Oscar winnerJulia Robertsjust might beSam Esmail’s biggest recurring Easter egg.
Robotalready feels as though his numerous projects exist in the same cinematic universe.
“I like that.
Writer-director Sam Esmail and Julia Roberts on set of ‘Leave the World Behind’.JoJo Whilden/NETFLIX
“I’ll just keep showing up.”
Roberts “disarmed that” notion right away, he says.
Thus, a creative partnership was born.
Julia Roberts and Sam Esmail attend the ‘Leave the World Behind’ special screening at The Curzon Mayfair on November 29, 2023 in London.Gareth Cattermole/Getty
Was it all planned?
“The first thing I think is, well, of course not.
We couldn’t have dreamt this,” Roberts tells EW.
Mahershala Ali as G.H., Myha’la Herrold as Ruth, Julia Roberts as Amanda and Ethan Hawke as Clay in ‘Leave the World Behind’.JoJo Whilden/Netflix
Their latest venture just might be their most challenging yet.
It’s a disaster film adapted from Rumaan Alam’s novel of the same name.
They very well could be, but tensions and paranoia run high.
Mahershala Ali and Julia Roberts in ‘Leave the World Behind’.JoJo Whilden/NETFLIX
Adding to the intrigue…somethingwipes out the wifi and phone lines, leaving them all stuck together.
The filmmaker wanted Roberts for the matriarch character, Amanda, to get to channel her humanity.
ByEsmail’s own admission, the character is deeply unlikeable.
She’s anything but America’s Sweetheart, though the character happens to be played by her.
“I mean, I don’t know,” she starts.
“I don’t want to say it doesn’t mean anything…I’m not the only one.
I mean, people love to label.
People love to say, ‘Oh, this isthisperson now, and this isthisperson now.’
So you have to take it with a grain of salt.”
“I’m always looking for something that’s going to be different,” she says.
It’s particularly notable given that Roberts appeared on the show herself.
The actress says she didn’t really think about that connection on set, but her director definitely did.
“I think in the universe of the movie, Amanda is a real person.
She’s not being played by Julia Roberts, so Julia Roberts also exists [in this universe].
But…there might be a slight resemblance,” Esmail says, laughing.
“I love thinking of cinematic universes, and I think that’s always been my interpretation of it.
By the way, I think [Homecoming’s] Heidi Bergman exists in this universe.
It’s so very meta, but I love dorking out about this stuff.”
Are there any plans to add to this little meta cinematic universe?
“We are unable to reveal any of those eggs at this time,” Roberts teases.
Adds Esmail with a knowing smile, “What she said.”
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