Julia Roberts and George Clooney are set to reunite in the upcoming film Ticket to Paradise. The film will be Roberts’ first romantic comedy in nearly two decades, and the Oscar-winning actress is excited to return to the genre that helped launch her illustrious Hollywood career. Julia Roberts has starred in several well-known rom-coms like Pretty Woman, Notting Hill, and My Best Friend’s Wedding, but has seemingly drifted towards other genres over the years. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Roberts explained her reasons for staying away from rom-coms and what made her return now.
"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. 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. They didn’t exist until this movie [Ticket to Paradise] that I just did that Ol Parker wrote and directed. But even with that, I thought, well, disaster, because this only works if it's George Clooney. Lo and behold, George felt it only worked with me. Somehow we were both able to do it, and off we went."
It seems a lack of good scripts prevented Roberts from starring in rom-coms until Ticket to Paradise came along. The Erin Brockovich actress is also a mother of three and says she prioritized raising her children over work. It even got to a point where Roberts almost didn’t star in 2013’s August: Osage County because her youngest son was starting kindergarten.
"Here's the thing: If I'd thought something was good enough, I would have done it. But I also had three kids in the last 18 years. That raises the bar even more because then it's not only Is this material good? It's also the math equation of my husband's work schedule and the kids' school schedule and summer vacation. It's not just, 'Oh, I think I want to do this.' I have a sense of great pride in being home with my family and considering myself a homemaker."
Julia Roberts Is Reuniting With George Clooney In Ticket To Paradise
Having previously starred together in the Ocean’s Trilogy and 2016’s Money Monster, Julia Roberts and George Clooney are set to reunite in the upcoming rom-com Ticket to Paradise. Ol Parker (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) is writing and directing the film. Ticket to Paradise also marks Clooney’s return to rom-coms after several years. Also starring Billie Lourd, Kaitlyn Dever, and Lucas Bravo, Ticket to Paradise will be released on October 21, 2022.
Julia Roberts will soon be seen alongside Sean Penn in the upcoming TV series Gaslit. She has previously starred in Amazon’s Homeland, created by Sam Esmail. Roberts and Esmail will be collaborating again on the pandemic drama Leave the World Behind, which also stars Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, and Kevin Bacon.
Gaslit is based on the Watergate scandal and focuses on several untold stories, including Richard Nixon's subordinates, deranged zealots, and the whistleblowers who would eventually bring the whole enterprise crashing down. Gaslit also stars Dan Stevens, Betty Gilpin, Shea Whigham, Patton Oswalt, and Chris Messina and will debut on Starz on April 24.