Being George Clooney

I took a chance this film on a flight, and stumbled across the world of dubbing, a fascinating art form blending acting, incredible attention to detail and technique.

Highly recommended this pleasant documentary for an easy watch and some humourous moments.

The world outside of Hollywood has become an important market for big blockbuster movies. If the movies don't do so well locally, then there is no need to worry because they can still make a return for the studios in the overseas box office. And to achieve that, they have to rely on their movies being dubbed into various different languages to capture that market.

This insightful and entertaining documentary chronicles the art of movie actor dubbing. It begins with an introduction to various voice actors from around the world who supply George Clooney's voice. At first glance, this documentary seems lightweight, with a few interesting aspects on the art form of voice dubbing. It also goes into the history and the politics, and other interesting aspects. Ultimately it falls back into its sweetness of the characters, who were well chosen for this documentary.

There were times when I wished they would have stayed on a few of the topics that little bit longer, but seem to brush over it. Like the German voice actor who took on the Hollywood studio to court and then was blacklisted, and the changing of the Clooney voice in Germany, which rustled a few feathers.

Overall the documentary makers allowed us to create a connection with the voice actors through their vulnerability, and their opinions on being underpaid and unnoticed as industry entertainers. These situations add more interest to a topic which is ultimately entertaining, but still interesting enough.

This is a charming documentary which focuses on a few selected voice actors around the world who dub over his voice to suit the local market. The special made me think twice and hard as I love authenticity, meaning if a film is in French, I will watch it as is and rely on subtitles for translations. If I'm travelling for work and had the extra time if I want to catch a film, as much as possible I still watch the original version like for example, The Full Monty. Note that Voice actors are not the simple synchronizers we perceived them to be, as they portray the film characters of Clooney in a film, they lovingly put their local touch on him so that a German or an Italian embraces him and keep it the blockbuster that it is in the U.S. You can imagine that people abroad may not be that fluent in American English and the market for films in their original language is smaller. There is also a poignant part about an actor who dared to challenge the Disney empire. Now comes the realization that many of these passionate voice actors earn peanuts in exchange for their craft and loyal services. I hope this docu will pioneer the way for changing the greedy movie moguls and how they treat the smaller players. Watch it and learn something different for your own expanse.

In his fascinating, charming film, director Paul Mariano goes behind the scenes to reveal the men and women who dub the voices of American movie stars in countries including Italy, France, Turkey, and Brazil. Being George Clooney is for film dubbers what Twenty Feet from Stardom is for back-up singers — and a definite festival must-see. Santa Barbara Independent (Monday, February 1, 2016) In his fascinating, charming film, director Paul Mariano goes behind the scenes to reveal the men and women who dub the voices of American movie stars in countries including Italy, France, Turkey, and Brazil. Being George Clooney is for film dubbers what Twenty Feet from Stardom is for back-up singers — and a definite festival must-see. Santa Barbara Independent (Monday, February 1, 2016)