We’ve had some week on Access Hollywood Live. Christina Aguilera on Monday. Justin Bieber on Tuesday. And Julia Roberts today.
Ahhhh. Julia Roberts. One of my all-time favorite Hollywood stars. Julia and I go way back—At least in my own delusional mind we do! LOL!
In 1988, she shot the movie “Satisfaction” in my hometown of Charleston, SC. They even filmed some scenes in my neighborhood across the street from our house. We locals were all so excited that a big-time Hollywood production was in town! Back then, the headlining star of the movie wasn’t Julia, but Justine Bateman from “Family Ties!”
That same year “Mystic Pizza” came out. My cousin was the director of photography on the movie. He said they all knew on set that Julia was something special and that she was going to be a huge star. My cousin also had his two small children on location and told me that years later he ran into Julia and, not only did she remember who he was, she also remembered the names of his two girls and enquired about them. Apparently she has a killer memory!
When her movie “Sleeping with the Enemy” came out, I was working at another entertainment news show and went to the press junket, so I could see and hopefully meet Julia. I got to hang in the room and watch her interview, but didn’t get to actually meet her because she was on such a tight schedule. Awww, man. So close, and yet…so far away.
This time was different! When she came to our soundstage, her longtime publicist, who knows how much I love Julia, made sure I got to meet her—AND take a photo with her too!
Before the interview, Julia was chilling in Kit Hoover’s dressing room and they were laughing and chatting about their kids and sharing photos. The first thing I noticed was how TALL Julia is. She also had on really high-heeled shoes, so that made her especially tall. I just kinda stood there thinking….wow, this is Julia Roberts—THE JULIA ROBERTS! How cool is that?
She is gorgeous in person, of course, no wonder she’s an ambassador for Lancome. Her skin is practically wrinkle-free. Not fair! I was also checking out her killer hair, which I’ve coveted for years, and her famous smile.
And then there was THE laugh. And yes, she really laughs like that. People have asked me if meeting her was all I thought it would be and the answer is yes, especially when we took this photo together. I just stood next to her, but she grabbed and hugged me for the shot. Awesome!
–Ryan Patterson
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