Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks appear on the cover of W Magazine for the June issue, all to promote The Movie That Will Save America, Larry Crowne. The shoot is mostly All About Julia (OF COURSE) because it would be TACKY to do a photo shoot that didn’t focus on Julia making her little “Blue Steel” duck-faces. Tom looks… he looks good, I guess. It’s weird seeing him in a fashion magazine, but as he’s aged, he’s gained some gravitas, so in at least one of the shots, he looks like he’s about to fire all of us from our jobs. The interview is kind of meh – Lynn Hirschberg interviews Tom and Julia separately, for some reason. I would imagine the interview would have been a lot funnier if Tom and Julia were in the same room together. You can read the full piece at W, here. Here are some highlights:

Tom Hanks on Larry Crowne, which he cowrote, directed and stars in: “The movie is about combating cynicism. People are naturally optimistic, but you have to choose to walk away from cynicism. You have to say, I am going to combat cynicism today. I had this idea about a unique guy who loses his job and then, at the end of the movie, realizes that it was the best thing that ever happened to him. He thought he was going to die, but it turned out great!… People are afraid of change. People say, I can’t do this or that. Why? Because I’d have to change something. Well, yes: You should change. The idea of change makes them nervous, but I think change is good. Always.”

Hanks on making the change from comedy to drama: “I told my agents that I wasn’t going to play pussies anymore. I was tired of playing, “Oh, boo-hoo—I was in love, but oh, boo-hoo-hoo.” There comes an age when you can’t do that anymore. I wanted to play men instead of boys. In your mid-30s, it’s time to start playing guys of compromise. And as you get older, men of bitter compromise [Laughs].”

Don’t say “bellhop” around Hanks: “Bellman. Bellhop and bellboy are derogatory terms. Call them “sir.” Terms of respect go a long way in that job.”

Writing a part for Julia: “I had some teachers [in junior college] who looked like Julia. I would see them and think, I love you. So there was never anyone but Julia. Still, even after she said yes, I was the boss. That meant I got to say, “You don’t wear this dress, you wear that dress.” And Julia’s Julia—she can be intimidating [Laughs].

Julia Roberts on how she didn’t go to college: “No. This was my first college experience. And the first time I had to speak in front of a classroom, I was apoplectic. All these faces looking up at me, thinking, What is she going to teach us? I needed to find my composure. It was very hard—it was terrible, in fact.”

Julia on what classes she’d take if she went to college: “I guess I’d take a class in homeopathy or psychology—something that I would use in my life. I did actually start taking sewing classes recently. I can wear what I’ve sewn, if I’m not in a strong wind. And I’m taking piano lessons with my kids. We can blame this new frontier on Tom Hanks. I sat next to a musician at a dinner party at Tom Hanks’s house, and I started thinking about piano lessons. In your 40s, you’re supposed to learn new things so your brain doesn’t turn to mush. So I’m practicing scales.”

Julia on being directed by Tom Hanks: “God, no. We knew each other socially. When I was in Rome, shooting Eat Pray Love, Tom sent me the script and said, “Tell me what you think.” I couldn’t stop smiling when I read it: It’s topical, but very positive. It contains this moment in history in a very interesting way. The movie says, You can lose your job and your way and still rescue yourself. Larry Crowne creates a self-excavated utopia, and I love that idea, that message. And Tom is so good at making fun of himself. In the beginning of the film, he’s wearing pleated khakis. No one should wear pleated khakis onscreen.”

On playing a character that likes her liquor: “I spend a lot of the movie woozy. Why did Tom Hanks think of me when he thought of a drunken schoolteacher? What does that mean? He has me chugging margaritas. It’s hard to chug a margarita! [Laughs] I asked why it couldn’t be straight liquor, and he said it was funnier if it was a drink made in a blender.”

Julia on not doing so many romantic comedies nowadays: “I think it’s called growing up. Light and funny has a more compelling quality when you’re younger. But I haven’t abandoned the genre: I love falling down; I love Lucille Ball. It’s just that a lot of those stories revolve around problems that I can’t convincingly portray at this age.”

Julia on whether she’ll ever direct: “No. I can direct breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I take pride in my kitchen, but I’m not going to direct a movie.”

Julia takes credit for Javier Bardem’s Oscar nomination for Biutiful: “Yes, I was the loudmouth on that. It was such a crazy travesty that the movie wasn’t getting attention. And it’s fun to throw your weight around. That’s one of the perks of what we do.”

Julia didn’t get to keep the red gown from Pretty Woman: “No, even though it was made for me, they didn’t let me keep anything from the movie. But I did get to keep the wedding dresses from Runaway Bride. They’re all boxed up in my garage. I’ve never opened them. It’ll be fun one day when Hazel [Roberts’s daughter] is taller. She can play dress-up with her friends.”

[From W Magazine]

Eh, what is there to say? Julia sounds so full of herself, but that’s nothing new. She’s a legend in her own mind, but I have to say, I kind of agree with her on a few points. I like that she’s self-aware enough to say something like “Light and funny has a more compelling quality when you’re younger… It’s just that a lot of those stories revolve around problems that I can’t convincingly portray at this age.” She’s saying that a smug look on her face, I know, and it’s very Gwyneth Paltrowesque: “I have a husband, children, a career and money. I don’t even remember a time when I didn’t have it all.”

Here’s the trailer for Larry Crowne. I know my mother is going to make me go see it.

Photos courtesy of W Magazine.