By Steven Goldman
IN the gripping new thriller Money Monster, Julia Roberts stars as a woman caught in the crossfire of chaos. Directed by Jodie Foster, the real-time high-stakes drama, which premiered at Cannes on May 12, features Roberts and costar George Clooney as television producer Patty Fenn and financial TV host Lee Gates—two colleagues who get more than they bargained for when irate investor Kyle Budwell (Jack O’Connell) forcefully takes over their television studio, demanding answers and restitution when a market anomaly destroys his life savings. During a tense standoff broadcast live to millions of viewers, it’s down to Fenn and Gates, working against the clock, to unravel the high-tech conspiracy lurking behind Budwell’s undoing and within the heart of the system itself.
Following her breakout role in Steel Magnolias in 1989, Roberts has received three Golden Globe Awards (from eight nominations) and one Oscar (from four nominations) for her performance in Erin Brockovich in 2000. A frequent collaborator with Clooney (the Oceans film series; Confessions of a Dangerous Mind), Money Monster marks Roberts first pairing with Foster and rising star O’Connell (Unbroken).
From her home in Los Angeles, Roberts talked about making the film, working for a woman and going back to the theater.
How did your casting in Money Monster come about?
George (Clooney) reached out to me about it, and I thought it sounded interesting and intriguing. And, of course, there was the element of Jodie Foster…. I told him, of course, send it to me—I’d love to read the script. And I have to say I do read a lot of them. But this was one of those things that I just sat down and read in one fell swoop; it was just so terrific. I remember when I was done reading it, I just felt super-energized. I just was so excited about it. It was such a great part for George and I thought, god, what an interesting story.
I just got really excited. Not even so much about the idea of hoping to be a part of it, but just the idea of it as a potential movie. I just thought, “Wow, this is really dynamite.”
What was it about your character, Patty Fenn, which ultimately caught your attention?
For me, it was the stuff that will probably go unnoticed, not so much the foreground of the character. It was her background which I thought was really interesting. I just thought of her as very much a New Yorker, third-generation in television—you know, that her dad was probably in television, her grandfather was probably in television. And that this is her world—that control room. Also the relationship and rapport that my character has with George’s, of how different they are and yet how they have an appreciation for each other, which I think is getting a little bit exhausted at times. All of that is fun to play.
What was your first meeting with Jodie Foster like?
I was somewhat surprised to learn that you two had never actually worked together before.
We never had. In fact, as many times as we’ve crossed paths over the years, I think I’ve actually maybe only ever spoken to her, ever so briefly, a couple of times, ever.
And yet, it seems so natural that you’re working together now.
I remember going to my first-ever Independent Spirit Awards for Mystic Pizza (in 1989) and she was there for Four Corners. And I just remember thinking, “I’m just a table away from Jodie Foster!”
If I was a fly on that wall for that first Money Monster meeting, what would I have seen?
Well, we were on the phone…(Laughs). But she (Foster) was just so funny and entertaining. She was just so fired-up about the project and it was really infectious—how excited and enthusiastic she was. All these ideas that she had and these thoughts that she had about it.
I mean, it’s so great. She’s such a consummate actor that to get her incredible intellect as a director intertwined with the deliciousness of her acting, as her point of view, I mean what more could anybody ask for?
I understand it took her some time to get the film off the ground?
It wasn’t a long time for me, but I think that they were all working on it for a while. But from the time that we first talked about it to the time we were all on location, it wasn’t that long. A matter of months.
Having only seen the trailer, I was curious to know if the film itself is, indirectly, tapping into our anxieties about the state of Wall Street today?
Well, you’re not wrong about that. But it’s actually about a lot of different things—from a kind of cultural, global, technical narrative, to really personal narratives of our different fears as individuals. I also think there’s something kind of exceptional about making a movie that takes place in one day, which is something that I’ve never done. Of course, Jodie was like, “Wait, you’ve never done that!” (Laughs) It’s really interesting to come to work every day and put on the same clothes and really play every hour of a day. I mean, it becomes quite a surgical examination of everything that goes on. In that regard, it makes it really personal, even though some of the bigger ideas of the movie are about (broader) things.
Did you have time to rehearse before you started, or did you just jump right in?
You never really just jump right in. We had a read through with everyone, which was great. And then we’d rehearse on the day. We’d go over things. But for the most part, I think, Jodie was really clear about her intentions with each scene, and it was a great collaboration.
What was it like when you were finally working with her on set?
Well, just everything I could have hoped for, really. It’s funny, too, because she’s incredibly encouraging almost to the point where I was like, “Come on, tear it apart! Tear my performance apart!” You know, “Fix it for me! Jodie Foster it!” And she was like, “No, you’ve got it. You’re exactly right. You’ve got it.” And I’m thinking, “I just want to be Jodie Foster” (Laughs).
She’s said that your scenes, from a technical standpoint, were the most challenging to film.
Well, we were in a real studio control room and we had the great fortune of having a real television technician—a guy who works in a control room—with us. That was a godsend to me, because he would always let me know if anything was less than 100-percent authentic. So that was really a gift. But we were up against a lot in this room, because it was a practical location, which means you’re trying to fit a lot of people and a lot of equipment in a space that doesn’t shift around very much at your will.
Also there were a vast number of monitors, a lot of them playing different things, representing different cameras on the soundstage. I was calling cues that had to be timed perfectly with them. So I would practice in my room on a computer with the playback, calling out the cues and getting times down for things that I had to tell George. In the end, it just required a lot of patience, which Jodie has infinitely. I think she said it best when she said, my next movie is going to be about Amish people (Laughs). You don’t have to plug anything in. Nothing is electrical. Nothing has to be re-routed, nothing has to be lit up, synchronized…because it does get complicated.
What was it like working with George Clooney again? You’ve worked together several times over the years.
We have. And it’s my great fortune to have such talented friends, I have to say. I’ve worked with him as an actor (Oceans film series). I’ve worked with him as a director (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind). I’ve worked with him as a producer (August: Osage County). I just think we’re very much alike in our approach to work. We both really enjoy what we do and we put a lot of effort into it and a lot of joy into it. It’s so terrific. And when you get to work with people over and over again, I think it just allows you to kind of fine-tune it just that much more each time, which is a real gift.
What was it like working with Jack O’Connell?
Jack is a great actor. He’s been in a number of things now and I’m always knocked out by what he brings to these performances. I mean he’s just a very invested actor. He takes it all very seriously. He puts in a lot of energy into what he’s doing, and this was such a challenging part. He’s very much the centerpiece of it. Everything really revolved around him in a way that…you know, it’s a big role that he’s doing and he’s just incredible doing it. I often had that bird’s eye view watching him. Sometimes, when we were shooting on the soundstage, I would just be sitting off in a corner, you know, watching, just going, “Wow—this guy is working his ass off.” It was impressive.
When we spoke, he paid you the highest compliment—that you really took the time out to make sure his mother and sister felt welcome when they flew in from the UK to visit the set.
Oh, that’s so sweet! It really was so nice when his family came. He was so excited that they were there and they were so excited to be there. I mean, that’s really…that’s how we all rely on each other when we’re away from our families. So when any of us are lucky enough to have our families come visit, it’s what we do. It’s a boost for everybody, I think.
Does working with a director like Jodie Foster inspire you to direct something yourself?
(Laughs) No! It, in fact, inspires me to stay away from directing even more.
Come on…
It just makes me realize how totally unqualified I am for that job. (Laughs)
You recently starred in ‘The Normal Heart’ for HBO. Do you have any desire to do a series?
Great movies are so few and far between that…I don’t know, it’s just a medium that I love.
But I think, if anything, I would want to go back to theater.
Is that a possibility?
I would love it…I mean there’s nothing sitting on my desk that I’m being coy about. But I would love it.
What kind of movie are we in store for with ‘Money Monster’?
It’s just one of those great, thrilling, movies. I think the things about it that are funny are unexpected; the things about it that are suspenseful are unexpected.
You kind of bite your nails a little bit through this one. It’s just great.
***Now in theaters across the Philippines, Money Monster is distributed by Columbia Pictures.