I know a lot of women who would love to eat, pray and love with Javier Bardem... and just about as many who would run away from him screaming thanks to his terrifying turn in "No Country for Old Men." But surely, if there's any actor who can convince women he doesn't wield a captive bolt gun, it's the Oscar-winning Bardem. He'll get his chance with the big screen adaptation of novelist Elizabeth Gilbert's globe-trotting memoir, "Eat, Pray, Love." Variety reports that he has joined star Julia Roberts in the self-discovery drama.
Roberts will play Gilbert, who decided that the cure for her depression -- fed by a recent divorce and rebound romance -- was to travel around Italy, Indonesia and India. "Eat" was the result of her global exploration and inner soul-searching... and naturally, she found a little real life romance too. That's where Bardem comes in, as a fellow named Felipe who Gilbert meets and falls in love with on the final stage of her journey. Also along for the ride is Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins, who will play a Texan that Gilbert meets and befriends while hanging out at an Indian ashram. Read more...
The red carpet the other night for the Tom Hanks was a glitzy one indeed. No big surprise, right? The man is so likable he makes Nelson Mandela look like an ass. So yes, the list of big name talent walking the carpet was long but for me two names stood out: Charlize Theron and Julia Roberts. I've had some memorable exchanges with both Oscar winners in recent months. You can catch up on the long and unusual history of me and Charlize here.
As for Julia, well if you're not a loyal Movies Blog reader then you'll be excused for forgetting the recent moment when the "Pretty Woman" star kinda sorta flirted with me and suggestively cleaned my glasses. Long story short: it was awesome. And sure enough when I ran into Julia the other night we got back right to our favorite pasttime: eyeglass cleaning!
I now understand why David Letterman has been smitten with Julia Roberts for years. I'll be honest. I've never been the biggest Julia Roberts fan. Sure, she's got undeniable charm and presence and there's the hair and the smile...blah blah blah. For whatever reason I just never thought much of her as an actress. Her new flick opposite Clive Owen, "Duplicity," hasn't really changed my opinion of her. She does a solid job and the flick is pretty entertaining throughout. But to interview the once and forever "Pretty Woman," that is to know what it's like to face a star.
In my Rough Cut interview with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen I was feeling a bit brazen. And apparently so was Julia as she cleaned my glasses and rubbed my back. Then there's the below segment where I tried to interrogate her about how and why she's managed to keep her clothes on all these years while most of her famous bretheren have bared all at one point or another. There's not really an answer in the below but it's entertaining nonetheless.
Our "Rough Cut" interview with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen was certainly one of our more atypical movie star chats (though we pride ourselves on making ALL our chats unique). No, it wasn't an interview in an elevator or the back of cab. Just the typical junket setting. But any interview results in one of the world's most adored actresses rubbing my back and cleaning my glasses -- well that's a memory.
Check out the full crazy chat with Julia and Clive here. Or begin with my personal favorite segment of the chat below.
Okay, that was an abuse of exclamation points. I'll be the first to admit that. It also happens to be untrue. Clearly Julia Roberts and Clive Owen get along famously. They worked to great acclaim together in "Closer" and now they're back in a much lighter caper of a flick called "Duplicity."
But just because they clearly enjoy each other's company doesn't mean they can't pretend to hate each other -- which is exactly what they do in the first part of our Rough Cut interview with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen below. Fair warning, this interview goes into an awesomely bonkers territory in the subsequent segments so do yourself a favor and watch the whole thing!
