Julia Roberts has a new interview in the December issue of Variety Magazine in which she reveals a desire to be an organic supermom who grows and makes all her own food and does as many crafts as she can fit into a day with as little impact on the environment as possible. I would rather make an entire website than fold the laundry, so I guess I’m not one to talk, but it sounds like you would need a lot of your kid’s Ritalin to accomplish the goals she’s setting for herself:

NEW YORK, N.Y.–In a joint interview with Vanity Fair features editor Jane Sarkin and V.F. West Coast editor Krista Smith, Julia Roberts says that, at age 40, her dream is to be “a highly fulfilled and productive stay-at-home mom and wife. The highest high would be growing our food that I then make, and then composting and growing more–that kind of circle.”

Roberts says having her own creative outlet is important, “even if it’s just silly needlework and stuff like that. To have that high-functioning fulfillment, and to have that radiate into my children so that I’m there with them, I’m connected with them, and I’m with Danny [Moder, her husband] and we’re all together, and yet my motor is revving.”

[From The Huffington Post]

I understand what she’s saying, because when you’re busy and fulfilled you find more meaning in your everyday activities. She’s richer than sin, so it’s probably important for her to have standards for herself so she doesn’t end up shopping and lazing around all day. What better way to spend time than doing things for your family? And good for Julia for caring about the environment and being conscious of her family’s footprint.

Roberts also calls the media attention on young celebrities “grotesque… like a circus sideshow,” and says that if her children want to go into show business she will try to give them as normal a life as possible, like Natalie Portman managed to have.

Roberts says she wants to mother Britney, because that’s how she seems to solve everything in her house. If only she could supervise all the young celebrities and get them knitting and composting as a viable alternative to partying. That’s a reality show in the making right there.

She spoke candidly about the paparazzi encroaching onto celebrities’ personal space and said there’s no reason for people to want pictures of celebrities’ children except to say that they’re cute. She said that we’re all pretty much the same and seemed to suggest that it’s not fair that celebrities are held under the spotlight and judged:

THE FRENZY SURROUNDING TODAY’S YOUNG CELEBRITIES:
“I think it’s just grotesque. It’s like a circus sideshow. I don’t know why anybody would even want to go into show business these days, with all of the different magazines and shows. It just wouldn’t be worth it. And it’s too fast. Before, you could build a career over years and many movies. Now it’s like you do one good movie and they throw a ton of money at you and a ton of attention at you. You’re being constructed outside of yourself before you even know who you are, and what you are, and how you want to do it, and why you want to do it.”
…
“I see and hear what’s happening to Britney Spears and it’s all I can do not to move her into my guest-house and say, ‘OK, this is how it’s going to be!’ And just take care of her.”

PAPARAZZI TAKING PHOTOS OF CELEBRITIES’ CHILDREN:
“I just feel like it’s so demeaning the way they behave, and I hate the fact that I even put any of my energy into thinking about it or being stressed about it. And really, more than anything, it just has to do with my kids. There’s no reason to take pictures of celebrities’ children other than for people to say, “Oh, they’re cute.” I think magazines shouldn’t run pictures of people’s kids. I have a problem with that. I also have a problem with the whole notion that, if I have Henry in a sling, I’m hiding him. He’s a baby and I’m carrying him around, and so’s the lady across the street. I get pissed off, because I think that it’s inhuman to chase a woman with her children.”

CELEBRITIES ARE JUST NORMAL PEOPLE:
“We’re all the same. Why can’t we get on board with this? That we’re all the same. Some have cooler jobs, some have less cool jobs, some have longer legs, some are nicer people, but we’re all the same. We’re all orbiting the same sun.”

[From The Huffington Post]

Roberts said that she’s done having kids for now, and that three are enough. When she’s working so hard on her family and their well being, you can see how she can get worn out with three little ones in the house. She is mom to twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, who turn three at the end of this month, and little Henry, who is just five months.

I like Julia Roberts’ attitude and she’s certainly managed to stay sane and out of the spotlight for a while. Like Angelina, she’s not exactly innocent when it comes to how she snared her current mate, but she seems to have moved on in her life and to be focused on what’s important, and she reminds us that we should be, too.

Julia Roberts is shown on 10/12/07 at American Cinematheque’s 2007 Award Show, where she was honored for her achievements. Thanks to Splash News.

Brad Pitt and Matt Damon are said to have send their Ocean’s co-star George Clooney a “get well soon” present after his motorcycle mishap in New Jersey late last month. The pair didn’t send a bouquet of flowers or a sappy card, they sent over a gag gift that made fun of his accident. Since neither Clooney or his girlfriend of the moment, Sarah Larson, were seriously injured, it doesn’t sound that tasteless and I could see it happening:

Sympathetic buddies Brad Pitt and Matt Damon sent over a care package [to Clooney] containing a yellow plastic crash helmet topped by a flashing red light – and a beat-up leather jacket festooned with rips and skid marks. Adding insult to injury: His “Ocean’s” co-stars included a card that read “Get Well Soon, Skid Head!”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, Mike Walker's column, October 22, 2007]

With all the pranks that Clooney likes to pull, and the way these three banter on The Oceans movies, I’m inclined to believe this story. Still, it would require a certain amount of coordination between Damon and Pitt to both sign the card within a short period of time. While Pitt was in NY at the time working on the same movie as Clooney, the last I heard of Damon he was back in Miami. It would be a more likely story if just one of them sent the gift.

Meanwhile Clooney and Pitt weren’t able to attend the American Cinematheque Awards on Friday, where their Oceans costar Julia Roberts was honored, but they did send over a funny video to add to the tribute.

In the clip, Clooney and Pitt run into each other in the bathroom, and Pitt’s foot is shown tapping in Clooney’s stall. This sounds pretty funny and I hope it “leaks” online:

In Clooney’s video, Roberts’ “Ocean’s Twelve” co-star was shown “hiding from fans” in a public bathroom stall. He suddenly feels a foot tapping his, a la Idaho Sen. Larry Craig. When he jumps out to see who’s in the next stall, he finds Pitt, who cries, “I have a wide stance!”

[From NYDailyNews]

Hopefully someone will come up with a better venue for this team than the Oceans movies. They were slick and fun, but they lacked a certain substance and the plots were hard to follow. Still, I would pay to see Clooney, Pitt and Damon read the phone book. They would have to be shirtless, though, with some homo-eroticism thrown in for good measure.

Pictures are of the Oceans 13 photocall and premiere at Cannes back in May. Thanks to INFDaily and Photorazzi.

The National Enquirer yells on this week’s cover “SPLIT! Julia Roberts’ husband walks out!” as if they’ve broken up and it’s a done deal. Once you read the article, you realized they’re hyping a one week surfing trip that he took with his guy friends.

The Enquirer brings up the old story that they reported over two months about how Julia is clashing with Danny’s family after they dropped out of therapy she insisted they go to, but that’s not new. It seems like they’re just trying to make it seem like a bad relationship with Julia is why Danny took a vacation, but it was only for a week and it’s not like he didn’t come back or was seen out partying with women.

With tension between them mounting, Julia Roberts’ husband packed his bags and left town, the Enquirer has learned exclusively…

When Danny broke the news that his family ended therapy, a livid Julia threatened to keep her in-laws away from the couple’s newest child, son Henry.

“Eventually she thawed and everyone made up,” the pal said.

“Julia even took Danny and the kids on a Hawaiian vacation to make amends. It was her way of saying: ‘Let’s make a fresh start.’”

But the couple didn’t even get home before Danny was ready to get away again.

Desperately needing a break from the continual clashing over the juggling of their marriage, careers and parenting, Danny headed to Bali with his buddies for some R & R after his week in Hawaii with Julia…

“After their trip to Hawaii, he needed to get away, so he went to Bali to surf. He was gone for almost a week while Julia watched the kids.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, October 8, 2007]

If he went with friends he probably didn’t just up and leave like the Enquirer is implying. It sounds like a planned vacation with other guys, so what’s the problem?

Danny Moder and Julia Roberts have been married for five years and have three children together, twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, who will be three at the end of November, and newborn Henry, three and a half months. They met on the set of the 2000 film The Mexican, where Moder was working as a cameraman. He was married to another woman at the time and it was rumored that Julia offered her 1/4 million to agree to divorce him.

I wouldn’t be surprised if these two were having problems given the way they got started, but you can really turn a one week trip with guy friends into a breakup. Danny Moder has already been seen back in LA in Venice, California furniture shopping with Julia and the twins.

The cover story in this week’s Enquirer is all about Julia Robert’s long-standing feud with her husband’s family. She is said to have forced them to go to therapy in order to work out what she perceives as their dysfunctional relationships. Her husband Danny Moder’s sister Jyl is an alcoholic and has often gotten into screaming matches with Julia.

Julia put her foot down and said that the whole Moder side of the family had to go to counseling or they wouldn’t get a chance to see their new grandson. She even wanted to go to therapy with them, but that idea was shot down. When she learned that they had discontinued their sessions, Julia freaked out, yelled “get out!” to her husband, and decided once and for all that they weren’t going to see her new baby.

“Julia has long felt that Danny’s family is dysfunctional – especially his sister Jyl, who has battled alcoholism for years now.

“Julia felt the counseling was necessary for the Moders so they could better fit in with HER new family and understand HER needs.”

She screamed :”Get out!” according to the insider, when Danny broke the news of the therapy lapse during a family vacation in Hawaii, just weeks before Julia gave birth to the couple’s third child, Henry Daniel, on June 18.

She’s so livid, says the source, the 39-year-old mom of three has now issued an ultimatum to the Moder family: Get back in counseling or you won’t see the new baby.

[From The National Enquirer print edition, July 16, 2007]

In January there was a story that Julia Roberts pissed off her in-laws by not telling them she was pregnant before she made an official announcement.

The Enquirer story says that some of Danny’s family blame Julia for their mother’s unexpected death from a heart attack. Julia famously snatched him away from his last wife and this was said to have upset his mother. Two years after Danny’s mother-in-law passed, Julia didn’t attend a memorial service for her due to tension with her sister-in-law, Jyl.

Family dynamics are always hard and you never know who did what, but it seems like Julia could at least let Danny’s family spend a few hours with little Henry.

Julia is shown in the header image out on 6/30 with baby Henry in a sling. He was born less than a month ago, on June 18th. Thanks to Splash News for this photo.

Julia Roberts’ inlaws are said to be annoyed that she didn’t tell them she was pregnant again before officially announcing it to the world. They don’t have the best relationship with Roberts after she broke up their son’s first marriage and then ridiculed his wife for not granting a divorce fast enough. It was a big snub to them that she didn’t tell them personally about her pregnancy news before everyone else found out. In fact they didn’t even know she was getting fertility treatments:

Julia Roberts’ pregnancy has caused another war with hubby Danny Moder’s family.

The family feud is back on because Julia released news of her latest pregnancy to the public before informing her in-laws, say sources.

Danny’s brother and sisters are livid because she not only hid the pregnancy news from them, but also kept trips to a nearby Los Angeles fertility specialist under wraps, reveals an insider.

“The Moders are so angry over the sub that they haven’t even called to congratulate Julia.”
They’ve had a rocky relationship with her since 2001, when she started an affair with Danny, who was then married.
“The had come to a truce – especially since the birth of Julia’s twins in 2004 – but it’s become a cold war once again,” said the insider.

[From The National Enquirer print edition, January 22, 2007]

The article goes on to claim that Roberts is hurt that none of her in-laws have congratulated her on the pregnancy, despite the fact that she didn’t tell them about it.

There was a story last week that Julia and Danny were having trouble in their marriage over the fact that Roberts’ career isn’t going well. She was said to be whiny and needy, complaining to Moder that she supported his career while she was taking care of their twins and that it was about time he stepped up to the plate to assist with her comeback.

I don’t know what’s true, but it seems pretty likely that she might be fighting with her in-laws.

Word has it that Roberts is pregnant with a little boy, and that she’s not expecting twins again despite the rumors after she bought two identical cribs.

Now that I’m in the states for a short while after the holidays, I’ve been reading all the gossip rags. There’s a story in the latest National Enquirer (which I realize most people don’t take seriously, but I still thoroughly enjoy) that Julia Roberts’ marriage is suffering because her career has been going down the tubes.

They clearly ran this story, which I’m not really putting a lot of faith in, before the news came out that Julia is pregnant again. She may be having trouble in her marriage, but it also might be hormonally-influenced or fabricated by The Enquirer or whatever.

Here’s what they’re saying:

According to insiders, Julia’s been subjecting Danny to long-winded rants about her fears [about her waning career], but when he tells her not to worry, she flips out.

“Julia screams: ‘You think this is no big deal? This is my career we’re talking about! It’s a very big deal… at least to me, it is!’” said the source.

Julia’s seething because she feels she supported Danny’s career ambitions while she raised the kids, says the source. And now that she’s ready to get back to work, the insider says she doesn’t feel Danny’s being as supportive as he should be.

Since Hollywood is not knocking down her door with big film offers like when she was younger, Julia’s been developing her own projects through her Red Om Films, which is being run by Danny’s brother-in-law, producer Phile Rose.

“Julia’s had to learn the hard way that in Hollywood, out of sight is out of mind,” said the source.

However, insiders point out that Julia isn’t helping herself or her career by donning the bizarre bag lady look she sported at the recent premiere for the kid flick “Charlotte’s Web.”

[from The National Enquirer print edition January 15, 2007]

Commentors on the always-heated threads about whether Angelina Jolie is a husband-stealer note that Julia Roberts should be the subject of people’s ire, too, since she broke up Danny Moder’s marriage. Reader frewtloop points out that Julia Roberts once wore a hand-scrawled T-Shirt with the words “A Low Vera” on it, which was a stupid play on words referencing Moder’s estranged wife, Vera. Julia was reportedly pissed off that Moder’s wife wasn’t jumping to sign divorce papers that would have freed him up to marry Julia in early 2002. They were married in July, 2002.

It seems like Angelina is a much easier target for jilted wives since she’s so much more in the spotlight. According to this article, that must really piss off fellow husband-stealer Julia.

All this to-do about Julia’s career affecting her marriage doesn’t seem as likely now that the news is out that she’s expecting her third child, due this summer.

Julia Roberts received a standing ovation last night on the official opening of her broadway play “Three Days of Rain.” Many celebrities attended the show and after party, and people said they loved it. Unfortunately the critics trashed Julia’s performance.

The play is a huge box office success, though, thanks to Roberts’ star power. All 16 performances are sold out, and have grossed nearly $2 million.

Celebrities pictured attending the show include James Gandolfini, Dave Matthews, Marcia Gay Harden, Thaddeus Scheel, Rosie Perez, Kristen Johnston, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Elaine Stritch, Oprah, Gayle King, Mario Cantone, and Michael C. Hall. Roberts is shown on stage and at the after party with her co-stars, Paul Rudd, and Bradley Cooper.

We mentioned yesterday that Julia Roberts’ new play, “Three Days of Rain,” opened last night on Broadway. It’s sure to sell out due to Roberts’ star power and the play’s dramatic strength. Here’s a bit more about the plot:

Julia plays the daughter in the first act, and the mother in the second act. It sounds like a clever plot and it’s sure to be interesting.

Here’s Roberts signing autographs and leaving the theatre after what must have been a fabulous performance.

Julia Roberts will make her debut on Broadway in “Three Days of Rain” tonight, which is described as “an emotionally rich drama about a brother and sister and their childhood pal who reunite for the reading of a will.”

“Rain” is produced by Marc Platt, who knows Julia from their work together on “Mary Reilly” and has also produced “Legally Blonde” and the stage hit “Wicked.” It is written by acclaimed playright Richard Greenberg, who created two roles that will be played by Julia:

Tonight’s sold out performance is just a preview. The play officially opens on April 12th for a three month run.

Here is Julia in a Gianfranco Ferre and and in some candids looking a bit annoyed.

Pictures [via] [via]

Two more after the jump.

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