George Clooney and Julia Roberts have become somewhat of a dynamic duo. Having appeared in six movies together, the two possesses a firm friendship. (Clooney and Roberts even hang out together with the former's wife, Amal.) However, before making their first joint film, Ocean’s Eleven, Roberts had to be swayed to join. Clooney recently revealed just how he managed to convince Roberts to sign on, and it involved some expert trolling on his part.
The 61-year-old actor recently attended the TCM Classic Film Festival, where he chatted alongside Ocean’s franchise director Steven Soderbergh about how they got the first film in the series made. In the process, they dropped some sweet behind-the-scenes stories. With that, the Syriana star shared the hilarious story about how he convinced Roberts to sign onto the ensemble heist film and, if you know anything about the cheeky George Clooney, it really shouldn't be all that surprising that it involve a bit of trolling. The Oscar winner revealed (via EW) that when he sent Roberts the script, he attached a $20 bill to it. He also included a note that said “I heard you get 20 a picture now.”
That wisecrack was in reference to the rumored $20 million-per-movie rate that the Pretty Woman star was alleged to have at the time. In 2001, when Ocean’s Eleven was made, she was essentially one of the biggest movie stars in the world. She already had Pretty Woman, Erin Brockovich, Runaway Bride, and Notting Hill under her belt and, with the success of those features, she was deemed a definite box-office draw. As such, she could demand the sum of money that she desired, so the idea of that large a price tag being associated with her isn't all that far-fetched. But as her co-star put it, she laughed at the $20 dollar bill joke and was so charmed that she agreed to join the heist movie.
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This ended up being a great move for Julie Roberts and the film itself, as it was a financial hit and launched a multi-picture franchise. Roberts reprised her role as Tess Ocean for the 2004 sequel, Ocean's Twelve, as well. And of course, the film would mark the start of her and George Clooney's excellent streak of collaborations. They played opposite each other in Money Monster, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and most recently, Ticket to Paradise. In addition, Roberts starred in August: Osage County, which Clooney produced. Clooney and Roberts hit a box office milestone in 2022, as their films' cumulative haul surpassed $1 billion.
There big-screen work has been great, but it's their off-camera moments that can be the most entertaining. George Clooney actually isn’t the only one who does the trolling in this friendship. Last year, the Michael Clayton star was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors, and Roberts showed up to the event to honor her friend by wearing a dress covered in pictures of his face. The actress also revealed she has Clooney’s contact in her phone saved as “Batman: Cell,” which is a nod to Clooney’s performance as the Caped Crusader in the poorly received Batman & Robin. I hope these delightful actors work together for years to come and keep humorously knocking each other down a few pegs in the process.
Anyone with an Amazon Prime subscription can rent or buy Steven Soderbergh's Ocean’s trilogy. For information on newer films hitting theaters this year, be sure to consult our schedule of 2023 new movie releases.
