Julia Roberts and George Clooney in Ticket to Paradise

THEn Ticket to Paradise, now in theaters, Julia Roberts and George Clooney have hilarious bickering as a divorced couple. And here they reveal irresistible backstories. Including that kiss “repeated” 80 times …

Julia Roberts and George Clooney

Scene number one. “Forgive me, but I have to sit somewhere else: we were married.” “My worst 19 years.” Scene number two. “Try to snore softly.” “I’m putting on the nasal patch.” Scene number three. “Was it to make me look bad?” “You don’t need my help.”

One could continue indefinitely, because the hilarious bickering between him (George Clooney) and she (Julia Roberts) – engaged in college, married too young, and unhappily separated after daughter is born – dot the entire 105 minutes of Ticket to Paradise. Thanks to the screenplay and direction signed by Ol Parker (which he had already directed Oh mama! Here we go again), Certain. But the effect wouldn’t be so compelling if the he and she in question weren’t them: George Clooney and Julia Roberts.

At the cinema together for the fifth time

The two Oscar winners, who have been close friends for over 20 years, are acting together for the fifth time in this romantic comedy where they play David and Georgia, ex husband and wife who join forces – indeed, as they say in the film, “march tightly” – to prevent their daughter from marrying a boy she has just met in Bali … disastrous (see under: theft of faiths) and surreal (imagine them drunk dancing to a song from the 90s in front of a group of scandalized Millennials). But above all with a complicity based on laughter that also transpires in the answers you are about to read.

Interview with Julia Roberts and George Clooney

It’s been 6 years since your last movie together, Money Monster by Jodie Foster. Is there a particular reason why you accepted this story?
Julia: ‘Being able to treat George badly? It seemed like an opportunity not to be missed. And then to see him still so in love with me, in an almost pathetic way… Priceless! ».
George: “Obviously I’m destined to have something to do with a horrible woman!”

How did you know it was the right project for you?
George: «The screenplay was written for Julia and me, even at the beginning the characters’ names were Georgia and Julian. I hadn’t done a romantic comedy since the days of One day … by chance with Michelle Pfeiffer, it was 1996. And I thought that if Julia accepted, it would certainly be fun. “
Julia: «With George we tease a lot, like Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Probably half of Americans think we are really divorced. ‘
George: “Well, it’s right that we’re divorced, Jules: I’m a married man!”
You shot Ticket to Paradise during the pandemic. What effect did it have on you?
Julia: «We both enjoy making the audience smile. And it was nice to do it again after the bad period that the whole world experienced ».
George: «We have had a lot of good times together, while working in isolation. We shot in Hamilton Island, Australia, a fantastic place surrounded by nature. Julia had the house next to the one where I was staying, with Amal and the children. Early in the morning I would go out and imitate the parrots: if she answered by doing the same to her, I would bring her coffee. Her twins, Ella and Alexander, who are now 5 years old, call her Aunt Juju. ‘
Julia“That’s right, George spoiled me. He and Amal saved me from loneliness. It was the longest time I spent away from my family, even during the pandemic. I don’t think I’ve been alone that long since I shot the documentary in 2000 Wild Horses of Mongolia“.

The moment in the movie that you will always remember?
Julia: “Apart from the scene where we were supposed to kiss? It took 80 takes: in 79 we didn’t stop laughing, only at number 80 did we succeed in the enterprise! ».
George: “Well, we had to do it right. When I told Amal she got a little angry … Although she never told me, I think she was a little jealous underneath: you are Julia Roberts! But there is another episode that I will not forget: we had to shoot at dawn and I showed up on the set at 2 am because, after the age of 60, I need a deep restoration on my face to hide the wrinkles! ».

Is that a crazy request you made on set?
George: «There is an important scene where we dance and I asked for a soundtrack Jump Around by House of Pain. Director Ol Parker satisfied me, despite the fact that the song was incredibly expensive: $ 1 million a minute. The scene lasts 1 minute and 4 seconds, but we liked it so much that they “gave us” the extra 4 seconds ».
Julia: «I asked for a Jacuzzi to do hydrotherapy. But it wasn’t my idea, George suggested it to me: he wanted to use it! “

You have been friends for years. How did you meet?
Julia: «On the set of Ocean’s Eleven“.
George: “We met at the famous Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard.”
Julia: «I’ve always wanted to meet him: I knew that every Sunday evening he invited his friends to his private cinema to watch an old movie and I hoped he would call me too …».
George: «I also wanted to know her for a long time, because I have always considered her a very talented actress. Then I discovered other qualities in her that I really appreciate: she doesn’t care about nonsense and she doesn’t take herself too seriously. And she works hard, but she is never seen sweating: a talent that unites my favorite actors, like Spencer Tracy. Controlled sweat: admirable! ».
Julia“You’re paying me too many compliments, George! Do you suffer from separation anxiety because after this interview I take a plane and you don’t know when we will meet again? “

The quality you most admire in the other?
Julia: «He knows how to sew very well. On set, a shoulder strap on a dress had torn off and she fixed it to perfection. How did you learn, George? ‘
George: ‘I’ve been a bachelor for a long time! Not only. At the beginning of my career I had no money and I managed: I made a virtue of necessity. If I had to decide who is the only person I would like next to in order to survive on a desert island, I would choose me. My friends would choose me too, ask them! I am a man full of resources ».

You are both making fewer films. Because?
Julia: «I had already decided that before the pandemic: I prefer to produce and choose a few projects to work on. My older children, Hazel and Finn, are just starting college and I try to be more available to them. Today I have only one movie scheduled: Leave the world behindbased on the novel by Rumaan Alam ».
George: «I’m starting to lose my bearings. I often say to my father, who is 88 years old: “I feel Jurassic, I’m a middle-aged man!” »And he laughs:“ How many friends do you have who are 120 years old? ”».