Julia Roberts Explains Why She Isn’t Making The Movies Fans Want Her To Anymore
What's up Julia?
Romantic comedies used to be Julia Roberts’ bread and butter. Fans got to know the superstar through ’90s and late ’80s rom-coms like Mystic Pizza, Something to Talk About, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and — of course — 1990’s Pretty Woman. She’s got her first rom-com in a while on the way opposite George Clooney, and when asked in a recent interview why it’s taken her so long to return to her career-making sub-genre, Julia Roberts said that for the most part it wasn’t her choice.
Speaking to the New York Times Magazine, Roberts said that people think she’s not interested in rom-coms anymore, but that simply isn’t the case. “People sometimes misconstrue the amount of time that’s gone by that I haven’t done a romantic comedy as my not wanting to do one,” Julia Roberts said. “If I had read something that I thought was that Notting Hill level of writing or My Best Friend’s Wedding level of madcap fun, I would do it.” So apparently, Roberts is more than open to making more rom-coms; she just isn’t being offered quality stuff.
Thankfully, Julia Roberts’ reaction to the upcoming Ticket to Paradise was exactly what she’d been waiting for. Roberts plays one half of a divorced couple who flies to Bali when her daughter Lily, played by Kaitlyn Dever (Justified), abruptly marries a Bali local. Lily’s father is played by George Clooney, and both Clooney and Roberts apparently had the same thought — that they could only do the movie if the other was on board.
In January, Clooney talked about loving the script for Ticket to Paradise, but at the same time being convinced Julia Roberts was the only actress who could play his ex-wife and make it work. He said he called Roberts to say he was on board if she was; an anecdote Roberts confirmed in her more recent interview. While both actors have performed in their share of rom-coms, it will be the pair’s first time together in one. They did, however, play a divorced couple who eventually reconciles in 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven and the 2004 follow-up Ocean’s Twelve.
Ticket to Paradise isn’t the only upcoming project in which Julia Roberts insisted on a specific leading man. This coming Sunday, April 24, Roberts and Sean Penn will appear on Starz in their new series Gaslit. Penn will play John Mitchell — the Attorney General at the time of the infamous Watergate scandal — while Roberts will play his wife Martha. According to Variety, Roberts said her one requirement for taking the role was that Penn play John Mitchell. The series was in jeopardy for a bit when Penn refused to return to work until everyone on the cast and crew had been vaccinated against Covid-19. His conditions were reportedly met and the actor returned.
Ticket to Paradise will be released in theaters on October 21, 2022 and, according to Deadline, will be streamed on Peacock 45 days after its theatrical opening. The film stars Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Kaitlyn Dever, Billie Lourd (Booksmart), Lucas Bravo (Emily in Paris), and Rowan Chapman (Young Rock). The film is directed by Ol Parker (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again), and co-written by Parker and Daniel Pipski (The Brothers Grimm).
