George Clooney Remembers Norman Lear: ‘He’ll Be Missed’ (Exclusive)

George Clooney and his wife Amal brought Hollywood to the Seattle premiere of his new movie “The Boys in the Boat” on Thursday.

“Extra” was with George, who reflected on the death of his good friend, legendary producer Norman Lear. George worked with the TV icon when he was just 24 on Lear’s classic sitcom "The Facts of Life."

George shared, “He was 101 and the youngest guy in any room he walked into. I loved him. He was a dear friend and we had dinner with him not long ago. He made dinners magical, and he was always curious and always optimistic, and it was all the stuff I’m envious of. He teaches you how to grow old in the best way, and he'll be missed.”

Clooney also talked about directing “The Boys in the Boat,” about members of the University of Washington rowing team who competed in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

The movie is based on a book by Daniel James Brown, and George told us, “Dan sits there and looks you in the eye… We were very concerned along the way… that we caught and showed what he was trying to tell as a story. It was important, that was the goal, and when he saw it for the first time — I was nervous — his wife and him came over and gave me a hug.”

The movie marks George’s ninth time in the director’s chair and first time directing a sports film. He shared, “I was a jock, I still play a lot of sports, I play basketball, baseball… I love sports films, so I wanted to do one like this which is a classic and I thought it would be fun to tell the story.”

Opening up about making the rowing movie, he said, “We trained them, man, about five months and you know, it is funny, as a director, I’m pretty easygoing, but as a rowing coach out there with a megaphone I’m like, ‘Do it again!’ and screaming at them. It was really fun.”

Was he in the boat with them? He teased, “I was in a yacht next to them… a heated yacht with champagne and a shot of a tequila... No rowing for George... C’mon, I’m 62!”