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The tragedy of being the most successful person on a job is that all eyes are trained on the star. For celebrities and filmmakers, that attention and scrutiny increases tenfold due to the nature of their profession. When it comes to Hollywood in the 1990s, Julia Roberts happened to be the most in-demand A-lister after the actress’s interminable acclaim afterPretty Woman.
![Pretty Woman feat. Richard Gere and Julia Roberts [Credit: Walt Disney Studios, Touchstone Pictures]](https://i2.wp.com/fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/09075655/Pretty-Woman-feat.-Richard-Gere-and-Julia-Roberts-Credit-Walt-Disney-Studios-Touchstone-Pictures.jpg)
Soon after, Roberts’ magical reputation spread like wildfire across Hollywood with filmmakers wanting to work with her in every upcoming project. Fortunately for her, the release ofPretty Womanin 1990 was immediately followed by a role opening up in Steven Spielberg’s Disney fantasy adventure film,Hook. What happened soon after would go on to be the stuff of legends.
Julia Roberts and Steven Spielberg Declare War
Apart from the renowned power couples of the 1990s namely Tom Cruise-Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt-Jennifer Aniston, and Johnny Depp-Winona Ryder, there was one that quietly slipped under the radar akaJulia Robertsand Kiefer Sutherland. The pair who were engaged to be married ended in a tragic breakup days before their wedding after Sutherland wasphotographedwith a young dancer by the ever-intrusive paparazzi. Othersourcesalso indicate that Roberts allegedly called off the wedding owing to her feelings for Jason Patric.
Soon after, Julia Roberts’ work began to be affected by her disruptive on-set behavior while the actress was filmingSteven Spielberg‘s Disney filmHook. The director already had a lot riding on the$70 million moviedue to studio pressure; as such, the added drama on the sets did not contribute to a healthy actor-director working relationship.
![Julia Roberts and Steven Spielberg behind-the-scenes on Hook set [Credit: TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures]](https://i2.wp.com/fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/09075701/Julia-Roberts-and-Steven-Spielberg-behind-the-scenes-on-Hook-set-Credit-TriStar-Pictures-Sony-Pictures-1024x683.jpg)
Spielberg later confirmed the feud, refused to ever work with the actress again, and commented during a60 Minutesinterview,“It was an unfortunate time for us to work together. But I think Julia is a really, really good actress.”Meanwhile, the crew began to address Roberts as Tinkerhell due to her “difficult” attitude on the set ofHook.
Years later, in a 1999Vanity Fairinterview, Roberts addressed her feelings regarding Spielberg’s harsh criticism, his refusal to work with her in the future, and the disparaging nickname she earned from the crew members:
Hand to God: not a thing I read about that was truthful, and it really hurt my feelings. Because not only did it make me sound mean, but it was a situation where people who knew the truth talked about it in a way that wasn’t untruthful […] I saw that and my eyes popped out of my head.
I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that this person that I knew and trusted was actually hesitating to come to my defense […] It was a hard lesson to learn. It was the first time that I felt I had a turncoat in my midst.
![Pulp Fiction (1994) [Credit: Miramax]](https://i2.wp.com/fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/09075721/Pulp-Fiction-1994-Credit-Miramax-1024x576.jpg)
Thankfully, Steven Spielberg came around almost 3 decades later and was prepared to accept the misfortune of the situation in hindsight, asserting:
Julia probably went through the most trying times of her life [during filming]. And it was simply bad timing for all of us that she happened to start on Hook at that low point.
“He just picked on her”: A Young Julia Roberts Was Mercilessly Bullied by One Director Before Her Co-Star Came to the Rescue
By the end of the 1990s, Julia Roberts had turned her career around, landed three major rom-coms namelyNotting Hill,My Best Friend’s Wedding, andRunaway Bride, and earned the Best Actress Oscar the following year for her lead role in Steven Soderbergh’s biographical drama,Erin Brockovich.
The Magic of the 1990s Began With a Bust
The 1990s were a great time to be in the moviemaking business. Apart fromgreat scriptscoming into production, the industry was thriving with critical and commercial successes, new genres were beginning to take the lead, actors were ready to be far more experimental, and directors didn’t shrink away from taking creative risks.
As such, the decade witnessed the violent brilliance of Quentin Tarantino’sPulp Fiction, the wholesome beauty of Tom Hanks’sForrest Gump, Brad Pitt’s rise withThelma & Louise,Interview With the Vampire,Seven, andFight Club, and the epic tragedy of Leonardo DiCaprio’sTitanic.
From psychological thrillers likePrimal FearandBasic Instinctto profound works likeThe Shawshank RedemptionandGood Will Hunting, action adventures likeSpeedandMission: Impossibleto feel-good comedies likeThe Big LebowskiandJerry Maguire, sci-fi epics likeMen in BlackandThe Matrixto mind-bending movies likeThe Usual SuspectsandThe Sixth Sense, rom-coms likeNotting HillandSleepless in Seattleto the simplistic genius ofThe Truman Show– the last decade of the 21st century was a certified critical and commercial success for audiences of every unique and singular taste.
Hell on Earth: How Shawshank Redemption Director Gave Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan it’s Greatest Moment That’s Hard to Watch a Second Time
Meanwhile, the 90s were also home to some of Steven Spielberg’s best works, including theJurassic Parkfranchise,Schindler’s List, andSaving Private Ryan. Among these era-defining Spielberg films was included one understated 1991 Disney movie based on the Peter Pan legend titledHook, starring the late Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and Julia Roberts. But unlike the rest of the Spielbergian epics,Hookfailed to be an enduring success during the reign of the brilliant 90s.
Hookis available to buy/rent on Prime Video and Apple TV.
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2410
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
