Here are some newish photos of Julia Roberts and her family out and about in Malibu a few days ago. It’s funny how Julia and her family can go months – years! – without getting pap’d at all, and then, when she has a movie coming out on Christmas, suddenly there are nice family photos available, right? Anyway, we hardly ever see Julia’s kids, how old are the twins? Phinnaeus and Hazel Moder are… 9 years old. The littlest one, Henry, is 6 years old. Henry seems to be in the sidecar/wagon thing attached to Danny Moder’s bike.
Anyway, since the whole point of this is to promote August: Osage County and The Return of Julia, let’s discuss Julia’s recent interview with Refinery 29 – you can read the full piece here, and here are some highlights:
Getting to know her costars: “We spent a lot of time together and getting to know each other. We didn’t know each other at all when it started, and by the time that we began filming, I felt very familiar and entangled with these girls in way that seemed correct for sisters, and had made just enough happy experiences with them and had a couple of appropriate sisterly like, ‘really, that’s what you’re wearing?’ kind of moments where I felt like it was all going to fall into place.”
Preparing for her role: “I guess some people write diaries or backstories — I liken it to channeling. Just kidding — but kind of not kidding. But, no, I feel like when I first read this script my heart just swelled and I completely understood everything about the character. What one is not proud of is all relative. What she is not proud of could be nothing to someone else. People’s pain is so individual. But, I feel like as an actor, to be in touch with all those emotions of shame, anger, your lust, your joy, those are sort of like your watercolors…and, Tracy Letts, his writing, I was so floored. You’ve seen the state of cinema today. This was something that comes once in a while. His characters are so strong. They just leap off the page. I understood Karen and her delusion and denial and all those things.”
Is Julia a realist? “I’m always struggling between being a realist or an idealist. Somebody said you can be both, but it depends.”
She loves Dermot Mulroney: “I would like to speak about Dermot. Dermot and I have been friends since My Best Friend’s Wedding. We became great pals then, and when he called me that he had gotten a part in this, we squealed like little girls, both of us, and were so excited for each other and to be back together. And, with everybody, but in particularly Dermot, even when he had a day off, would come run lines with me before I went to work at six o’clock in the morning, which he traded for a cup of coffee. And, just the whole time feeling so supported by my old friend. He would come to work and watch scenes that I was in and just kind of support me in that way. It was beautiful to have each other in that way, especially when we were all away from our families and forging new relationships. It was just nice to have my rock steady there. It was great.”
On Meryl: “We hugged a lot. I always had to look her right in the eye before we parted ways. We’re all good? Just kidding, right?”
I still feel like there’s something shady between Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. Perhaps that’s wishful thinking, or maybe… maybe they just didn’t care for each other that much. Maybe Meryl is pissed off because Julia had the film re-edited to include more JULIA. Or maybe they’re just saving all of the kissy-touchy “girlfriends forever” stuff for later on in their respective Oscar campaigns. We’ll see.
As for Julia’s friendship with Dermot – I remember when Dermot and his then-wife Catherine Keener were BFFs with all of the A-listers. After Dermot and Catherine split, it did feel like they split up their A-list friends a bit too. I think Catherine got Brad Pitt and Dermot must have gotten Julia. I also think it’s interesting that in a cast with so many women (Meryl, Margo Martindale, Julianne Nicholson, Juliette Lewis), Julia still gravitated towards a dude. Because deep down, I’ve always thought (and I really believe this) Julia is not a woman who plays well with other women.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
Well to be fair, she’s known him for ages, and just really met the other women.
I kind of get the impression that Meryl has seen it all, and I could see her not having a lot of patience with someone like I imagine Julia is.
She doesn’t look happy once she becomes aware of paps. Like her or not, I don’t think she was selling her kids out for a film. That is something she has held steadfast to.
I agree, the look on her face drips with disdain.
Harvey from TMZ said on camera two years ago that Julia ONLY seeks attention from the paps when she has a movie to promote. He said she is very fake nice to them during these times then completely cuts it off when her movie is released. I completely believe him.
This is all a setup to promote her coming movie and Oscar campaign.
No offense there, but she’s doing her job. If she has a movie to promote then she will schmooze like all the other actors. I just can’t stand TMZ, so maybe my perception is biased based on that, but who cares how nice she is to them? KWIM?
He didn’t say she called them. She just puts on the fake face, smile and such, when usually she can’t be bothered. That’s a lot different than alerting the paps at least. But when her children are involved like this, she doesn’t even do that. But hey at least she promotes her movies and does all the schlocky interviews and laughs. It’s more than some actors do.
dont see a problem with that. most jobs require being fake nice to people even when you dislike them or if they act like jerks. no celeb needs to be nice to paps and if they take advantage of them, why not? they live off celebs.
She’s always rubbed me the wrong way and I’d choose Brad Pitt over Julia anytime. And not for the obvious reason (15 years ago maybe.. but now Brad Pitt is morphing into Robert Redford but in a bad way..) but only because he seems like a more decent person. I really dislike Julia, she wants to play american sweetheart but i feel like she’s a proper nasty bitch deep inside.
I honestly believe Julia is a woman, that only sees other women as competition in work, romance, friendship, etc., and I ‘ve always found her to be just mediocore in both talent and looks. She doesn’t look like she has had any plastic surgery, so I will give her props for that.
I think she played it well in 2 roles:
The witch in the ‘Snow white and the huntsman’ and the evil sister in ‘American sweethearts’. That is what she is to me even in real life.
Isn’t Kiki the good sister?? I always thought she let Catherine ZJ walk all over her.
@Dani
oh crap you’re right! I mixed them up!! LOL!
She was in Mirror Mirror, not SW&TH.
Ah Yes, this campaing move is currently known as “The Afflecks”
I agree on the possibility ( fact? ) that Julia isnt a girls’ girl, In fact you know who she reminds me of? That Platonic gf the guy you started dating has that acts like is a pissing contest for his attention or “i was here first, I could have had him y’ know?” … Yall know the bitch im talking about
lol…that sounds exactly like Julia’s role in My Best Friends Wedding! Guess playing that part wasn’t much of a stretch for her!
QQ, if you read in the past posts on Julia, that’s basically it. I hate the term, girl’s girl–I don’t think we should be condemning someone because they don’t have a close female friend–but that’s Julia. It was on that post about Julia apparently flirting with Diane Sawyer’s (I think it was him) husband.
Anyway, this poster said Julia was a friend of a friend, and the type of woman to flirt with her husband, in front of her, because she likes being the center of attention. And I’ve also heard a few stories about her being a total beyotch diva to the people in New Mexico–saying that she wants to be treated normally, like any other person, but then was expecting perks like she was Oprah in a high end store.
So I guess you could take it with a grain of salt, but personally, I’ve heard at least two different Julia’s a beyotch stories, and at least one story about how Julia likes to be the center of attention i.e. flirts with other people’s husbands, on this site.
And this is just my personal opinion–but I think Julia married a camera guy so he can be totally dependant on her (just like Justin Theroux–get attached to that $$$$$$), and so she can be the star in the relationship…..all attention on HER, if they happened to be pap’d.
Moder does look particularly joyless in the photos like he is doing jail time.
I think she is letting herself be seen. PR.. maybe, maybe not. It could be that because she is in a film they are taking pictures. :/
Dermont and Brad are still good friends. He was at a few of Brad’s premiers.. one of Angie’s too I think.. but I know he is closer to Catherine; she sees like a very cool person.
I haven’t seen the film.. Is it out.. not a big fan of Julia’s so I may see it on DVD..
I love the fact that Brad and Angelina have life long friends and never uses them for publicity. It is a known fact that they are friends with Dermot, Catherine, Denzel W, Cate Blanchett, Gwen Stefani, Mary Louise Parker, George Clooney, George Lucas and many many more – and yet they don’t call the paps to get pictures taken whenever they have a party or going to someone else’s party. Even though they are friends with magazine editors and Ann Curry etc they don’t go in her show to promote things like their engagement, holiday pictures etc.
They have real and genuine friendships while some Hollywood people only have show business friends (merged by their mutual agents or publicist).
+1 to just about everything you said but I think you can cross Denzel Washington off that list. Denzel said he doesn’t have any Wnite friends who are in the business. Not a rumor , he said it in an interview. I tnink C/B even wrote a post about it.
Also Brad and Angie wouldn’t need to use their friends for publicity, they’re bigger stars than everyone on your list.
@Maya
Are you genuinely incapable of writing without bringing other people into it? Your posts are always so cringe worthy.
@Zut: no one forced you to read my posts – last time I checked this is a free world and I can write whatever I want – the same way you can ignore reading posts you don’t want.
As for me bringing in other people – I only wrote their friends names. In no way did I attack anyone or put them down. It’s not my fault that you read more to my posts then there is.
PS: I would rather write about stuff I want then attack a fellow poster like you regularly do.
@ Maya,
Reading comprehension is key. I did not “personally” attack you. I wrote your posts are cringe worthy, how is that personal? For the record, I don’t attack other posters. I don’t post a lot. Perhaps, you can bring up one where I’ve attacked another poster.
Of Course!
At one time I used to think Julia was so pretty. At one time I also thought chocolate milk came from the Black cows. Wrong on both occasions I guess.
Lol…when I was little I used to think that when actors died in their movies, they also died in real life, and I also thought Julia was really pretty at one time (esp during her Pretty Woman/My Best Friend’s Wedding days). Guess we all live & learn 😉
Ok..my last comment was harsh. I just think the kid’s unfortunate looking
you are so wring the kids are cute
Meryl has to much class to ever fight in public. If Julia and her do have their differences then we will never find out unless Julia confesses it.
I didn’t even realize she had three kids. I only thought she had the twins. Goes to show how much I know about her. She probably is rude but for some reason I can’t completely dislike her bc I loved her and her movies when I was growing up long before blogs on the Internet!
@zut alors! That comment was really uncalled for. Mean and bitchy. I don’t know who poor Maya is but shame on you!
yeah, OUCH.
“Because deep down, I’ve always thought (and I really believe this) Julia is not a woman who plays well with other women.”
I’ve always had that vibe, too. I remember my first big inkling was when there was some kind of dustup over her supposedly not being invited to Pitt/Aniston’s wedding (ancient history I know) and I remember thinking it was because she probably stalked Pitt at some point and he (maybe Jen too) was not comfortable with her presence.
Maybe it’s promotion or maybe the paps had no interest taking/selling pictures of her since she didn’t star in anything making the buzz for at least 3 years.
And even for Eat,pray, I don’t recall she was uber present in the media like tnowadays
No, she ‘s notorious for hiding from the paps until she has a movie to promote. She literally can go months and years avoiding them until she has a movie to promote. Even Harvey from TMZ said this about her a couple of years ago. He said she would go out of her way to be fake nice to the paps and hit all the places that paps hang out when she’s promoting.
Julia has always been majorly eye roll inducing for me in interviews and press to promote her films, especially when she gets super (non-genuinely) ass-kissy about her co-stars and starts to wax poetic about the super important “craft” of acting etc. (“Watercolors”?! Seriously???)
That said, I love love love a good indie film and think that is where she best shines and her talent really does come through in spades. (‘Fireflies in the Garden’ is a perfect example of this. God is that movie a TOUGH watch but Julia’s performance of an emotionally wrought, incredibly loving but totally passive mother to an abusive husband is so heartbreaking & beautiful ❤)
I cannot wait to see August: Osage County!
Maybe it’s the other way around; she and her kids are always out and about doing family things but the paps only care when she has a movie coming out. I think her face says it all – she is not happy about the cameras. The paps take pictures of who they can sell. Seriously, how much can they get for a shot of her kids at school, or at the pumpkin patch if she isn’t walking a red carpet?
Why do women have to gravitate towards women? I have more men friends than women friends. Women can drive me bonkers! They act 12 years old no matter how old they really are, and bring the mean girl and DRAMA constantly. Men I understand. They’re weird, do stupid things and I get that.
I don’t know what kind of females you’re hanging around with but you described girls not women. I’m friends with a marvelous group of women and there is no mean girl bs or drama, just a great group of women who genuinely like and respect each other and want to see each and every friend prosper and succeed. i also have a few male friends and they are genuinely decent guys too.
so please don’t put down all women just because the females you know are idiotic girls
Too suspicious. I rolled my eyes when I saw those photos too. Those celebrities. You gotta love them when they hate paparazzi and then pose for them when they want Oscar nominations or win….
I think the writer wants there to be something wrong going on btw Meryl and Julia but clearly there isn’t. Let it go. It is like when they had Meryl in a fight with Jennifer Lawrence. There is nothing wrong with Julia. Other people have nothing bad to say about her and you can’t really judge a person by pictures and one person’s opinion. I find myself guilty of that because I am beginning to find Jennifer Lawrence clawing and kind of fake
FYI, the bike trailer Henry is in is called a “Burley.” Parents used them all the time on the island where I used to live, as bikes were the main mode of transport. 🙂
I don’t know why every time a celebrity is photographed, people claim that they called the paps. Nobody can escape the paps 24/7. Also when somebody releases a movie, cd, etc they just get more pap attention. Also doesn’t Julia spend most of her time in New Mexico? It’s a lot easier to get shots in Malibu than NM.
I am not her biggest fan but I think she is intelligent and I actually admire her for choosing to raise her kids away from Hollywood. Michael and Catherine did it, Meryl did it too for that matter. Have heard she is not always warm and fuzzy but have always heard she is really a homebody and that her family always comes first. In fact she is worried about her niece Emma a great deal right now. So whatever the deal is with her, I honestly do not believe she uses her kids for PR at all and is a hands on Mom 100%. Heard Gwen Stefani does the kid PR thing (hope not true :-), know that Gwyneth does it all the time, and seems lots do. To me that is as low as you can go!!! Julia – really don’t think so – this just doesn’t ring true. PS.Happy New Year all, hope it’s a good one for you and yours!