‘Ticket to Heaven’: Julia Roberts and George Clooney: 80 takes for a kiss

On screen, Julia Roberts and George Clooney are an ex-couple who are torn apart. In the city, they are best friends. And on the occasion of the release of ticket to paradisethey talk about their relationship…

“I received the script when there were so many nasty things going on in the world. And I always have the impression that the films try to make this reality, while they are always out of step since it takes a few years to make a feature film. There, I felt that we all needed a break. I needed a break. I needed to be a little lighter. And you know, when you look at the Great Depression, for example, that’s when romantic comedies flourished, » said George Clooney in media interviews on the occasion of the release of ticket to paradise in Europe a few weeks ago.

“I believe people need a break. I know Julia and I, when we both read the script, thought we needed to relax. And this project was perfect for us,” said the 61-year-old actor.

Never lovers…

Because, in Ol Parker’s new feature film (Mamma Mia! Here we go again), Julia Roberts and George Clooney are a couple who divorced a long time ago and they try, by all means possible, to prevent their daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever) from marrying a young man she has just met in bali.

The stars, who are great friends in life, are also executive producers of this romantic comedy, the very first of six films they have made together, including August: Osage County for which Clooney was a producer. And never, in all their years of friendship, have they had the temptation to turn their relationship into a romance.

« We never had to tell each other that we wouldn’t go out together, » said Julia Roberts. As her on-screen partner put it, “Julia was still in a relationship or I was still in a relationship. We became friends very quickly. And we always had a lot of fun together, so the question of a romantic relationship never came up. »

Their friendship grew even stronger while filming in Australia, when the whole world was in quarantine. George Clooney lived in a house with his wife and the twins – who nicknamed the 54-year-old actress “Aunt Juju” – while Julia Roberts was alone, her husband and three children having remained in Los Angeles.

“The Clooneys saved me from loneliness and despair, she confided in the pages of the New York Times. We were in a bubble and this is the longest period of my life that I have spent away from my family.

Their chemistry, that mysterious togetherness in front of the camera, allowed them to look completely natural – and “completely fasted”, as Julia Roberts pointed out – when filming a dance and “beer pong” scene on the tray. Because the filmmaker had asked them to let themselves go and do – and say – whatever came into their heads. “We are still the same idiots as before,” said Julia Roberts, the two friends having never stopped making each other laugh and making jokes.

The strangest and funniest moment of this very family-friendly shoot? A scene in which they exchange a kiss … and which was attended by Amal Clooney, who came for a walk on the set.

« It took 79 takes of us laughing and one of us kissing, » revealed Julia Roberts with a smile.

ticket to paradise hits theaters October 21.