- Title: Julia Roberts launches TV career at Toronto film festival
- Date: 7th September 2018
- Summary: TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA (SEPTEMBER 7, 2018) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** ACTRESS JULIA ROBERTS POSING FOR PHOTOS ACTRESS EMMY ROSSUM ROBERTS SHOW RUNNER SAM ESMAIL BEING INTERVIEWED WITH ROBERTS IN BACKGROUND VARIOUS OF ROBERTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTRESS, JULIA ROBERTS, SAYING: "God, I'm going to have to start making things up. It wasn't that different. It was so great. I do owe it all to Sam Esmail because he is our leader, our captain and did everything right to make me feel comfortable." (Reporter: Did you feel you lived that character more than anything you've done before?) "No. It's all the same. It's all kind of the same. It's all heart, it's all challenging and it's all fulfilling." VARIOUS ACTRESS SISSY SPACEK (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTRESS, SISSY SPACEK, SAYING: "It's a beautiful story and it's so odd. I've not seen it but it's just a psychological... I don't know what it is. You'll tell us when you see it." ACTOR STEPHAN JAMES ACTOR DERMOT MULRONEY (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, DERMOT MULRONEY, SAYING: "Well it also started bizarrely as a podcast. What's that? What is a podcast and what is that going to mean for our future? If they're going to start plucking great jobs... what off a radio? Is that what a podcast is? But it really is a unique story about how this became a series and instead of making a movie they made a series out of it and they get top talent in it. So it really is a turning point or a place where shows like this are reinventing how people watch stuff so it's so interesting to be part of that process." CAST AND CREW PHOTOCALL INCLUDING ESMAIL (SOUNDBITE) (English) SHOW RUNNER, SAM ESMAIL, SAYING: "I mean, what doesn't she bring? Julia's just one of those actors, that there's a spark that emanates and you can't look away. It's a lot like this guy. You just get absorbed by their persona, their charisma and they just suck you in." SPACEK (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTRESS, SISSY SPACEK, SAYING: "Well I've known Julia since she was 13 and so I feel really close to her. She's easy to love and so we have had chemistry since she was 13 years old so we had a wonderful time." ROBERTS BEING INTERVIEWED PHOTO OF ROBERTS MULRONEY AND SPACEK GO INTO SCREENING
- Embargoed: 22nd September 2018 00:48
- Keywords: Julia Roberts TIFF Toronto International Film Festival Sissy Spacek Sam Esmail Dermot Mulroney
- Location: TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- City: TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA0028WMR1VX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Like many Hollywood movie stars, Julia Roberts has gone from the big screen to the small screen and on Friday (September 7) she held the world premiere of her first ever television serial 'Homecoming' at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The serial on Amazon Prime, which is about a caseworker dealing with soldiers with PTSD possibly with ulterior motives, is based on a podcast of the same name by Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg. Although much ado has been made about Roberts making the transition to the small screen, the 'Pretty Woman' actress didn't feel that there was anything out of the ordinary.
"God, I'm going to have to start making things up. It wasn't that different," she stated, adding "It was so great. I do owe it all to Sam Esmail because he is our leader, our captain and did everything right to make me feel comfortable."
"It's all the same. It's all kind of the same. It's all heart, it's all challenging and it's all fulfilling," she went on to say.
The series follows the same premise as the podcast and the showrunner Sam Esmail encouraged people not to listen to the podcast prior to watching the series because of similar spoilers.
However, he felt Roberts brought a lot to the role, saying "I mean, what doesn't she bring? Julia's just one of those actors, that there's a spark that emanates and you can't look away."
The series also stars Sissy Spacek, who admitted the show was a homecoming in itself as she has known Roberts since she was 13-years old.
"It's a beautiful story and it's so odd," Spacek told Reuters. "I've not seen it but it's just a psychological... I don't know what it is. You'll tell us when you see it."
The series will go live on Amazon on November 2. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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