Before director Sydney Pollack had come on board, Dustin Hoffman had interviewed more than a hundred actresses for the part of Julie, soap opera co-star and love interest of Dorothy/Michael. Pollack wanted Jessica Lange for the part, and she eventually got it. "The role [of Julie] required that you understand immediately why he's in love with her," Pollack said. "There was never a question why anyone was in love with Marilyn Monroe. She walked in a room and the guy would go – " Pollack made a face "if he had just seen Marilyn Monroe for the first time." "And you shot a close up of him and the audience said, 'That's it, they're in love.' Well, it saves you pages... Jessica Lange had it for me, in 'King Kong' of all things. I made a mental note: There's a movie star."
