Oscars, Murrow, Gaghan... Nothing fazes George Clooney (Pictured here with [L-R] Marcia Rock, Grant Heslov and David Strathairn) (Photo: STV)

Talk about a coup: George Clooney, David Strathairn and Grant Heslov crashed my alma mater New York University yesterday, analyzing Good Night, and Good Luck's journalistic implications for a few hundred young aspiring reporters. It seemed like kind of a sweet justice that The Reeler was able to sneak in, considering how school obligations kept me from Clooney's GN, GL press conference at this year's New York Film Festival.

And although we did not quite get around to discussing the film's flexible historical record or its contextual shortcomings (GN, GL is probably the only fall film whose length is targeted as too short), Clooney was nevertheless a forthcoming guest. "It depends on what the cause is," he said when asked how carefully actors should balance their professional and social consciences. "If you're conservative, you're perfectly welcome to have any cause you want. ... But the more important issue is that we are not very good, I think, now, at telling people what to think. We're pretty good at telling people what they should be asking. Hollywood's pretty good at that. We can stand up and say, 'Listen.' This film and Syriana are two films in particular where I made a very specific choice going in, saying, 'Look: I'm not telling you what we should do. I'm not going to supply the answers.' I think the most important thing is that we must never be told we're not allowed to ask a question. That's when we get into a very dangerous area."

Ironically or not, that was the last question of the pool interview. I really would have liked to ask if he knew there was an NYU graduate assistant strike going on and that we were all shattering a picket line to celebrate Murrow, but hey--it is awards season! And you do not see Warner Independent taking out Oscar ads in The Daily Worker, do you?

I trailed Clooney into the auditorium and asked if he thought the Oscar hype machine was spinning out of control. "It hasn't started yet," he told me. "It probably will. I've never been through one of these before. I don't know anything about it. I've never been to the Oscars, so..."

OK, well there is some preliminary buzz--Golden Globes, etc. What's your feeling?

"Honestly, I don't know," he said. "We just got nominated two days ago, so we'll see."

I did badger him one last time during the event's Q&A session, following up on where he and writing/producing partner Heslov were at on their proposed live-TV remake of Network. "We're having some rights issues with it," Heslov said. "So we're working on that." I asked who they thought about casting as Howard Beale, and Clooney suggested Michael Caine. And then Abe Vigoda, whom he then impersonated saying, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore."

Sigh. Is this guy charming, or is he charming? Anyway, kudos to NYU journalism professors Marcia Rock and William Serrin for sending their students into the break on an up note. The pleasure was indeed ours.