Val Kilmer reported to be a top contender, though just days after Keaton dropped out, Kilmer was cast. Kilmer took the role without even knowing who the new director was and without reading the script. Released in June 1995, "Batman Forever" was a success at the box office, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics. There was debate about Kilmer's performance: some critics, like "The New York Times" Janet Maslin, thought Kilmer was a poor successor to Keaton in the part; while others, such as Roger Ebert, had kind words for Kilmer. "Batman" creator Bob Kane said in a "Cinescape" interview that of
George Clooney inventor. Later in the year, he was featured as himself in the Netflix Christmas musical comedy "A Very Murray Christmas", starring Bill Murray. "Hail, Caesar!", a comedy from the Coen brothers set in the Hollywood film industry in the 1950s, premiered in February 2016. Clooney portrayed Baird Whitlock, a Robert Taylor-type film star who is kidnapped during the production of a film. Josh Brolin co-starred as fixer Eddie Mannix. Clooney reunited with Julia Roberts for the Jodie Foster-directed thriller "Money Monster" (2016), playing the host of a television show that investigates conspiracies on commerce and Wall Street, who is taken