All About You Again
Reflecting on their friendship that has inspired both of their creative sides, he continues, “When K-Bell moved to Los Angeles, we did a very successful musical called ‘Sneaux,’ and then for Showtime, we filmed ‘Reefer Madness: The Musical Movie,’ which premiered at Sundance as well as winning an Emmy and the Premiere Jury Award at the Deauville Film Festival. We reunited again for a wonderful breast-cancer benefit called Les Girls, and then she has been tremendously supportive of ‘Heathers: The Musical,’ a project I’ve been developing, by playing the lead in multiple readings.” Why so much work together?
Director Fickman smiles, “K-Bell and I just simply click when it comes to our sense of humor; she is a wonderful muse for me.”
As for teaming on “You Again,” Fickman admits, “K-Bell and I had been looking for something to work on, so when this script came to me, I saw K-Bell in the lead. That was a major enticement.”
Regarding her relationship with Andy Fickman, Kristen Bell, whose popularity is rising, thanks to her roles in such comedies as “Couples Retreat” and “When in Rome,” acknowledges, “Andy was the one who convinced me to move to Los Angeles. I don’t think I would’ve done it if I had not known him.”
As for collaborating on this comedy, Bell confesses, “I owe Andy, but man, he put me through the wringer on this movie! Marni had a variety of injuries—ant bites, falls, trips, you name it!”
Thanks to Moe Jelline’s script, Director Andy Fickman’s enthusiasm and the immediate casting of Kristen Bell as Marni, it was only a matter of weeks before the rest of the cast was assembled.
Joining Kristen Bell are Golden Globe winner Jamie Lee Curtis, Golden Globe winner Sigourney Weaver, multi-Emmy-nominated Victor Garber, Emmy-winning Betty White and Emmy-winning Kristin Chenoweth.
Jamie Lee Curtis offers, “Andy explained that he tried to cast as if everyone is a lead in this movie, even if we are really just supporting parts. He chose everyone and he knew exactly what all these people were going to bring.”
Regarding landing Jamie Lee Curtis for the role of Gail, Director/Producer Fickman maintains, “Jamie was my first actress to pursue following locking down K-Bell. We spent hours talking about the material, and much of what we discussed that initial day made it to the shooting script. She is fearless, willing to try anything, a real joy—the ultimate collaborator!”
Then Sigourney Weaver—Oscar-nominated for “Gorillas in the Mist,” “Working Girl” and “Aliens” and recently seen in the blockbuster “Avatar”—agreed to play the key role of Ramona.
Andy Fickman smiles, “Directing Sigourney Weaver was a dream come true! I had to pretend very hard every day not to be some stalker fan of hers. Plus, she autographed a Ripley photo for me, so I am pretty much happy for life.”
Sigourney Weaver has her take on the energetic director Andy Fickman too: “He is the only director I know who seemed to love all of us as a cast and all of our individual characters at the same time. He had us all out each day singing and dancing. It was hysterical. He is a sweetheart!”
Victor Garber—a veteran stage, television and feature-film actor who most recently was in the critically acclaimed “Milk”—plays Mark, the patriarch of the Olsen family. Fickman praises, “I have been a huge fan of Victor’s from ‘Godspell’ to ‘Alias’; he is amazing! He took a character that easily could have gotten overshadowed in this household and grounded him in reality; from there sprang comedy and heart.”
Garber offers, “The rapport between the cast evolved, thanks to Andy Fickman, who from the very first day set the tone. The bottom line: We all really enjoyed each other. I think that’s going to translate onto film.”
Smiling, he admits, “I didn’t expect to have as good a time as I’ve had on this film. That’s been a real delight for me!” Betty White was always the first choice for the role of Grandma Bunny. During filming, Director Fickman would gleefully announce, “Ladies and gentlemen… Betty White!” every time she stepped on set or while waiting between setups if she was around. Cast and crew would happily applaud her presence because she was a breath of fresh air. Fickman gushes, “Betty White is a goddess! She is a national treasure! I want to do every movie with her! No one is funnier than she is—on camera and off. She kept the cast and crew laughing every day. Her generous heart and spirit is matched by her beauty and grace. We were all blessed to have a chance to work with her; I can’t wait to do it again!”
Regarding being in “You Again,” Betty White, who was in last year’s hit romantic comedy “The Proposal” offers, “This is a nice family comedy that we don’t have too many of. It’s silly! Andy Fickman is wonderful because he gets silly. He kept us all on a very light tone.” She grins, “Plus, he’s just as nutty as the rest of us!”
Emmy Award–winning Kristin Chenoweth (“Pushing Daisies”) joined as over-the-top wedding planner Georgia King. Director Fickman jokes, “Since I am a Texan and she is from Oklahoma, which is like Texas adjacent, we were two Southerners who got along like pigs in mud. I don’t think there is anyone on the set that I bonded with as quickly as I did with Cheno.”
More contemplative, he reveals, “Cheno created a character almost from scratch. She is such a powerhouse of talent that she infused her character with comedy and heart and made Georgia King jump out of the page.”
Kristin Chenoweth says, “Andy Fickman is an incredibly special gift to the world of filmmaking. What he does is create a theater camp: two weeks of rehearsals before we ever started, which is a luxury in this business. Andy has the sense for being a leader, but never ever condescends or talks down to anyone. He respects everybody on the same level.”
Rounding out the ensemble are relative newcomers Odette Yustman, James Wolk, Sean Wing, Billy Unger and Kyle Bornheimer.
Finding the right actress to play Joanna, the arch nemesis of Kristen Bell’s, was crucial to the success of the movie. The part went to Odette Yustman, nicknamed Odie, whom some might remember from J.J. Abrams’ sci-fi thriller “Cloverfield.”
Yustman admits, “I had never done romantic comedy before, but I really wanted to and told that to Andy when I met him. Then through the auditioning process I was able to read with Kristen Bell, where we had great chemistry, and then I had a screen test. Before I knew it, they called me and I landed the part!”
As for choosing Odette Yustman, Andy Fickman remembers, “We met some wonderful actresses for the role of Joanna. The competition was stiff. Yet the minute I first met with Odie, I knew there was something special about her. Even though she hadn’t done comedy before, it was obvious that Odie is a natural-born comedic talent. By the time she screen-tested, it was clear that the role was hers.”
Now that filming is done and she can reflect back on the experience, Yustman explains, “Andy built a foundation for us; he made a safe zone, which is important in comedy. With Andy you could try anything and he accepted it, but then he also let you know when it didn’t work. He made it clear we’re not curing cancer; we’re making a movie and having fun.”
James Wolk, who has only been in Los Angeles for a year, landed the key role of the groom, Will. “The minute I met with Jimmy, I felt I was meeting with a future movie star. His charming manner, his easy laugh and his looks all add up,” comments Fickman.
As for getting the role, Director Fickman adds, “Jimmy had to test with both K-Bell and Odie. Yet he was the only actor, when finished, that both actresses told me was The One.”
Regarding his involvement in such a group effort, Wolk offers, “This ensemble was wonderful to be around. I just loved watching everyone and learning from them and soaking up what they were doing. It was amazing to step up to the plate and act with them!”
Sean Wing, also new to Hollywood, was cast as Charlie, Will’s best friend and a potential love interest for Marni. Fickman says,
“Sometimes you meet an actor and know immediately that you want to work with them. That’s how it went when I sat down with Sean. It was clear when he auditioned with K-Bell that the part was his.”
Reflecting about being surrounded by this ensemble, Wing offers, “It’s been amazing. To enter a room where you look to your right and there is Jamie Lee Curtis and you look to your left and there’s Sigourney Weaver, and then you look straight ahead and there’s Betty White, it’s amazing. I grew up with these actors. It’s been really an extraordinary experience.”
The role of Tim fell into the lap of Kyle Bornheimer, who co-stars in ABC’s upcoming sitcom “Romantically Challenged.”
Director Andy Fickman discloses, “It was perhaps the singular trickiest role to cast. A lot of really funny actors auditioned, but none found the role of Tim as spot-on as Kyle did. We wanted to cast him the minute he auditioned, so we changed the role to specifically match his interpretation from the audition.” Once he was working with Kyle Bornheimer, Fickman divulges, “The biggest challenge with Kyle came from the other actors trying to keep a straight face when working with him!”
As for being in the movie, Bornheimer, who plays the unfortunate Tim, smirks, “No one’s ever completely happy to see Tim, so that made my entrances and exits fun.”
Regarding working with Herr Direktor Andy Fickman, Bornheimer compliments, “Andy has amazing comic sensibility and keeps the atmosphere electric so that we’re all bouncing ideas off of each other nonstop. We don’t move on until we have the funniest moment.”
Last but not least, key to the Olsen family is 14-year-old Billy Unger, who plays Ben, the youngest sibling. Director Fickman admits,
“Casting kids is a challenge. I have been very lucky in my last several movies that my kid actors have been amazing, so my bar was raised very high. During the majority of casting I was disappointed in our options. The kids were talented; they just weren’t Ben. That changed, though, in a single moment when Billy auditioned. Without giving him a single note, he was Ben. He also happened to be a spectacular kid on set.”
The youngest of the ensemble cast, Unger considers, “Working with these actors has been the most amazing experience. It’s been like the best acting academy I could have ever taken over the summer. Every single day that I was on set, I learned something new. It was like we all went on a ride together, going wherever we felt the characters would go, making it real, making it natural, making it funny.”
“You Again” has many fun cameos, with most set to be surprises for the audience as the story unfolds. Here’s a sneak peek at one: Patrick Duffy, recognized as Bobby Ewing from the hit series “Dallas,” has a small role as Richie, owner of a local restaurant in the small Northern Californian town. This small role in “You Again” marks Duffy’s first time working in a feature film.
Andy Fickman explains, “We needed to find an actor that both Jamie Lee and Sigourney would have fought over in high school, who was still as charming today as he was back then. No one fit the bill better than Patrick Duffy.”
The other cameos are closely guarded secrets meant to be discovered by the viewing audience. It’s just one more reason why “You Again” is one of those family comedies that viewers will want to see again and again.
To contrast the differences in the women’s clothes was key. Costume Designer Genevieve Tyrrell, who previously teamed up with Andy Fickman on “The Game Plan” and “Race to Witch Mountain,” offers, “We tried to create an antithesis in wardrobe between the women.” She continues, “When we first meet Ramona, as played by Sigourney Weaver, she shows up wearing her beautiful Burberry trench coat, a Hermes bag, a beautiful pair of trousers, beautiful blouse and H Stern Jewelry, and then Gail, as played by Jamie Lee Curtis, is in a Polo shirt and a jean skirt, so she instantly feels inferior.”
As for the two younger women, Costume Designer Tyrrell considers, “Odette’s character always needed to be the counterpoint to Kristen’s Marni. When they first meet, I think the contrasts really are sold when Marni walks in with her sophisticated, L.A.-looking wardrobe and Joanna’s just in something really simple—wearing a tank top, jean shorts and flip-flops—and still looks gorgeous and stunning.”
Another key wardrobe moment is at the rehearsal dinner where Gail and Ramona show up in the same dress. Tyrrell explains, “There’s this moment where Gail is wearing this fabulous dress, standing very proud, her husband is giving her catcalls, her kids are astounded, and then Ramona walks up from behind, taps her on the shoulder and gives her that ‘Who wore it best’ line. Gail is just so deflated. To help emphasize the difference, even though both are wearing the same dress, we outfitted Sigourney Weaver with high-end accessories and shoes that are Manolo Blahniks—definitely a moment of fashion angst for Jamie Lee Curtis’ character!”
As for finding that dress, Costume Designer Tyrrell concedes, “That was the most daunting thing out of the gate. I needed to find a dress that would work for both Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver that both looked amazing in despite that they’re very different women with different figures.”
She continues, “Then I found this dress that David Meister designed. He was very interested in coming on board and ended up making these dresses for us in the color we chose.”
As for working for Kristen Bell, Costume Designer Tyrrell admits, “Kristen loves fashion. She’s very specific about who she’s into. She really likes Phillip Lim and a number of other designers that fit her.”
The other key person that was all about fashion was Kristin Chenoweth as Georgia King, the “wedding-extraordinator.”
Costume Designer Tyrrell reveals, “When we meet her, she is wearing this ‘Dancing With the Stars’-inspired, Swavorski hand-beaded dress that we created, which makes this astounding entrance that just wows the family. Then at the bridal shower she is wearing this mermaid-inspired turquoise dress with shoes that have fish skeletons with crystals to emphasize that ‘under the sea’ theme. Next, at the rehearsal dinner Kristin has this cute little Versace dress with hearts on it, and then at the wedding she wears this silver dress with beading and piano fringe that matches the décor of the room she’s inhabiting.”
She ends, “Everything Kristin wears is just amazing, fun, inspired and calculated.”
As filming progressed, everyone kept commenting upon how music seemed to be a recurring part of the story—from the first cheer that Gail and Joanna do in the living room, to the samba lessons at the dance studio, to the final surprise of the band that plays the favorite song of the newlyweds.
Director / Producer Andy Fickman proposes, “When you have a movie starring Kristen Bell, Victor Garber, Sean Wing, James Wolk, Christine Lakin and Kristin Chenoweth—all veterans of musical theater, if you don’t throw in two or three musical numbers, you are being wasteful!”
Jamie Lee Curtis predicts, “The fun is that people will discover in the middle of this movie, there’s a musical. I didn’t even realize it until I got to rehearsals. I read two written lines that stated ‘they do a cheer,’ and it turned out to be a three-minute dance number! I was not expecting that while reading the script, and what’s going to be fun for the audience is that they’re going to be pleasantly surprised as well.”
Choreographer Mary Ann Kellogg worked closely with the cast. Her past experience includes traveling with the Twyla Tharp Dance Company as well as more recently choreographing dance sequences for the hit series “Mad Men” and “True Blood.” She also had help from Christine Lakin, who plays one of the former cheerleaders.
Lakin offers, “This is my fourth film with Andy Fickman, and it always seems like music is a big part of his movies. Even when they are not musicals, he sneakily gets them to be musicals, but that makes it fun. I was lucky enough to be assistant choreographer.” She continues, “People don’t burst into song, but it is fun to see actors like Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver do something that they normally don’t do in all their movies, like the dancing, and watch them do it together.”
Regarding the rehearsals, Lakin says, “I can’t say enough about how hard Sigourney Weaver and Kyle Bornheimer worked on their samba. They were in there probably every other day for a month, just working on their own pieces and really wanting to make their characters look a certain way and do it with ease. I think they pulled it off beautifully!”
Sigourney Weaver admits, “Kyle and I have a big dance duet together and it was so much fun rehearsing with him. I’ve never been at dance rehearsal where you practice and practice and practice, but it was so much fun. It was one of the great things about doing this movie.”
Kristin Chenoweth, a renowned Broadway performer, offers, “I love the dancing part of this movie! My character makes her entrance at the dance studio, where she is to teach the family the steps of the samba. Of course, most have left feet—except the happy couple who are getting married.”
Chenoweth continues, “What ends up happening is, there is dance-off between the two more mature ladies—Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver—and the two younger ladies—Kristen Bell and Odette Yustman.”
She grins, “It’s very funny to see women of a certain age who then retreat and act like they’re back in high school!”
Kristen Bell, who is part of the dance-off, comments, “Believe it or not, not many of us could actually accomplish this samba dance, so what you see in the scene, the funny-ness, is us missing beats and skipping steps which is actually real. In reality, that dance stuff on film is more a documentary.”
“You Again” has all the ingredients for being a hit family comedy: familiar family situations—an upcoming wedding, rivalries, high school nemeses—and lots of music, combined with slapstick comedy that will make people laugh out loud. The talented director and his great ensemble cast enjoyed making the movie, and that sense of fun will come through on the big screen when it is released.
Director Andy Fickman considers, “The movie really crosses gender and age. Everyone has people in their past who caused them some form of distress. Add to that mix the notion of getting the family together during an already stressful time of a wedding, and you have all the ingredients needed for comedy.”
Jamie Lee Curtis says, “I think what people are going to find is that you will leave this movie absolutely on a higher note than when you walked into the theater. And in this time in the world, that’s a real special experience.”
Sigourney Weaver comments, “There’s so many ways that this movie will reach you. Even though there is a lot of broad comedy, this story tackles real feelings people have left over from the struggles of high school, lost friendships and missed chances. It’s a story that resonates with all of us.”
Victor Garber adds, “This is a story about people who find their way to a place of forgiveness and acceptance. There’s a sweetness and heart to this movie that will appeal to many different demographics, and it’s an escapist kind of comedy with some really funny things happening based in reality.”
Kristin Chenoweth, who has conquered Broadway, mastered television and created a following from her feature work, offers, “I love how in this movie you see every person really grow and evolve. That’s a great lesson for anybody, no matter what your age.”
Kristen Bell elaborates, “This movie hits all the demographics. Just from the visitors we have had to the set, like our friends and family, we’ve learned that the 13-year-olds are just as interested in what is going on as are the 65-year-olds.”
Director/Producer Andy Fickman ends, “I think audiences will find themselves relating to so many of the situations—and will love watching these actors wind themselves up.” He grins, “Plus, we have singing and dancing and Chopper, the adorable dog.”
“This will be a movie the entire family can enjoy. Laughter is a great equalizer, and I think in ‘You Again’ we show audiences a family and family dynamic they all can relate to.” — Andy Fickman
You Again (2010)
Directed by: Andy Fickman
Starring: Kristen Bell, Odette Yustman, Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis, Betty White, Kristin Chenoweth, Victor Garber, Kyle Bornheimer, Meagan Holder, Christine Lakin, Anna A. White
Screenplay by: Moe Jelline
Production Design by: Craig Stearns
Cinematography by: David Hennings
Film Editing by: Keith Brachmann, David Rennie
Costume Design by: Genevieve Tyrrell
Set Decoration by: Jan Pascale
Art Direction by: Charlie Daboub
MPAA Rating: PG for brief mild language and rude behavior.
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: September 24, 2010
