# Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell in "Hook" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2013, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030 "2013-12-11T00:48:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hottius\_Maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hottius\_Maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hottius_Maximus)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/1 "2013-12-11T00:48:43Z")
Years ago a friend of mine mentioned to me that for some reason after the first day of shooting, Steven Spielberg was very displeased with Julia Roberts on the set, so much so that Spielberg spent that night rewriting the script to limit Tinkerbell’s appearances in the movie. Has this ever been confirmed? What exactly did Julia Roberts allegedly do to infuriate Spielberg so much that he supposedly lost sleep over trying to practically write her out of the script? ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/2 "2013-12-11T00:51:57Z")
It wasn’t that she was infuriating. She’d just had a big breakup with her fiance Keith Sutherland, and it left her weepy. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/3 "2013-12-11T01:04:30Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > It wasn’t that she was infuriating. She’d just had a big breakup with her fiance Keith Sutherland, and it left her weepy. Perhaps you mean Keifer Sutherland. Though I think you’re wrong anyway, Wikipedia says it was Dylan McDermott. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/4 "2013-12-11T01:40:43Z")
Here’s what I’m remembering (from Wiki): Julia Roberts met Sutherland in 1990, when they co-starred in Flatliners. In August 1990, Roberts and Sutherland announced their engagement, with an elaborate studio-planned wedding scheduled for 14 June 1991. Roberts broke the engagement three days before the wedding allegedly because Sutherland had been meeting with a stripper named Amanda Rice. Sutherland denied having an affair with Rice and said that they only met because he liked to play pool. On the day of what was supposed to be their wedding, Roberts went to Ireland with Sutherland’s friend Jason Patric. \*Hook \*came out in December 1991, and filming began in February 1991. So you can see where this happening during production caused Julia to wig out and need hospitalization. I do see that Spielberg did nickname her “Tinkerhell”. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/5 "2013-12-11T03:36:44Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Perhaps you mean Keifer Sutherland. Though I think you’re wrong anyway, Wikipedia says it was Dylan McDermott. On that day, you mean. She’s shagged pretty much everything in pants working in Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/6 "2013-12-11T06:04:57Z")
If I had seen that movie, I wouldn’t have clapped to save Tink’s life. Because sometimes I can be a real prick. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/7 "2013-12-11T06:38:09Z")
I thought she did pretty well. Maybe not great, but well. The scene where she and Pan are the same size was a powerful one. To me, it showed the essential amorality of fairies. Tink was on the verge of getting what she wanted, even though it was the farthest thing from what Pan really wanted. It is a nice treatment of what Barrie himself said about fairies: “Fairies have to be one thing or the other, because being so small they unfortunately have room for one feeling only at a time.” ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/8 "2013-12-11T12:32:58Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Here’s what I’m remembering (from Wiki): > > Julia Roberts met Sutherland in 1990, when they co-starred in Flatliners. In August 1990, Roberts and Sutherland announced their engagement, with an elaborate studio-planned wedding scheduled for 14 June 1991. Roberts broke the engagement three days before the wedding allegedly because Sutherland had been meeting with a stripper named Amanda Rice. Sutherland denied having an affair with Rice and said that they only met because he liked to play pool. On the day of what was supposed to be their wedding, Roberts went to Ireland with Sutherland’s friend Jason Patric. > > \*Hook \*came out in December 1991, and filming began in February 1991. So you can see where this happening during production caused Julia to wig out and need hospitalization. I do see that Spielberg did nickname her “Tinkerhell”. It sounds to me like all the drama happened well after filming was over. That explanation doesn’t quite work for me. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/9 "2013-12-11T13:02:04Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > It sounds to me like all the drama happened well after filming was over. That explanation doesn’t quite work for me. And like most Kiefer Sutherland drama, it sounds like it all happened in 24 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/10 "2013-12-11T14:36:22Z")
I recall hearing that filming was difficult for Roberts, because she did nearly all of it solo on a bare greenscreen stage (probably bluescreen in that era, thinking about it). Not excusing her reported behavior and I don’t much care for her as an actress, but I can see that weeks and weeks of emoting and doing flying-rig work without any real acting or interaction could get wearing. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/11 "2013-12-11T16:36:36Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I thought she did pretty well. Maybe not great, but well. The scene where she and Pan are the same size was a powerful one. > > To me, it showed the essential amorality of fairies. Tink was on the verge of getting what she wanted, even though it was the farthest thing from what Pan really wanted. > > It is a nice treatment of what Barrie himself said about fairies: “Fairies have to be one thing or the other, because being so small they unfortunately have room for one > feeling only at a time.” That comes off far better in the [2003 Peter Pan film](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan_(2003_film)). At one point Tinker Bell tries - and nearly succeeds - to get the Lost Boys to murder Wendy. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/12 "2013-12-11T16:37:50Z")
A college professor of mine told a story about Roberts on the set of _Hook_. Most of her work on the film was shot on a green screen soundstage, so she was the only actress on the set. Since everything revolved around her, every single crewman had to deal with her demands. After a few bad days, an exasperated and thirsty Julia screamed, “Who do I have to fuck to get a glass of water around here!?” before storming off. The following day a line with everyone on the crew, each holding a glass of water, greeted her outside her dressing room door. ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/13 "2013-12-11T17:33:01Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > The scene where she and Pan are the same size was a powerful one. I read somewhere that the scene was only written in because Roberts was a prima donna bitch and demanded at least one scene on screen with another actor. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/14 "2013-12-11T21:25:41Z")
I guess we can add movies to sausages and legislation! (BTW, anyone familiar with Paul Chadwick’s “Concrete: Fragile Creature”? An amusing comic-book view of the making of a movie, from the point of view of a super-powered individual… Strange conflux of ideas. But nicely informative on some of the details of the craft.) ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/15 "2013-12-11T21:45:50Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > I read somewhere that the scene was only written in because Roberts was a prima donna bitch and demanded at least one scene on screen with another actor. That doesn’t strike me as such a ludicrous request. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/16 "2013-12-12T03:07:14Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > That doesn’t strike me as such a ludicrous request. It is when you signed on to play Tinkerbell the tiny fairy. A friend read an interview with Roberts where she said that she suffered a miscarriage around the time of filming and so appreciated the time alone to mourn. Don’t know if that’s true, or a way for her to explain bad behavior, or what. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/17 "2013-12-12T15:26:43Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I recall hearing that filming was difficult for Roberts, because she did nearly all of it solo on a bare greenscreen stage (probably bluescreen in that era, thinking about it). Not excusing her reported behavior and I don’t much care for her as an actress, but I can see that weeks and weeks of emoting and doing flying-rig work without any real acting or interaction could get wearing. It shows in the final product. Anytime I watch this and her parts come on I feel like I’m suddenly watching another movie. When she’s blathering on about who knows what I half expect Robin William to look behind himself and ask “Who is she talking to?” ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/18 "2013-12-12T16:09:23Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I recall hearing that filming was difficult for Roberts, because she did nearly all of it solo on a bare greenscreen stage (probably bluescreen in that era, thinking about it). Not excusing her reported behavior and I don’t much care for her as an actress, but I can see that weeks and weeks of emoting and doing flying-rig work without any real acting or interaction could get wearing. Oh, boo hoo for her. For what she gets paid, she should be on her knees thanking her lucky stars she’s not cleaning someone’s toilet for a living. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/19 "2013-12-12T18:54:38Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > Oh, boo hoo for her. For what she gets paid, she should be on her knees thanking her lucky stars she’s not cleaning someone’s toilet for a living. Too bad human nature doesn’t work that way at all. You ever get pissy at your job? You could be subsistence farming in China you ungrateful jerk! See? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030/20 "2013-12-12T20:56:17Z")
Whatever was the issue, by multiple accounts she was horrible to work with and took her problems out on Spielberg and the whole crew over the course of many days and weeks. I can understand having a bad day or two, but this wasn’t that. Roberts doesn’t exactly have a superb reputation for being easy to work with from other movies, either. For example, she reportedly forced reshoots for one scene in _Ocean’s 11_ because she decided a week later she didn’t like her dress. I should mention that she’s a good actress and likeable on screen. It’s not like she’s Sean Young. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julia-roberts-as-tinkerbell-in-hook/676030.md?page=2)