Julia Roberts Back With Director Garry Marshall

Rick Bentley - Fresno Bee

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - If history repeats itself, Julia Roberts and director Garry Marshall know what they'll be doing 10 years from now: making a movie together.

Marshall launched Roberts into stardom when he cast her as the hooker with a heart of gold in the 1990 romantic comedy "Pretty Woman." He again gave her career a boost with the 1999 romantic comedy "Runaway Bride." Roberts' latest project with Marshall is the romantic comedy "Valentine's Day," which opens Friday.

Roberts says Marshall loves to work with familiar actors and crew. "Valentine's Day" also stars "Pretty Woman's" Hector Elizondo, and many of the behind-the-scenes people also worked on the 1990 movie.

Much of the star-studded "Valentine's Day" cast has worked with Marshall before. He's known most of the actors - Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Topher Grace, Jamie Foxx, George Lopez - for years.

Those relationships made it easier for Marshall to use a "shorthand" when talking to the actors, something that's designed to speed up the filming.

"If Garry were to say to you as an actor 'Do the thing with the thing and then go over there and be funny. Action.' That would mean 'Sit up straight, smile, look at your co-star, say the lines and be funny. Action,'" Roberts says.

Marshall says that's a "pretty good translation."

Working together over so many years has given Marshall insight into how much he can depend on Roberts. He knows she can have a calming affect on everyone, so he had Roberts and Bradley Cooper film the first scene of the "Valentine's Day" together.

Roberts, who has three children and has been married to Daniel Moder since 2002, says the movie's central theme of love is universal. She calls love "a drug" and jokes that she and Moder are going to celebrate Valentine's Day by "making out the entire 24 hours."

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