Jules Rules!

allaboutjulie:

A Busy Future

A professional since she was 12, Julie Andrews feel equally at home with comedy, drama and musicals.

In addition to starring in Mary Poppins, The Americanization of Emily and The Sound of Music, she has been signed at $700,000 to act the female lead in Hawaii from the novel by James Michene. After that she goes to work in Private Eye, a film derived from a one-act London stage hit. Then she does The Gertrude Lawrence Story, at which time her agent expects to ask either $1 million per picture for her services or 10 percent of the gross from the first dollar.

Whether or not she wins the Oscars tomorrow night, Julie Andrews is currently the most sough-after actress in Hollywood.

“In all honesty,” she says, “it’s happened so fast, it’s all been so hectic, I just don’t have the time to absorb the meaning of success. I know that at this moment I’ve got the best of all possible worlds.

“I’ve got a beautiful daughter (Emma Kate, 2 1/2), a marvelous and talented husband. I’m so proud of Tony (Walton). He was also nominated for an Academy Award. He did the production design on Mary Poppins. And I’ve got a burgeoning career. For an actress, to be busy, to be in demand, to enjoy what she’s doing - that’s the nicest thing of all.

“I’ve just finished a TV special for NBC. I’m about to start rehearsals on Hawaii. I couldn’t be busier, and certainly, I couldn’t be happier.”

A well-bred young Englishwoman (birthplace - Walton-on-Thames; birth date - October 1, 1935) who’s learned to control her emotions, Julie is widely loved in Hollywood because she works hard, treats her co-workers with dignity and courtesy. She never gripes, pulls rank, indulges in outbursts of temperament. By nature an optimist, she is sure her current project will turn out well. She is not, however, a Pollyanna.

Bob Stevenson, who directed her in Mary Poppins says, “What you have in Julie is a pro. She does her work, minds her own business, appears to be completely without malice or hostility, which is rather rare in film circles. When she comes on stage she always brings the sun with her. Nevertheless she is fortright and capable of speaking her mind. The one thing she does not want to do in life is hurt anyone.”

When Warner Brothers three years ago refused even to test her for My Fair Lady, Julie said, “Of course, I’m disappointed. I’d even be blazing mad if anyone but Audrey Hepburn got the part. But who can be angry at that sort of casting? It’s absolutely perfect.”

It was a typical British example of good sportsmanship, but underneath the stiff upper lip, Julie was hurt. A few weeks ago, when foreign press gave her its award for her performance in Mary Poppindsm she simple couldn’t resist the temptation to chide Jack Warner, also at the dinner.

“I’d like to thank the man,” she said, “who made it all possible - Jack Warner.”

The resulting applause was deafening. Mr. Warner is not a man who is deeply loved or admired in Hollywood. In many quarters it was suggested that Julie Andrews’ nomination for an Oscar was more a negative vote against him than it was a positive vote for the actress’ work in Poppins.

When I suggested that possibility to Julie, she said quickly, “Oh, I hope not. I truly hope not. I like to think that I was nominated because of the good work I did, good work recognized by my colleagues rather than because they were angry at someone else and felt I had been treated unfairly.”

Tomorrow night the newspaper photographers at the Academy Awards should have a field day if the Oscar predictions come true. Audrey Hepburn has agreed to fly in from Switzerland to present an Oscar to the winning actor, who will probably be Rex Harrison, for his work in My Fair Lady. Jack Warner will undoubtedly accept the Oscar for the best production, again My Fair Lady. And Julie Andrews should win the best actress award, for Mary Poppins.

Thus, when the shindig is all over, the lens boys will have available for backstage-posing Rex Harrison with his leading lady of the stageplay, Julie; his leading lady of the screenplay, Audrey; plus Jack Warner.

Were American players involved, it could be an embarassing melange. But not with the British. They major in savoir-faire, and everyone will prove most charming, even Jack Warner.

Each year the Academy Awards diminish in importance. The major reason is that the motion picture is no longer the number one mass entertainment medium. Television has usurped in Lorne Greene of Bonanza than they are in Rex Harrison of My Fair Lady. Week after week they see Greene for nothing.

The players, however, still continue to have a high regard for Oscar, because it is voted to them by the 2,800 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, who supposedly know a great performance when they see one.

“To win an Oscar,” says Julie, “for my very first screen role - I don’t even like to think about it, because if I don’t get it, then I’m inviting disappointment. I’m so thrilled even to have been nominated for Mary Poppins. If I’d been given the chance to play Eliza on the screen, who knows, many of the members might have said to themselves, “Why of course, she’s good. Why shouldn’t she be? She’s been playing the part for years. It’s second nature to her.” So, you see, it’s best to let well enough alone.

“It’s like my nose. For years I was very concious about my nose because it’s kind of large. One day I said to my husband, “Oh, I think I’ll have something done to it.” And he said, ‘You do, and I’ll divorce you. It’s the best nose you can possibly have. It’s the kind of nose that doesn’t disappear on the stage. It stands out from the scenery. Most noses just get lost. Let well enough alone.” That put it all right with me, and I’ve been following that policy ever since.”