George Clooney launches film and television production high school in Los Angeles

With classrooms across the country, George Clooney opened a brand new school in Los Angeles on Wednesday aimed at helping future filmmakers.

The 61-year-old actor and filmmaker helped open the Roybal School of Film and Television Production Magnet in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday.

He was joined by fellow actors and Roybal Advisory Board Members Don Cheadle and Mindy Kaling for the school’s launch.

Clooney stepped out on Wednesday wearing a navy blue polo shirt and light blue jeans for the event.

He rocked his signature salt-and-pepper beard while completing his look with gray shoes.

Clooney joked during the ceremony, “When you think of actors, you don’t think of education in general. I mean, when you look at me, you just think, “Oh, he’s just the best Batman of all time.”

He also spoke with ET at the launch on why he thought creating this Los Angeles school was so important.

‘We are excited about this. We feel like there’s a real opportunity here, and it’s something that I think we’ve missed in our industry, and I think it’s something where it’s pretty clear what the solution is — and it’s starting earlier,” he said. .

“I just had the feeling that if you see a gap you’re trying to fill it, and this is one it just looked like – I was in London, and we had staff, and because it was a really busy time in the industry, it’s hard to find crew, and we need to do a lot better on inclusiveness,” he said.

When asked if he would actually teach at magnet school, Clooney said he would definitely come by.

‘Yes Yes Yes. I come in. And listen, this is below the line guys, right? So I don’t really come in to talk about directing or acting, but I can come in and sit down with the kids when they’re editing and stuff like that, so something like that,” Clooney explained.

When asked how he would feel about his own children – 5-year-old twins Alexander and Ella – pursuing showbiz careers, Clooney joked that they are already smarter than him.

“They can do whatever they want. I guess they’re a little smarter than me, so they’ll probably do something — they already speak three languages, so I’m still working on English,” Clooney joked.

The Roybal School of Film and Television Production Magnet was first announced in June in conjunction with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

Clooney and his production partner Grant Heslov worked with Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner, Cheadle, Kaling and others such as Kerry Washington, Nicole Avant, Eva Longoria, Working Title Films founders Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner and Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Co- Chairman Bryan Lourd to form the school

The school is described as “a specialized academy housed in the Edward R. Roybal Learning Center,” which will “provide Los Angeles Unified teachers access to renowned storytellers, along with industry professionals and experts, and support students with a robust academic education and on-the-job training, charting a clear path to high-paying jobs.”