In Hollywood, there are great actors and luminous movie stars — and then there’s Julia Roberts.
La Roberts once again is showing the film world how it’s done with her buzzy appearance last month at the Venice Film Festival to launch her latest film, Luca Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt.” On the latest episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, Ramin Setoodeh, Variety co-Editor in Chief, details for our cover story his sit down interview with Roberts, Guadagnino and other key cast members from the Amazon MGM Studios film, which bows in theaters Oct. 17.
Although the film’s subject matter is difficult — revolving around the fallout from an accusation of sexual assault on a college campus — Setoodeh said it was apparent from the camaraderie among the cast members that “After the Hunt” troupe had a great time working together. Roberts and Guadagnino in particular bonded during the whirlwind 28-day shoot. Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Chloë Sevigny and Michael Stuhlbarg are also featured in the story. Roberts plays a flinty college professor who is caught up in the crossfire between the accusor and the accused.
“I asked [Roberts] her why she chose this role,” Setoodeh says. “What was interesting is she read the script, she liked the script, but for her, it really is about working with the right director that she feels comfortable with and she feels that she’s going to be connected with on set. And so she said she was interested in the role, but she didn’t make the decision to to take on this project until she and Luca sat together. They were at a friend’s house, they were sitting together, and then they just started talking and they couldn’t stop talking. They talked for hours together and they really, really were connected. And that’s what inspired her to take the role, which I thought was very interesting, because a lot of actors will choose a director based on what they see on screen. But for Julia, it really is about the personal connection.”
Also in the episode, Chris Willman, Variety‘s chief music critic dives into the new documentary “Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery,” which bows Sept. 21 on Hulu. The all-female summer tour festival led by Sarah McLachlan, who was then at the peak of her popularity and industry clout, was a groundbreaking effort in more ways than one.
“It was also pioneering the multi-genre festival. Now it’s common to see multi-genre bills. And with Coachella, you see literally everything represented,” Willman says. “But Lilith Fair, the common denominator is not the music. It’s not even the attitude so much. It’s the common denominator is the gender. And so there’s so much you can put under that umbrella as they eventually figure it out. It was exciting, especially that second year when you could hear some great R&B singers as well as, folk pop singer songwriters and rockers and they really mixed it up. So I think it was influential in that way, which might not get as much credit for.”
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