Sunday, September 27, 2009

Eat, Pray, Julia.



Jose
here with a confession: few things nowadays get me as happy as the idea of a new Julia Roberts movie (yes, I'm slightly easy to please sometimes). So you can imagine the excitement this month has provided for me! First was the cute, and star studded, trailer for Valentine's Day (what do you mean you haven't seen it? Do so now!).

And today the web is bursting with Julia in saris, flower necklaces and bodyguards as she begins shooting Eat, Pray, Love in the town of Mirzapur in northern India. The movie, directed by Ryan Murphy, is based on the eponymous novel by Elizabeth Gilbert and tells the story of a divorced woman who travels across the world to regain her inner peace.

But back to Julia, The Indian Times reports
Wearing a purple kurta, black salwar and rudraksha beads, she completed her first day's shoot for a Hollywood film in Pataudi on Sunday (Sept 20), living up her role every bit! One scene had her eating rice, chapati, aloo-gobi and muttar-paneer the Indian way - with her bare hands.
She's just like the rest of us...

The Associated Press also commented on Mrs. Moder's Indian visit and how she was all the rage amongst the villagers of Mirzapur where young boys climbed trees and villagers crowded rooftops. Is it me being morbid or does this remind you of Slumdog Millionaire a bit?

Fortunately for Julia the film kicked off with the rightfully blessed foot as Indian priest
Swami Dharam Dev offered prayers for the whole cast and crew. He also gave Julia's children the names of Indian gods [he] named her twins Hazel and Phinnaeus as Laxmi and Ganesh, while Henry will be called Krishna Balram.

The movie is set to open in 2011 and also stars Javier Bardem as the man she falls in love with, Billy Crudup as the man she was in love with, Viola Davis as yet another rom-com best friend and Richard Jenkins.

(photographic src)

18 comments:

NATHANIEL R said...

I have noticed a weirdly negative reaction to Julia around the web lately. I guess absence did not make the heart grow fonder. I'm not sure how she slipped from everyone's favorite anything of the 90s to nobody's favorite anything related to the movies in 2009 but it is a curious fall.

i only wish romantic comedies were better than they are. that genre used to produce classics.

hopefully this will be good. romantic comedy right?

Anonymous said...

It's already garbage, Julia just makes it worse.

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

Haha exhibit A above.
I don't know either, guess it must be the good 'ole "throw rocks at the king of the mountain" thing or however that goes.
I unashamedly love Julia, was watching a bit of "Full Frontal" yesterday and she works wonders even with that wig.
I'm sure this movie will be awesome! If not for her-for the haters-for the great supporting cast.

pomme said...

i dislike romcom movies except "when harry meets sally" and "the ghost and mrs muir"(if this movie is a romcom)

Pop Culture Nerd said...

If it stays true to the book, this movie isn't a rom-com. It's about Gilbert's soul-searching journey through Italy, India and Indonesia after her marriage fell apart. Gilbert has a great sense of humor about her struggles but I wouldn't call it a rom-com.

I love Julia Roberts and think she's well cast as Gilbert. I'm freaking out over that fabulous supporting cast, too. (Billy Crudup and Javier Bardem and James Franco? Ridiculous!) Can't wait to see it.

Chris Na Taraja said...

Yeah, she may be eating the "indian way", but she'll be having, how should I say this...a wild indian stomach the "american way" soon too!!!

Rick said...

I never have understood Julia's fame ... she was good in Pretty Woman and average in Erin Brockovich ... but other than that she is an average looking woman with a very large, horse-like mouth!

Iggy said...

I've been regularly searching the web for on set pictures for this movie since that first Franco/Roberts picture was posted here. But even though you can find Julia Roberts almost as Waldo (?), everywhere around the world, I'm still waiting for the Bardem/Roberts picture.

Sunny said...

I really like Julia Roberts as an actress. She was great in Closer and Erin Brockovich, and I've even liked her in films that are not considered particulary good or deep (Mona Lisa Smile, Duplicity, etc.)

So yeah, a lot of people don't think so highly of her. But I do. And I know why. I was born in the 90's and I "discovered" her around 2003. She was never America's Sweetheart to me, she was just another actress, one that a lot of people seem to be fed up with.

It's funny how good things (popularity, an Oscar) can turn so bad for someone in the future. Like Gwyneth Paltrow, I liked her after watching Proof and The Royal Tenenbaums and others, but I sure wouldn't have liked to see her win an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love over Cate Blanchett, know what I mean?

Sorry, long post.

Apple said...

I dont get the hate. Her range isn't great but she's pretty great within.

Apparently, the formula of "winning Oscar+getting paid as much as other male movie stars+seducing a married man" only works for Angelina Jolie.

Andrew K. said...

I feel that Julia's hated because everyone feels she robbed Burstyn. I don't really think so. Different movies...different styles. Not because one is playing a drug addict and one is playing a lite character means the former is better. I think they were both equally good. But the amount of people calling her win one of the worst in the category is quite alarming.

NATHANIEL R said...

andrew. do people really say that?

i'm not even a big Julia Roberts fan but she was fan-fucking-tastic in Erin Brockovich. Burstyn deserved it but it's rather like a peter o'toole in lawrence of arabia / gregory peck in to kill a mockingbird situation (albeit in a different less mythic register) isn't it? sometimes, a lot of times actually, there's more than one Oscar worthy performance in a given year.

mrripley said...

Hi all,

love me some jules and yes she was the sweetheart and she remains the highest grossing film actress ever but the star days are gone for some 90's folk like harrison ford,kevin costner,meg ryan,michael douglas,demi moore etc and she is in that group too.

i think the 2001 "i love my life" line to denzel soured her rep too.

i belive though this is the film to put her back on top and maybe back to the podium at oscar night.

who are the reigning best actresses box office wise plus i bet roberts does nto are she proved herself for 12 yrs.she became a bif player in a male dominated business.

mrripley said...

Sandra bullock is not effected by the backlash to 90's titans,why?

filmfan said...

Can we please shortly remember how brilliant she was in "Closer"? That break-up-I'm-disgusting-scene with Clive Owen is sensational.

And wasn't she pretty good in "Duplicity" this year, too? One of the better films of the year so far, and it wasn't a great financial success at all, while these critically panned Sandra-Bullock-rom-coms are so incredibly successful at the b.o....

mrripley said...

That's what i am saying sandra is immune to critics,backlash,reviews and everything,she always gets good b/off numbers even for clunkers like all about steve,yet julia is far more successful at the b.off and has an oscar is becoming a whipping girl.

notanotherblog said...

In unrelated news, apparently some locals are disgruntled because her movies are closing off important parts of the city she's filming in. Saw this bit of gossip at the Metro.

And as much as I like her in Closer, I always imagine what Blanchett would have done in the role.

Davey said...

Love Julia and always will. The internet hate was always there, probably around the time of the Oscar win where it jumped to full throttle. But that's life. Not too excited about "Eat, Pray, Love" though. Just seems like some Oprah nonsense. But with this cast, I'll give it a go regardless. I'd agree about the frustration with Viola Davis playing yet another "supportive, black best friend" role. In the words of goddess Meryl, "Will someone pleaseeeeee give this woman a movie?"