Ryan Bingham has rules — rules about airport security lines, per diem travel expenses and overnight stays in fancy hotels. It's all part of his meticulously planned quest to amass 10 million frequent-flier miles for no other reason, it seems at first, than that vanishingly few people on Earth have reached that stratospheric plateau and enjoyed the first-class perks along the way.
In "Up in the Air," though, all is not as it appears, and as played by Oscar winner George Clooney, Bingham's airport-hopping mission soon reveals itself to be as much blind diversion as it is joyful journey. Director Jason Reitman ("Juno") has spent months traveling from runway to runway as he promotes his film, often with Clooney by his side. So what are the perks of traveling with one of Hollywood's most famous men? And — heaven forbid! — could there possibly be a downside?
"The worst part is the guy gets mobbed, and I feel bad for him," Reitman told MTV News. "And the best thing, I guess, is he has carte blanche to go anywhere he wants."
From their first meeting about the script in Clooney's Italian villa to their time promoting the film — which has been garnering a ton of Oscar buzz since debuting at the Telluride Film Festival in September and which opens for limited release Friday — the duo have gotten to know each other well. But Reitman still doesn't have Clooney's e-mail address. He's not even sure the guy's got one.
"He must," Reitman decided.
When it comes to social networking, however, Reitman is positive about Clooney's stance. "My guess is he would rather have hot pokers burn the top layers of his eyeballs than go on Twitter," he laughed.
Check out everything we've got on "Up in the Air."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
Katie Price’s cage fighter boyfriend wears her gold leotard‘Up In The Air’ Director Raves About Anna Kendrick: ‘I Wrote This Role For Her’
