Julia Roberts began the interview with the question, “Has George caused trouble already?”
Her friend and frequent co-star George Clooney called ahead of Roberts’ video call from the Provence mansion he shares with his wife Amal. But the room he sat in had so much sunshine that we could barely see Clooney in the lens flare, and when Roberts joined us, he closed the patterned window curtains. was
“Are you trying to show how outward your inner radiance is with this flare?” said Roberts.
Clooney stared at Zoom’s thumbnail. “You’re the one who talks with that soft lens,” he cracked.
“I have a computer that is 25 years old!” said Roberts.
Roberts and Clooney’s favorite way of communicating is by teasing Ratatat. Their relationship has spanned multiple films, from 2001’s ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ to their latest romantic comedy, and has maintained a big-screen partnership.TICKETS TO PARADISE(October 21) follows them as war exes who reunite to prevent the surprise wedding of their daughter (Caitlin Dever) to a seaweed farmer (Maxime Boutier) whom they met during their graduation trip to Bali. When her divorced parents team up, their old spark is rekindled. By the end of the movie, they went from exes to something like XO.
When I spoke to Roberts and Clooney in late August, there was absolutely no light coming through Roberts’ bay window. It was her six o’clock morning in San Francisco where Roberts and her husband Danny her modder live with her three teenage children. Roberts requested an early start so he could send the kids to school after the interview. , the earliest she had to report to set in her career.
“I had to get there at 1am,” joked Clooney.
“All the taping and spackle,” Roberts said, letting out his famous chuckle.
Below is an edited excerpt from our conversation.
Were you thinking of each other when you read “Ticket to Paradise”?
George Clooney They sent me the script, which was clearly written for Julia and me. In fact, the characters’ names were originally Georgia and Julian. I haven’t really done a romantic comedy since.”one sunny day” [1996] — I’m not as successful as Julia was on that forum — but I read it and thought, “Well, if Jules is willing, this could be interesting.”
Julia Roberts Somehow, based on our chemistry, it only made sense to George.half of america we probably that is Now that we’re divorced, we’re getting along just fine.
Clooney It’s really bad because I’m married now and we have to get divorced.
Roberts Also, George and I felt a great responsibility to make comedy together and to give people a break from life after the world was going through a very difficult time. It’s like when it’s cold and you come across some nice sunshine on your back. This is exactly what I needed to feel. ”
Is it true that you two never met?”Oceans 11“?
Roberts What’s funny about meeting George is that in the press, people have already pinned us as peers. I had read about going to George’s parties and thought, ‘Well, he sounds like a great time, so I have to meet this guy one day.
Clooney I have fun, man!
Roberts I think we have an alchemy that can be felt even from afar.
Clooney For many reasons, I have always been drawn to Julia. One of them is that she’s always been a proper movie star, but that she’s willing to take herself too seriously. She is also a really talented actress. She works really hard, but she never sees her sweat. It’s the quality I appreciate most in my favorite actors like Spencer and her Tracy.
Julia, you’re executive producing a movie with George and you obviously have a lot of experience in romantic comedies. As a veteran of the genre, what perspective do you bring?
Roberts This is a genre that I love to be a part of and watch and I find it difficult to get it right. How do you keep people interested when you have some predictability of what’s coming?
Has Hollywood had a hard time answering these questions? There are far fewer romantic comedies than there used to be, but you could say that ‘Ticket to Paradise’ is the equivalent of ‘Notting Hill’ (1999) and ‘Best Friends Marriage’. You said it was your first romantic comedy script since The Ceremony (1997). you really sparked.
Roberts I guess I didn’t appreciate the bountiful crop of romantic comedies at the time. It’s fun and sweet and people are laughing, kissing and playing pranks so you don’t see all the effort and puppetry. I also think that reading a script at 54 is different. I can’t read stories like “Best Friend’s Wedding” where you fall out of your chair. because – –
Clooney you will break your hip
Roberts I would break my hip! Oh George. But it was nice to read something age-appropriate where the jokes made sense. I understand and understand what these people are going through. What people want to see is the connection between you and the work. They want to see the space in your heart you have for it.
But funny is still important. In “Ticket to Paradise,” there is a scene in which a character drunkenly dances to the song “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)”, embarrassing her daughter and friends. Was it choreographed for maximum humiliation, or did you just wing it?
Roberts People always want to choreograph it, but they can’t put steps into it.Just open the box and let the magic fly.
Clooney I remember having to do a kissing scene with this girl early in my career. that’ And I was like, ‘Hey, that’s my move! That’s what I do in real life! Julia and I have done all these moves before and that’s the trickiest part.
Roberts oh all over the world.
Clooney And Kaitlyn and Max were actually horrified, weren’t they?
Roberts Hysterical, they were speechless. If Danny and I were doing it in front of the kids, they’d say, ‘Yeah, dig a hole and I’m out of here.
George, I still haven’t moved from the director’s anecdote criticizing the way you kiss. I don’t know how I recovered.
Clooney And we kiss this But I don’t want to give up the whole store.
It’s a romantic comedy. I think the audience expects a kiss.
Roberts one kiss. And we did that for like six months.
Clooney yes. I told her wife, “It took 80 takes.” She was like, “What the hell?”
Roberts There were 79 takes of us laughing and 1 of us kissing.
Clooney Well we had to get it right.
You shot a movie in Australia, right?
Clooney We started on Hamilton Island. With all these wild birds, Julia had a home right below Amal and me and her children. I came out early in the morning and said “kaaka” and Julia came out “kaaka”. And we gave her some coffee. She was Aunt Juju to my children.
Roberts Mr. and Mrs. Clooney saved me from utter loneliness and despair. We were in a bubble and it was the longest time I’ve ever been away from my family, I don’t think I’ve had this much alone time since I was 25.
Clooney Also, when Danny and the kids actually came to visit, they had to fly to Sydney and quarantine for two weeks before she could see them.
Roberts So close yet so far away. When we first arrived in Australia and everyone was in quarantine, you went a little cuckoo, I remember around day 11 or so. Where am I? What is this room that I never leave? That’s funny. I really didn’t expect all that.
Clooney That’s why they invented alcohol.
Roberts Or a chocolate chip cookie.
Clooney that too.
Julia, this is your first movie appearance in four years. You said you consider yourself a stay-at-home mom, but your kids are all her teens now. Do you think your work-life balance will change when they grow up and move away from home?
Roberts I just take everything as it comes. I don’t make plans and always try to be present. There are no upcoming acting jobs. It feels really good to be back to normal. I love being home and I love being a mom. Being in Australia was really challenging because of all the Covid regulations. I’m not built as another person, so I think that’s a true testament to friendship and a creative environment that couldn’t have been more difficult. It’s just not in my cellular data.
George, you recently took a few years off from acting in movies as well. If there is a long gap between you and your role, do you have any concerns about starting again?
Clooney If you don’t feel that tightness in your stomach every time you start work, you may be too confident in this job and it will show in your performance. The moment you think you are, you shouldn’t be doing it anymore.
Billie Lourd, the daughter of the late Carrie Fisher, co-starred in “Ticket to Paradise.” Her father, Brian Lourd, was your longtime agent, George.
Clooney since she was born.
Is it wild to share a scene with an actress you’ve known since you were a baby?
Roberts Wilder still pending she Baby while she was on set. how about that? Life is going well.
Clooney yes. It’s fun at 61, please tell me. It’s fast, man.
At 61, he still enjoys doing shirtless scenes. Same goes for the other side of Angry Dolphin.
Roberts And I’m fine, thank you!
Clooney It was a pretty quick shot. Dolphins looked good.