Julia Roberts on how George Clooney attracted her to Ticket to Paradise

"That really jumped out to me – just to see him so pathetically in love with me when I've clearly moved on!"

Asked what it was that made him sign up, Clooney responded: "What was so important to me was to be able to work with the queen of sitcoms, the queen of romantic comedies...

"But she couldn't take the job so I worked with Julia instead!"

"Oh you went there," responded Roberts. "And you left just enough time that I thought I was in the free and clear."

Meanwhile, writer and director Ol Parker – whose previous credits include The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again – revealed the movie wouldn't have been made without both Clooney and Roberts.

Asked if he wrote the script with the two leads in mind, he said: "You're entirely right in thinking that – and it was only them.

"So I wouldn't be sitting here, we wouldn't have made the film if it wasn't them. I'd still be writing letters going, 'You don't understand, this needs to be you'.

"So yeah, it was conceived for them and it was written for them and I begged them to do it – and they took mercy on me."

"In fairness, he had some compromising photographs of Julia," joked Clooney.

The film follows divorced couple David (Clooney) and Georgia (Roberts) as they team up and travel to Bali to try to sabotage their daughter's wedding – hoping they'll stop her from making the same mistake they think they made 25 years ago

Ticket to Paradise is released in UK cinemas on 20th September 2022. While you're waiting, visit our Movies hub for more news and features or find something to watch tonight with our TV Guide.

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