There are no actors working today who better exemplify peak Hollywood charisma than George Clooney and Julia Roberts. Put these two old friends in a room together and the chemistry is just bouncing off the walls, messing with the electric lights, and making everybody’s hair frizz up. So when they told the New York Times in a duo interview promoting their new rom-com that it took months to get their on-screen kiss right—I simply do not believe it.
The movie, Ticket to Paradise, is a romantic comedy after all, so audiences expect the leads to kiss. Shouldn’t be a problem for two acting veterans who’ve been friends for over two decades, right? “One kiss. And we did it for, like, six months,” Roberts said. Clooney added, “Yeah. I told my wife, ‘It took 80 takes.’ She was like, ‘What the hell?’” Then Roberts added, “It took 79 takes of us laughing and then the one take of us kissing.” Then Clooney added, “Well, we had to get it right.”
Samir Hussein
I’m sorry, they even have chemistry in print! I refuse to believe this story. I don’t even care if I start up the rumor mill with a fresh celebrity conspiracy. Just look at this interview with the two of them from 2016 with E! News, when they were promoting Money Monster. Does this look like two people too afraid to kiss each other for work? I don’t think so.
Plus, it’s not like they haven’t had on-screen kisses before. They first met on the set of Ocean’s Eleven, where they played ex-spouses. Then they played a married couple (who kisses!) again on Ocean’s Twelve.
But I suppose cute stories like this are all part of the George Clooney and Julia Roberts charm, in the end.
