George Clooney in Leatherheads Courtesy of Universal Studios

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In support of his latest endeavor, George Clooney recently held court in the Burton Room of the Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills, and engaged in some repartee with the press. At his table, journalists flocked to set down their tape recorders and joke with faux intimacy — the kind developed with an oft-visited subject like Mr. Clooney, who has now been acting since the mid-'80s — and it is evident that the actor recognizes some of the faces in the crowd. An old press crony of his inquires about the content of Mr. Clooney's cup. The actor replies gamely, "If I spend time with you, there's alcohol in there." The gathered crowd breaks out in a collective cackle. They are obviously charmed.

"I'll tell you, man gets hit in the crotch with a football — always funny," offers another reporter gleefully.

"Always funny! Never not funny!" Mr. Clooney chimes, with only a small trace of irony peeking through to acknowledge the backhanded review.

The aforementioned crotch violation can be found in Clooney's upcoming April 4 release, Leatherheads, a screwball romantic comedy about the dawn of professional football. It's set in the 1920s, a period when the sport was transitioning from a maligned and largely ignored trade into the precious and very giant American institution that we now know. Clooney stars as aging pro-league vet Jimmy "Dodge" Connelly, the Duluth Bulldogs' owner and star player. When the team loses their sponsorship, Connelly hatches a scheme to bring a popular college player — not to mention WWI hero — played by John Krasinski, onto their team. Cub reporter Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger), is sent to cover the team's new player and to sniff out any holes in the war hero story.

The film is a departure from what some have come to expect from Mr. Clooney, who is known for his (on- and off-screen) interest in political justice and social activism. For starters, Leatherheads is a lighthearted period piece that adopts cinematic conventions from the '30s and '40s. He chose to paint all aspects of the film — casting, dialogue, film technique, acting and location — in the colors of that era. Says Clooney, "I stole from..." Then he clarifies to much laughter, "I homaged the shit out of Howard Hawks, Preston Sturges, and early George Stevens. There's a film called The More the Merrier that we were trying to rip off, err... homage off." His other inspirations include classic, inventive comedies like His Girl Friday, Bringing Up Baby, Unfaithfully Yours, and Hail the Conquering Hero.

In addition to referencing the past, the film also has its own history. The script was written by two Sports Illustrated writers, Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly, in the late '80s. After much shuffling, it fell into the hands of director Steven Soderbergh in the early '90s, with Clooney becoming attached shortly after the two finished filming Out of Sight. By the time Clooney got around to revisiting the script — after decompressing from his films Good Night, and Good Luck and Syriana — Steven Soderbergh had withdrawn from the project on good terms. With close to a decade having passed since the project was conceived, Clooney decided that the script needed revisions.