Mr. Magazine

It is rare that magazines invite other journalists and reporters to cover a story or an interview they are conducting. However, TIME’s managing editor Rick Stengel did just that. For TIME’s famous last page department, 10 Questions, Mr. Stengel conducted a live interview with the Oscar-winning actor, producer, screen writer, and social activist George Clooney. Mr. Clooney’s new movie The Ides of March opens in theaters nationwide October 7.

Here are some sound-bites from the interview:

Content More Important Than Delivery
Mr. Clooney, the son of a news broadcaster, told Mr. Stengel regarding the media, “I am not really as concerned with the delivery system we have. I worry about about the content and who is minding the store.” It is important to put things in perspective, “Perspective was very big with my father,” Mr. Clooney said, and part of the responsibility today is for folks to “put things in context.”

Writing vs. Texting
Mr. Clooney cherishes the art of writing letters, “Letters are a great thing and I am afraid we will not have some of those great letters in the future.” Can you imagine what would have happened to the great Adams-Jefferson Letters if they were just texting? Mr. Clooney loves writing and reading letters and loves the feeling of holding them in his hands. He referred to two letters among the many he has, one form Walter Cronkite and one from Paul Newman.

New Media vs. Traditional Media
As for the social media, Mr. Clooney told Mr. Stengel, “I don’t use twitter because I drink at night and I don’t want something I write at midnight to end my career.”
And where does Mr. Clooney get his news, “From television, the newspaper and the internet.”

Running for President
Would he run for president? His answer, “I will run from the presidency. My job is much much more fun.”

Check the TIME coverage of the interview with Mr. Clooney here.
Photo credit: Jemal Countess/Getty Images