![]() ![]() Not just adored, had a stupid, ridiculous crush on. Walter: My whole life, I adored Dennis Quaid - like, from The Big Easy. and they both kind of sat back and narrowed their eyes and looked at me and went, "There’s another role that we think you might want to have a look at it? It’s this valet, butler type and maybe we give you the script, you could just go away, come back in an hour and have a look at that?" And I went, "Yeah, sure, of course." So I did that and I went away and found a coffee place and sat down and had a look at it, read it, and thought, "This is a lot better than one line." I met them at this hotel in London and I just went in and read my one line. It was one scene, but I just went in for the meeting because Nancy and Charles were in town. Simon Kunz (Martin): I actually went in for a one-line role in the film. It’s named after a decorator that Nancy had. There’s nobody named Chessy." It’s not short for anything. ![]() And I had to say to the team, "What the hell is a Chessy? I don’t understand Chessy. Walter: I didn’t know it was Chessy the first time. Lisa Ann Walter, Simon Kunz, and Elaine Hendrix were picked for the roles of housekeeper Chessy, butler Martin, and Nick's fiancée, Meredith, respectively. But by that point, Lindsay was the front-runner, and we were all rooting for her.ĭennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson were chosen early on to play parents Nick Parker and Elizabeth James. Starger: She ultimately tested for the role alongside a few other actresses, all of whom read with Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson on film. Lisa Ann Walter (Chessy): I heard them talking to Dennis about Lindsay, that they had already found somebody in New York, like, "she’s wonderful and she’s precious and she’s got all these freckles and wait till you meet her." Lindsay came in fairly early on in the process. Nancy, Charles, and all of us knew that finding one young actress to play Hallie and Annie would be a daunting task it really was challenging, in terms of finding someone appealing and talented, with intelligence, warmth, and charisma who also seemed "real," and not too polished or too cute or experienced in a show business-y kind of way. and from the U.K., both in person and via submission of videotapes. We auditioned hundreds of girls from the U.S. Ilene Starger (Casting Director): I began casting The Parent Trap out of my New York office in the spring of 1997. Finding Hallie And AnnieĪfter writer-director Meyers and writer-producer Charles Shyer decided to remake 1961's The Parent Trap, auditions to find the new protagonist were held. In honor of The Parent Trap's 20th anniversary, here's an exclusive look at how the beloved movie came to be, complete with insights on prank wars, camping trips, and why we still hate Meredith Blake after all this time. she was just an ebullient young girl who brought the sun with her."Īnd she left with a fan following, a lot of fame, and the ability to do the world's most complicated handshake. Recalls Starger, "She was smart, real, fresh, and utterly charming. It wasn't until then-10-year-old Lohan came into the picture that the filmmakers knew they'd found their lead. Yet despite Barton's talent (she'd go on to get her own breakout role in 1999's The Sixth Sense), she wasn't the right fit, nor were the hundreds of other tween girls who auditioned. "The very first young actress I auditioned was Mischa Barton," casting director Ilene Starger reveals. At this point, it's easy to feel like there's nothing about the film fans don't know, but according to the cast and crew, surprises and The Parent Trap go together like Oreos and peanut butter.įor one, Lohan - who'd go on to become a massive teen star in the years following The Parent Trap - almost wasn't Hallie and Annie at all. Yet, over the last 20 years, Nancy Meyers' comedy about twins separated at birth has become a classic, the movie nostalgic Millennials (and their parents) can't stop watching, quoting, and obsessing over - and now, with the ability to stream the movie, a new generation of viewers is experiencing it for the first time. Well, not quite although The Parent Trap was indeed a success upon its July 29 release, coming in #2 behind Saving Private Ryan, most reviews were pleasant (Breakout star Lindsay Lohan! Those gorgeous houses!), if not glowing (plot holes, much?). On a summer day in 1998, two 11-year-old girls were sent to sleepaway camp - and the world was never the same. ![]()
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