the Venice Film Festival, and The Descendants, due to debut around Thanksgiving.

The Ides of March was shot in Cincinnati, OH, and co-stars Ryan Gosling as a press aide for Clooney’s character, a presidential candidate in the Ohio primary. Entertainment Weekly foresees it as Oscar material due to its high-profile director – Clooney himself – and Oscar-friendly cast, led by Gosling.

Clooney plays a Hawaiian land baron in The Descendants, in which he learns his wife is carrying out an affair. Much of the Oscar buzz for this film surrounds the director of the film, Alexander Payne, whose first movie was the well buzzed-about Sideways.

Our Haute 100 list details the accomplishments of the most influential people in each of our markets. To see the entire Haute 100 Los Angeles list, click here.