Julia Roberts: A Blast to the Past

Hot actress Julia Roberts has played the world's Pretty Woman sweetheart in many films but achieved the epitome of aggressive femme power as Erin Brokovich. Now, in Mona Lisa Smile, she plays a young woman who shepherds the next generation as an art teacher at all girl Wellesley College in the 1950's. Julia so believed in the film that her company co-produced it. Julia's character bends the rules and dares to encourage stifled '50's college gals to think for themselves and realize that being the perfect wife isn't the only goal they could achieve. A novel concept in your mom or grandma's time.

At the 4 Seasons Hotel in L.A. when we spoke with Julia, her brownish-red hair was up in a twist and she looked casually elegant in white blouse, slacks and necklace. She explained that she'd had the flu for a week but was trouping on in support of her film.

TeenHollywood: Did the 1950's costumes or being at Wellesley make your role easier?

Julia: All that stuff does make it easier. I did watch some really nice documentaries on the '50s which I thought were very informative. The '50s seems like this unlauded decade. The '60s kind of overpowered it in its coolness, and I think the '50s actually is a really interesting period of time when our culture became ruled by television and advertising. You were the appliances that you had. It's interesting to me the way people measure their ideas of success and work. But for me it was sort of examining all this tradition of Wellesley in the '50s and then sort of standing next to it as opposed to right within it for the character that I played.

TeenHollywood: Did any teacher believe in you as an actor?

Julia: We didn't have like a theater department or drama, art kind of thing in that way where I went to school. And I look at it as a positive that no one really did take that much interest in me. Everything forms you even if you don't have some great examples of some genius person who came down and really enveloped you with self confidence. To be ignored can shape you just as well as to be lauded I suppose. I'm not saying that I was ignored per se. I'm just saying that I didn't have someone who necessarily saw some untapped potential in me and made me feel as though I had some bright future ahead.

TeenHollywood: Would there be any 1950's values or traditions it would be nice to have back?

Julia: Oh, I completely agree with that and I think that it's not so much that it was bad. It was just limited. Not wrong, just smaller somehow. But I think that certainly the ideas of certain traditions and a certain sense of continuity is glorious when you apply it to life. And I think certainly the '50s and this particular school represented certain types of loyalty to tradition that should be greatly appreciated. Even now they still have the hoop rolling which is so fun and I think really brings everybody together. The outcome is different now. [It used to be that the winner would be the first to marry]. Now, they say if you win, you're the first one to become a CEO of your company or something. They changed and made it fit a more modern time but I think that's sweet that they still do something like that, that it's not so serious.

Julia: Well, it's an environment that we're all perfectly familiar with I guess for one thing. That might be something. And I think also it has a good structure for presenting conflict and presenting personalities in a really clear way.

TeenHollywood: What did you learn about art playing an art teacher?

Julia: If you're talking about the art of painting, I find that very fascinating and a very timeless medium for expression. And I like the way that it's applied in this particular film. I like the pieces that we chose and the way that they're used to wake the girls up in a way and having them challenge their ideas of what's beautiful and what's interesting.

TeenHollywood: We hear that you really wanted Julia Stiles for this film. Why?

Julia: She's one of my favorite actors to watch in movies and of these young girls, when we were first developing the ideas for a cast, she was the very first person that I absolutely wanted to have in this movie. She's just really professional and I find her slightly intimidating, but I also find her to be this wonderfully timelessly breathtaking girl. I think she could just play any part. I've seen her look so incredibly modern and sometimes she is this kind of sweet, geeky college girl. Sometimes she seems like this Botticelli and then other times she's a very professional intellectual woman. I find her to be remarkable.

TeenHollywood: Can we ask a few personal questions? Career is still important but so is marriage. How challenging is it to have a successful marriage?

Julia: Well, in my experience, there's a real ease to it. But I think in part because I've been able to have a lot of great career opportunities and build on them over a long period of time, and so the kind of attention or maintenance or focus that I give to my career can be very sporadic, and very of my choosing. I'm really fortunate in that way. I can really devote myself to my family in a way that becomes very effortless and isn't a conflict and that doesn't make me feel torn. I know for a lot of people, it's not as easy with the time and energy demand of work and of a relationship and it can be a lot more taxing just to keep it all balanced.

TeenHollywood: Is it better that he's not a celebrity? [Julia's hubby is camerman Danny Moder]

Julia: I don't know that that's of consequence. It's better that he's the person that he is.

TeenHollywood: You devote time to charity. How do you decide which charities to support?

Julia: You just try to help as much as you can wherever you can. I suppose that a lot of the situations that I've ended up involved in have been through personal relationships. It just sort of evolves in what seems a really natural way. We all need help, we all need support on some level and it can be overwhelming. Like where do you start? It's almost paralyzing to think I don't even know where to go first to try to lend a hand. As much as it's great to have the tool of celebrity to bring attention to things, it's also nice when you know people that are famous who help out but just keep quiet and personal to themselves because it's not about everyone knowing how philanthropic you are. It's just about being that way.

TeenHollywood: Mona Lisa Smile is about learning that you have choices. What was the biggest choice you ever made?

Julia: Well, I think that probably the choice that I made that had the biggest impact on my career was after Pretty Woman and the success of that movie, a lot of the scripts that I read were really uninteresting and sort of tedious and not well written, fully realized women parts. I started just passing on everything. This turned into an over two year wait and I didn't want to give in to the panic of they're going to stop asking me to do movies because I'm just the picky girl in the corner who keeps saying no to everything. At a certain point I thought 'well, if I don't make a stand now for what I am looking for, when will I ever be able to'? I think that really made me feel a strength within myself to stand up for not wanting to work just because I was being asked to. I waited around long enough and Alan Pakula came and asked me to do Pelican Brief and that was a really fully realized experience for me and made me feel that I'd made a very good decision. It was a great reintroduction into movies.

TeenHollywood: Do you have any advice for younger actors?

Julia: It would be just to really enjoy what you do. Do it because you enjoy it and because that's what I think sustains you if you're fortunate enough to work for long periods of time and have a career of it. Have a foundation of just really having an unbelievable joy attached to getting to act and perform and create a character, because that's a real sustaining force over time or even a long day. It's something that will support you.

TeenHollywood: Are you looking forward to Ocean's 12?

Julia: Oh yes, very much so.

TeenHollywood: Are you prepared for Clooney's practical jokes?

Julia: [sly smile] I will be then.

***

Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.