Julia Roberts Caught In 'Shakespeare In Love' Feud

Julia Roberts was Hollywood’s star du jour when she showed interest in the project, which was then being developed by producer, Edward Zwick.

Zwick, who was also the director behind Legends of the Fall and Glory, recently penned an essay titled Not to Be for Air Mail detailing the making of the movie – and Roberts’ complicated involvement in it.

First, he revealed that Universal Pictures only agreed to fund the film if Roberts was in it.

“The mere possibility of having the ‘Pretty Woman’ wearing a corseted gown got the studio excited enough to cough up the dough,” Zwick wrote.

Weeks later, he traveled to London with the actress to have her do chemistry reads with the actors being considered for the role of William Shakespeare.

Now, Roberts had her heart set on getting Daniel Day-Lewis cast opposite her, saying he was “brilliant,” “handsome,” “intense,” and “so funny!”

However, the actor told Zwick he had already committed to another film, In the Name of the Father.

Roberts vowed she could “get him to do it” and proceeded to send two dozen roses to him along with a note saying, “Be my Romeo.”

She even had Zwick cancel a round of chemistry reads with other actors because she was so sure the My Left Foot star would say yes.

It didn’t work.

Roberts then had to attend a chemistry read with Ralph Fiennes, and Zwick got candid about what happened that day.

“Even as Ralph did his best to elicit the famous smile, Julia barely acknowledged him,” he wrote. “I’m not suggesting she was deliberately sabotaging, but it was a disaster nonetheless.”

He continued, “I tried to catch Ralph’s eye to apologize as he left but he couldn’t get out of there fast enough. After he was gone, I turned to Julia, awaiting her reaction. ‘He isn’t funny’ is all she said.”

They went through two more weeks of casting, but no one was good enough for Roberts, it seemed.

Among the actors who were considered for the role, Zwick named Hugh Grant, Rupert Graves, Colin Firth, Sean Bean, and Jeremy Northam.

Next, the Mystic Pizza star agreed to read with Paul McGann. She entered the room “in full period costume” and began to say the lines. Then Zwick finally realized what was wrong.

“There was no magic,” he wrote. “The problem wasn’t the script. Or Paul McGann. It was Julia.”

He explained that although he had tried to motivate her, she’d sensed his unease. By the following morning, she’d checked out of her hotel, flown back to the U.S., and left the project.

At that point, Universal had already spent $6 million, sets had been built, and costumes were being created. The studio vowed to get Roberts back on board but failed.

Shakespeare in Love was later completed by Miramax Pictures headed by Harvey Weinstein, with Gwyneth Paltrow as Viola and Joseph Fiennes – Ralph’s brother – as Shakespeare.