It was all the way back in June that we showed you the first trailer for George Clooney’s other ticket to the big festival this fall (it will play the Toronto International Film Festival next month), The Descendents.

George plays Matt King, a father on the verge of a nervous breakdown, trying to reconnect with his two teen-aged daughters after his wife has an accident and lingers on life-support. The title refers to the land that been handed down to his family from Hawaiian royalty. In addition to his other problems, King must decide whether or not to sell his family’s legacy.

Directed by Alexander Payne (Sideways), I think this looks similar to The Boys Are Back, with Clive Owen (only with girls), but it also looks like it has elements of Payne’s earlier films, particularly About Schmidt, a brilliant ‘dramedy’ in which Jack Nicholson had to adjust to life as a widower and attempt to reconnect with his family.

TIFF press release:  “The Descendants” is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney), an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family’s land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.

The supporting cast of The Descendants includes Judy Greer, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Rob Huebel, Matthew Lillard, Michael Ontkean and Robert Forster and is scheduled for a December 16, 2011 release.  George Clooney…nuff said.