Here are some photos of the beautiful Julie Andrews, 79, and Christopher Plummer, 85, at last night’s TCM celebration for the 50th anniversary of The Sound of Music. They look amazing, right? I love that everyone is celebrating the 50th anniversary, and that Julie and Christopher are doing all of these appearances and interviews all over the place.

I’d like to believe that Plummer and Andrews are in love with each other in some ways, although that fantasy had a rude awakening when I read the recent Vanity Fair piece on their relationship all these years later. Apparently, Plummer didn’t even like Julie when they worked together on The Sound of Music. But they ended up growing into a wonderful friendship through the years, and now they’re like the ultimate work-wife/work-husband relationship. He’s a curmudgeon and she’s happy. He’s cynical, she’s optimistic. They do love each other in some ways, I suppose.

Meanwhile, Julie recently spoke to the Los Angeles Times about fame, her career, Lady Gaga’s Oscar performance (Julie was a fan but other people were not) and how the movie business has changed in the past fifty years. It’s a charming read – go here for the whole piece. Some highlights:

What it was like watching Lady Gaga perform at the Oscars: “Phenomenal. I’d been a fan, but I’d never actually met her. Ten days before, she called and said, “I just want to be very sure that you’re OK with this, that I’m not offending in any way.” I said, “Are you kidding? Go for it. Enjoy it.” We met face-to-face 45 seconds before we went on stage, so my actual first contact with her was when I walked on stage and gave her a hug. I subsequently spoke to her. We chatted for about 25 minutes. She sang very, very well. I was a fan, and now I’ve made a new friend.

Gaga said that she cried afterwards: “That’s what she told me. She did say, “It’s probably the biggest thing I’ve ever done.” And so brave, in front of that audience to take that gamble. She worked very, very hard on it. I thought making that herculean effort and then handing it to me on a golden platter and walking off stage was amazingly generous. I’m the lucky lady that was asked to be in that great film. I never cease to be grateful, really.”

The state of modern celebrity: “Truthfully, I mostly can be as private as I want. I do something like this and then I pop back into my garden…. I seem to be very busy, and I seem always to be working. When I did “The Sound of Music” and “Mary Poppins” and “The Americanization of Emily,” all three were in the can and had not yet been released. So I was driving around having a fine time learning about how to make movies and enjoying myself enormously, and then they were released and it was quite an assault in a way. But it flares and calms, and that’s probably the way it is for everybody in this marvelous business.

[From The LAT]

She’s so lovely. Sometimes I get jealous that Britain gets to claim Julie as their national treasure. Can’t we share? Can’t we call her an international, borderless treasure? Because that’s what she is. HONK IF YOU LOVE DAME JULIE.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.