New Clip From ‘Up in the Air’

Up in the Air came off the festival circuit with raves, many of which cried Oscar. The trailer did nothing to put out the fire, in fact, it only stoked our interest here at Screen Rant. Now, a new clip from the film is online and it looks great!

The film is directed by Jason Reitman of Juno fame and stars George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a professional down-sizer. He’s the guy execs hire when they can’t bring themselves to drop the F-word in front of their employees – “you’re fired.” The job keeps Bingham on the road most of the year and he’s developed a life goal of racking up ten million frequent flier miles, for reasons he explains in the clip below.

And while this goal (a major plot point) sounds unusual, if not shallow or just plain silly, it’s not a joke. Like in his previous films, Juno and Thank You for Smoking, Reitman plays his laughs with a shot of seriousness and a lot of heart – something Clooney does so well.

Based on this clip, it looks like he might have found the perfect George Clooney role. Bingham’s a little kooky but somehow smarter, slicker, and a heck of a lot more charming than everyone around him, and that wry grin shows you he knows it. Is it possible Clooney might add Best Actor to his many accolades? (He already won Best Supporting Actor in 2005 for Syriana.) Chances are looking good so far, but we all knew it had to happen some day, right?

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The surprise here is from co-star Anna Kendrick. She plays a young IT expert with the bright idea of replacing Bingham’s face-to-face dismissals with video conferences, which would of course make all those trips he takes unnecessary.

If Kendrick’s face is familiar, it’s because she was Jessica Stanley in Twilight. And while you might be rolling your eyes thinking she can handle a role in a film aimed at grown-ups, she more than holds her own in this scene. She delivers every line in the dry, droll manner of someone who is far from impressed by her superior. The real kicker is the last line – It’s worth waiting for.

Check out the clip thanks to RopeofSilicon.com:

Up in the Air hits theaters on Christmas Day.