Julie Andrews - Premiere Magazine

RAINDROPS ON ROSES ARE FINE, BUT JULIE ANDREWS IS REALLY ONE OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS.

SO, DAME JULIE, ON THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF YOUR OSCAR-WINNING FILM DEBUT, MARY POPPINS, YOU’RE SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICALLY HOT AGAIN WITH BOTH SHREK 2 AND PRINCESS DIARIES 2: THE ROYAL ENGAGEMENT, ALMOST GUARANTEED SUMMER BLOCKBUSTERS.
I had a wonderful experience the other day with a little girl and her mother. “Do you know this lady?!” the mother asked. “If I said Mary Poppins, would that mean something?” The little girl said [fairly unmoved], “Yeah…” “And if I said The Sound of Music, does that mean something?” “Yeah…” And then the mother said, “And The Princess Diaries? and the little girl LIT up and said, “Oh, cooool!” Princess Diaries is current today, [it’s] a whole new audience—and “Shrek” just seemed like a delicious thing to do. I’m thrilled, what else would I BE?

BUT IS IT EVER A BURDEN BEING THE POP CULTURE ICON OF SWEETNESS AND LIGHT?
Not at all—and it’s BECAUSE of Music and Poppins: I cannot

assume I would be a pop culture icon were it not for those films. I did try, by doing my second movie, The Americanization of Emily, to show I wasn’t just the nanny type, but you’re known for your greatest hits, and though I’m not REALLY “Poppins” and I’m not REALLY Maria von Trapp, people are so hungry for good entertainment they love to go along with it.

THE ONE-TWO PUNCH OF THOSE FILMS WAS NEARLY CANCELED OUT BY THE DISASTROUS ONE-TWO OF STAR! AND DARLING LILI A COUPLE OF YEARS LATER. WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE HUGE AND THEM—BAM!—OUT OF VOGUE?
So many answers come to mind. Mike Nichols once said, “It’s kind of a relief when you get a great flop because then you can start climbing again.” But, you know, it’s amazing that Blake [Edwards, her husband] and I ever stayed together because Darling Lili was our first movie.

BUT HE BEGAN COOKING UP SOME SEXY IMAGE ADJUSTMENTS FOR YOU WITH FILMS LIKE 10, S.O.B., AND VICTOR/VICTORIA. DID YOU WANT TO BE A HOTTIE OR SOMETHIN’?
[laughs] I think you have a fairly sensible idea of what you can offer and what you can’t, and I just don’t think that’s where I was meant to be.

I HAVE A THEORY: YOU COULDN’T EVER REALLY BE A SEXPOT BECAUSE OF YOUR PERFECT DICTION.
[hoots] I’d never thought of it that way! You’re probably right, though—I shall mull over your theory.

NEVERTHELESS, YOU WENT TOPLESS IN S.O.B. VERY JANET JACKSON, JULIE.
Oh, yes, it’s all been done before. [laughs]

THOUGH, AS YOUR S.O.B. CO-STAR ROBERT PRESTON SAID IN THAT FILM, “YOU’VE GOT A TERRIFIC PAIR OF KNOCKERS.” TELL ME, IS THERE JOY IN HAVING THEM FROZEN FOREVER ON CELLULOID?
I thought you were going to say, “Is there any joy in having a terrific pair of knockers? [laughs]

WELL, WHEN S.O.B. CAME OUT, BUMPER STICKERS DID APPEAR IN L.A. THAT READ, “MARY POPPINS IS A FLASHER.” BUT YOU ONCE HAD YOUR OWN SPECIAL BUMPER STICKER, TOO, DIDN’T YOU?
Well, yes. I used to ride around in my youth with a bumper sticker which said, “Mary Poppins is a Junkie.” [laughs] But in the sixties it seemed okay to do that kind of thing—I certainly wouldn’t do it now.

YOU KNOW, SOME STILL FEEL THAT YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND ARE AN ODD COUPLE, BUT—
I don’t get it—Blake is the most charismatic man I’ve ever met and I don’t know how any….[laughs] Well, it’s true; very few ladies COULD resist him in those days.

AND, IN A WAY, AFTER THE JULIE FALLOUT, HE KEPT YOUR CAREER GOING, YES?
We were never mutually exclusive, but to some extent he did. The trouble with early roles like Poppins and Maria, which I would never, ever knock in a million years, but in as much as a producer doesn’t think of you in any other respect, it can be a little off-putting—and, well, Blake, somehow, got the impression that I was capable of a little more than just that.

AND YOU WERE. SO WHAT, AT AGE 68, HAS A LEGENDARY LIFE IN HOLLYWOOD TAUGHT YOU?
That things go round in circles, and every time somebody says, “Oh, they just don’t MAKE that anymore,” you can bet your bottom dollar that it’s probably going to be back in a few years’ time.