The movie that George Clooney immediately said yes to has hit Netflix, and it comes with a big question mark

George Clooney, one of Hollywood's most sought-after actors, says it took him less than 24 hours to decide whether to accept Netflix's proposed role in his new film “Jay Kelly,” one that has put his name back in the running for a possible Oscar after years.

“Well, I read the script and I said, 'If I think about it too much, they might take Brad [Pitt]. And I can't allow it, I can't allow it. When you read something, you know,” Clooney joked in an interview with CBS News a few days before the film's release. Jay Kelly on Netflix Friday.

With a cast that includes names like Adam Sandler and Laura Dern, the Netflix film is half comedy, half drama and a critique of the cult of celebrity. The main character played by Clooney, the one who gives the film its name, is a famous actor who embarks on a journey to reconcile his professional success with his personal failures.

Inevitably, the character drew many comparisons to the actor chosen to play him. “George Clooney basically plays himself in Jay Kelly“wrote perhaps most trenchantly a review published by The Independent. “George Clooney satirizes his star image with a disarming vulnerability, while Adam Sandler impressively expands his dramatic register in Jay Kellya Hollywood satire that's gentler than you'd expect from director Noah Baumbach,” Rotten Tomatoes notes in its description, which includes reviews published so far for the feature film.

In the film, the famous actor is accused of only playing himself – a criticism that was also leveled at Clooney, as well as his colleague, Adam Sandler. Sandler plays the famous actor's impresario, who accompanies him on his journey of self-discovery. But Clooney said he doesn't “give a damn” if people actually think he's just acting on camera like he would in everyday life.

“Have you ever tried to play yourself? It's hard to do,” Clooney said, quoting a line from the film for an interview with Vanity Fair magazine.

Netflix has prepared the new film with George Clooney for the Oscars

In addition to the established actors offered to play in the film, Netflix took the American filmmaker Noah Baumbach, who in recent years has signed acclaimed films like Marriage Story (2019) and White Noise (2022). His previous film, Chin of 2023, was a huge box office hit and garnered no less than eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.

He presented his new feature film in person, together with the actors from it, at this year's edition of the prestigious Venice International Film Festival, where Jay Kelly premiered at the end of August. It competed in the main section and was nominated for the Golden Lion, the festival's top prize, which ultimately went to the film Father Mother Sister Brother by American director Jim Jarmusch.

The Venice Film Festival is the last major film industry festival of the year and is considered a mandatory “stop” for feature films hoping to compete at the Oscars, which are held early next year. Netflix bosses have wanted for years to win an Oscar for best picture to prove that the streaming giant is on the same cinematic level as the big traditional Hollywood studios.

At this year's Academy Awards, Netflix pinned its hopes on the emotional musical film Emilia Perezwho was seen as one of the big favorites for the coveted statuettes. But the huge scandal that broke out due to sexist and xenophobic comments made in the past by the lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón ruined any chance the film had in the main category, which no Netflix film has ever won.

The Oscar for Best Picture was won in 2025 by the film Anori by independent filmmaker Sean Baker, while Emilia Perezwhich had the most nominations, only won Oscars for Best Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldaña) and Best Original Song (El Malsung in the film by Saldaña).

Can 'Jay Kelly' Bring Netflix and George Clooney Oscar Glory?

More proof that Netflix planned Jay Kelly with hopes of competing at the Oscars is the fact that the film had a limited theatrical release in the United States on November 14 before now streaming. Netflix produces all of its films with the intention of releasing them on its streaming platform, but the rules of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Academy Awards, state that a film must be shown for at least one week and in a certain number of theaters to be eligible.

For Clooney, a possible triumph would represent his first Oscar for best actor in a leading role. Now 64 years old, he has been nominated several times for the Academy Award, both as an actor and as a producer and director. He won twice: the Oscar for best supporting actor for his performance in the spy thriller Syriana from 2005 and the one for the best producer, received for his work on the feature film Slang released 7 years later.

The story of the film Jay Kellyits cast and the established director chosen to make it have Clooney's name in the air again this year as an Oscar contender. But the problem for both him and Netflix, which is aiming for the best picture Oscar, is that after the feature film's presentation in Venice, the reviews weren't as glowing as the streaming company's executives had hoped.

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes Jay Kelly has a 78% approval rating from film critics, well below that of other feature films that have won the Oscar for Best Picture, for example.

The surprise in store for the new Netflix movie

In predictions published at the end of November, Variety magazine included Jay Kelly on his list of favorites to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture, but Clooney did not make the list of favorites for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

However, other specialized sites report a possible surprise: that Adam Sandler will be nominated for the Oscar for the best actor in a supporting role.

Known for his roles in critically panned comedy films, he offered in Jay Kelly what many consider the best performance of his career. “Jay Kelly should win Adam Sandler the Oscar he deserves,” notes, for example, GQ magazine from the title of a review for the film.

The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the nominations for the next Academy Awards on January 22 next year, with the prestigious statuettes to be awarded on March 15, 2026.