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Julia Roberts and Steven Spielberg only worked together once — on the 1991 film “Hook” — and it was not a pleasant experience for either of them. “Hook,” to remind the reader, is a sequel to J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan” story, imagining what might happen if Pan left Neverland, grew up, and started a family. By Spielberg’s vision, Pan would change his name to Peter Banning (Robin Williams), become a boring lawyer, and forget all about his eternal youth as a flying pixie kid.
Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman) hasn’t forgotten, however, and sends his pirates to Earth to kidnap Banning’s children to lure him back to Neverland. The adult Peter is abducted by Tinkerbell (Roberts) and dragged back to his Edenic youth by force. Peter hates Neverland at first — the Lost Boys are too rowdy — but he slowly starts remembering his time as Peter Pan, and eventually begins to revert.
“Hook” is one of the worst films in Spielberg’s filmography, and it wasn’t terribly well-reviewed; it only has a 29% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. “Hook” was, however, a smash hit, and a very specific segment of the population — that is: people who were 11 in 1991 — is nostalgically fond of its light adventure and exciting production design. It is beloved and hated in equal measure.
It certainly isn’t well-remembered by Roberts and Spielberg who, as the rumor mill has been saying for years, had a tempestuous relationship on the set. On an episode of “60 Minutes,” Spielberg noted that it was “a difficult time for us to be working together,” which is the most diplomatic way one can describe a bad working relationship. It seems that a lot of their headbutting stemmed from Roberts’ own real-life relationship with actor Kiefer Sutherland.
Julia Roberts in Tinkerhell
Roberts heard Spielberg’s interview on “60 Minutes,” and commented on it in a 1999 interview with Vanity Fair. She also had heard the unattributable rumors that she was “difficult” on set — a classically generic word to disparage actresses in Hollywood — and that she had earned the on-set nickname of “Tinkerhell.” It’s hard to say how much of those rumors are true, but Roberts was upset that her director didn’t come to her defense. In Vanity Fair, Roberts said:
“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.”
Spielberg likely knew about Roberts’ relationship troubles at the time, but he didn’t appear to have been very empathetic. Filming on “Hook” began on February 19, 1991, and went way over schedule. It was already supposed to take 76 days to shoot, but delays piled up to the tune of 40 additional days. The budget ballooned to $80 million and everyone was likely upset. Roberts and Sutherland were engaged to be married, and they had picked June 14 as their wedding date. If “Hook” had ended on time, it would have wrapped on May 4. The 40 additional days say filming wrapped … on June 13.
It’s perhaps no coincidence that Roberts and Sutherland called off the wedding and broke up on June 13.
Rough working conditions
The production of “Hook” was likely putting a strain on Roberts and Sutherland. One can see why Roberts might have appeared upset during filming; she was. The film was taking up a lot of her time, and she was wrestling with upcoming nuptials … or a potential breakup.
It was also reported in Joseph McBride’s book “Spielberg: A Biography” that Roberts was overwhelmed by other factors as well. Dustin Hoffman, it seems, was notoriously snippy, wanting to abide by the rules of method acting, and caused shooting days to stretch hours and hours beyond reason. Also, because Tinkerbell is only a few inches tall, many of Roberts’ scenes were filmed against a green screen, or on outsize sets, often taking her away from her co-stars. It’s easy to feel isolated when you shoot few scenes with other actors. Roberts likely felt lonely, overwhelmed, and worried a lot, and Spielberg wasn’t there to get her back.
Spielberg was likewise overwhelmed by the delays, so he didn’t take the time to make sure Roberts was okay. Instead of talking it out, the director and actress seemingly bickered a lot leading to bad blood and resentment. When Roberts saw the “60 Minutes” interview, it made her mad. Neither Spielberg nor Roberts has said outright that they refuse to work together … but they certainly haven’t since 1991.
Whether or not the two still resent each other is a matter of speculation, and there’s every reason to believe they will bury the hatchet. But until Spielberg casts Roberts in another project, we might assume that they are still feeling a little raw about their “Hook” experience.
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