  Jason Reitman and his father, Ivan Reitman, at the Canadian Consulate Oscar nominees luncheon. (Marie-Joelle Parent, QMI)
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LOS ANGELES — Jason Reitman is indebted to Hollywood superstar George Clooney ... and vice versa. Reitman, a man with the golden touch, has now directed Clooney to his second Oscar nomination in the best-actor category, for Up in the Air.
But Reitman, the Canadian-born writer-director, says Clooney helped make the film happen simply by choosing to work in it. The bonus is that Clooney is now deflecting the craziness around the Oscars by attracting most of the attention leading up to the red carpet walk on Sunday.
“I think what makes George perfect,” Reitman says in an exclusive interview, “is that he does things for the right reasons. Everything: the movies he chooses, the causes he chooses. They’re all done for the right reasons and, because of that, when he says, ‘Yes!’ to do your film, you know that he’s kind of acknowledged it with his great taste. And he brings to it his great talent. And then his celebrity brings attention to a film that might otherwise not get attention.”
Reitman says he is ecstatic to be the only Oscar contender to have three acting nominations overall. In addition to Clooney, who might have to give way to popular choice Jeff Bridges for best actor, both Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick have been nominated for supporting actress. While that will probably mean they will split the vote and leave the Oscar to Mo’Nique for Precious, Reitman is still proud of his team. Getting the nominations is a triumph in itself.
“It is wonderful for a couple of reasons. One is that we get to go to the Oscars together, and that is really nice,” Reitman says. “If one of the (major) actors had not been nominated, it would have felt somehow that the film was not represented properly. It is the culmination of everyone’s great efforts.”
