Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | News | August 4, 2025
George Clooney and Adam Sandler have a new movie coming to Netflix in December, and it sounds fascinating. It’s from Noah Baumbach, who co-wrote the script with Emily Mortimer, of all people (they met through their kids). It’s about an actor who is “a gigantic movie star in his 60s facing down a personal reckoning. His career has been characterized by consistent success, at times overwhelming fame, and the occasional criticism that he mostly plays himself onscreen.” Obviously, George Clooney is perfect for the role.
Adam Sandler plays his agent, and this is one of those serious Adam Sandler roles, which he does often enough now that it shouldn’t feel like a novelty. And yet, Clooney—according to Vanity Fair—felt “protective” of Sandler, insisting that he be treated like a serious actor and not be referred to as Sand Man.
“This film, more than any film Adam has done, shows what a beautiful, heartfelt, soulful actor he is—I kept telling the cast, ‘Don’t call him Sand Man. Don’t talk to him like he’s just some goofy comedian. He’s actually a really beautiful, wonderful actor,’” Clooney says. “Because of what his paycheck is, which is doing big goofy comedies, when he does these other, beautiful, Uncut Gems kinds of movies, it reminds people of that. He’s not just a good comedian.”
All fair! But also, Sandler is still The Sand Man. He can act when called upon to act, but he’s not a method actor or anything. I don’t know the guy, nor do I work on the crew, but referring to him as The Sand Man doesn’t seem patronizing or suggest he’s not being taken seriously—it feels affectionate and familiar.
Not that it matters what anyone calls Adam Sandler. I’m just making #content here. He’s beloved for those “big goofy comedies,” and he does movies like Uncut Gems and Clooney’s forthcoming Jay Kelly often enough now that people also respect him as an actor. That said, I still think his best movie in years isn’t Gems but Hustle, that Netflix basketball drama.
Check out the rest of the Vanity Fair piece here, where Noah Baumbach also discusses how he became disillusioned with moviemaking after White Noise.
