Producer claims Julia Roberts left "Shakespeare in Love" after reading scenes with terrible chemistry.
Looking for some vintage drama? Apparently the play of Shakespeare in Love from 1998 was a bit of a disaster, so cool, settle in! It turns out that Gwyneth Paltrow ultimately won the part of Viola de Lesseps, which was initially intended for Julia Roberts. In a recent post for AirMail, via Variety, producer Edward Zwick revisited the reasons why Julia left the film, claiming that the company was initially ecstatic with her casting. The studio was so enthused that they were willing to spend the money just on the chance of having the Beautiful Woman wear a corseted gown.
The truth is that Julia was completely fixated on the thought of Daniel Day-Lewis portraying Shakespeare, to the point that she requested "that two dozen flowers be delivered to Daniel Day-Lewis, accompanied with a letter that read: "Be my Romeo." However, DDL had other commitments, so Julia was forced to perform a chemistry read alongside Ralph Fiennes (who was eventually cast).
According to Variety, Edward said that Julia hardly recognised Ralph despite his best efforts to elicit the famed smile. "I'm not saying she was purposely sabotaging, but it was still a disaster. Ralph was leaving when I tried to apologise to him, but he was moving too quickly. I turned to face Julia after he had left to see how she would respond.
‘He seems to be interesting’ is all she talked.”
Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, and Sean Bean, to name a few, were among the actors with whom Julia later conducted chemistry tests. However, things changed when she performed a reading for Paul McGann.
"Julia appeared from makeup the morning of the exam, dazzling in full historical costume," Edward recounted. But as soon as she started to speak, something seemed off. There was no magic. The writing wasn't the issue. Maybe Paul McGann. Julia was there. It was immediately apparent that she hadn't been practising her accent from the minute she started speaking.
Julia left the project the following morning, despite Edward's apparent attempts to be "encouraging," according to a manager who just stated that "Julia had flown back to the U.S. and that she was departing the project." Universal had already invested $6 million at this stage.
Edward remarked, "I never spoke to Julia again. Instead, I've watched as her art gained in complexity and majesty from a distance. I bear her no ill will. She was a terrified 24-year-old woman. As I witnessed the Globe Theatre being demolished, I wasn't much older and was attempting to act like an adult. And it took my grandiose ambitions with it.
Namely, THE DRAMA.
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon