Archives for March 2009

“Quotable quotes are coins rubbed smooth by circulation. What Michael Douglas did say in ‘Wall Street’ was ‘Greed, for lack of a better word, is good’ …

Everyone distinctly remembers Michael Douglas uttering the words ‘Greed is good’ in ‘Wall Street,’ just as everyone distinctly remembers Ingrid Bergman uttering the words ‘Play it again, Sam’ in ‘Casablanca,’ even though what she really utters is ‘Play it, Sam.’

When you watch the movie and get to that line, you don’t think your memory is wrong. You think the movie is wrong,” wrote Louis Menand.

Julia Roberts is the revived movie star of the hour with her appearance in “Duplicity,” costarring Clive Owen. But Julia insists she is no longer catnip for the paparazzi.

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The word layoff has an entirely different meaning for a Hollywood movie star than, say, a fired GM worker, but both involve career idleness, apprehension and questions: Is Julia Roberts' new movie.

"Duplicity," a thriller or a comedy? More intriguingly, can it restore the woman who was or perhaps is the queen of the screen to the luster she once enjoyed as the $20 million-a-picture heavyweight box-office champion and mistress of all she surveys?

It would be nice to think Roberts didn't care about fame. And maybe she doesn't. In Hollywood - the concept, not the location - months can be lifetimes, years can be eons. Having carried three children since she last had to carry a picture ("Mona Lisa Smile" in 2003).

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Jordan wants Julia Roberts to play her in a film.The former glamour model - whose real name is Katie Price - says the 'Duplicity' actress would be her first choice to star in a movie about her life.

She revealed: "If I had to pick someone to play me in a movie I'd choose Julia Roberts from when she was in 'Pretty Woman', because she has naturally curly hair like me!"

When it comes to the role of her husband, Australian-born pop singer Peter Andre, Jordan thinks Antonio Banderas would be an excellent choice because "they kind of look similar".

However, Peter disagrees: "I wish I did look like Antonio Banderas - for him to play me would be such an honour but I'm not that good-looking. Julia Roberts could be good as Kate but I'd say she's more Pamela Anderson."

Jordan and Peter, 36, moved to Los Angeles earlier this year and they have become friends with fellow Britons including celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and his wife Tana.

The 30-year-old beauty said: We're all training for the London marathon so we're going to train together. Pete will run with Gordon and I will run with Tana.

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In the new Julia Roberts movie Duplicity, the actress' character faces a central dilemma: Should the star spy hang it up or jump back in the game for a big payday? You'd be hard-pressed to find a better metaphor for the A-lister's don't-call-it-a-comeback career comeback.

Those close to Roberts say the star was hardly thinking of it that way when she signed on to Duplicity several years ago. It was just a script she happened to like, and it came with the opportunity to work with writer-director Tony Gilroy.

But the thriller starring Roberts and Clive Owen essentially has turned into a comeback for the 41-year-old-actress, who has cut back her work schedule in recent years to concentrate on her family. Because of that curtailment in her once-busy schedule, observers say the performance of Roberts' latest film, a Universal release, will be closely watched this weekend.

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Julia Roberts plays a CIA spy in high-octane action thriller Duplicity releasing in Dubai today. Here she talks about being a Hollywood heavyweight and why she is still enjoying motherhood  Do you see a difference in the kind of roles you get offered now that you are a mother?

I think so. I don’t know. I mean, I still get a nice variety of things. Certainly, as I get older I get more mother parts offered, but I don’t think that is necessarily because I have my kids. I guess that just comes with age.  How are you finding being a working mum?

My baby was only six or seven months old when I made Duplicity. So I was still nursing him – so I had to nurse him. Not on the set, but you have to be taken care of.

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Actress Julia Roberts reigned atop the Hollywood star ladder back in 2001 when she won an Oscar for her role in the movie “Erin Brockovich.

But in the last couple years the A-list star has been largely absent from movie screens as she became a new mom. With her starring role in “Duplicity,” the 41-year-old actress is back for more Hollywood glory. Has she regained her crown?

Duplicity” opened on Friday and came in third at the box office over the weekend with $14.4 million, trailing ”Knowing” starring Nicolas Cage and “I Love You, Man” with Paul Rudd and Jason Segel.

The third-place showing for “Duplicity” came despite some strong reviews for the film, which as of Monday evening had a rating of 66 percent on review-aggregating.

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The last time I took a look at some contenders who had a shot at the title of "The Next Julia," I limited myself to under-25ers. This time I'm going with -- are you ready for this?  over-25ers.

What does the next Julia mean? Really, it doesn't have to do with acting talent. Roberts was always a serviceable actress rather than a really great one.

But she had that certain something going for her, the indescribable "it" quality. She tapped into something with audiences that really no actress has completely tapped into since. For years it seemed like it was Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts and nobody else.

Sandra Bullock had a nice elongated stay but she had to deal with ... Julia Roberts. Kate Hudson, I think, peaked with Fool's Gold. 'Nuff said.  So here are six more actresses I think have a legitimate shot to maybe, just maybe, become the next Julia.

Earlier this year, shortly before the publicity machine for her new film Duplicity moved into gear, Julia Roberts inadvertently starred in a 43-second movie that made the rounds online.

Though she's costumed in mom jeans and comfortable shoes, she's featured at her most thrilling, marching menacingly toward the camera and quickly exceeding the number of expletives allowed in a PG-13 movie.

I have had it with you," she tells the paparazzi. "F  off. Aim higher. Get a life." There's no milewide grin in sight. She just wants to pick up her 4-year-old twins in peace and quiet. But seeing her in the role of a real-life 41-year-old woman who radiates confidence.

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Is Julia Roberts too old? On the occasion of the Friday release of Duplicity, Roberts' first true star vehicle since before 9/11, we ran the numbers, and, well, it sorta turned out Newsweek's "Hollywood ancient" assessment was spot-on.

The 41-year-old Roberts, the stats say, is past her box-office prime. Unless she's not. Which the stats also say, provided you listen carefully. First things first—the reasons why Roberts' career should be fitted for support hose.

1. If You're a Woman in Hollywood, You're Toast Even Before the First Botox Treatment: Using Box Office Mojo stats, we looked at the career box-office performances of 10 lead actresses and 10 lead actors who, like Roberts, turned 40 this past decade. The women enjoyed the biggest hits of their careers, on average, at 33.7. The men reached their peak nearly three years later. Did we mention Roberts is now 41?

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Julia Roberts reportedly refused to speak to a red carpet journalist whom she accused of writing negative stories about her. The Duplicity actress snubbed Fox News reporter Roger Friedman at the premiere to her new film in New York.

"Roberts didn't hesitate to cut me dead. She was rude, downright nasty, and dismissive," he told Metro. The star's publicist reportedly told him: "She knows you broke the embargo on her play and wrote bad things about her. "Julia said, 'that's the man who writes bad things about me." Roberts recently admitted that she was terrified about the prospect of returning to the red carpet.