Today In Disney History ~ August 6th
Freaky Friday is a 2003 American fantasy-comedy, teen film remake directed by Mark Waters and written by Heather Hach and Leslie Dixon, based on the novel of the same name by Mary Rodgers. It stars Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis as a daughter and mother whose bodies are switched due to a mysterious fortune cookie. It also stars Mark Harmon, Harold Gould, and Chad Michael Murray.
The film was released in theaters on August 6, 2003 by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Pictures. It received generally positive reviews from critics and it earned over $160 million on a $20 million budget. It was Disney’s third film adaptation of the novel, after the 1976 film Freaky Friday starring Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster, and the 1995 TV film Freaky Friday starring Shelley Long and Gaby Hoffmann. It was released on VHS and DVD on December 16, 2003 by Walt Disney Home Video.
The film’s producer Andrew Gunn said he initially hoped Jodie Foster (who played Annabel in the original 1976 Freaky Friday film) would be interested in playing the mother in the remake. She declined in order to spend more time with her family and because of concerns that the stunt casting would overshadow the film’s overall merit. Annette Bening was then cast in the role, but dropped out because of family obligations. Jamie Lee Curtis was given the role only four days before filming began. Lindsay Lohan’s character was originally written as a Goth, but she did not think anyone would relate to that, and decided to dress in a preppy style for her audition. The character ended up being rewritten. Marc McClure, who played Boris Harris, Annabel’s love interest in the original film, has a brief cameo as Boris the delivery man. Director Mark Waters also makes a cameo holding a baby at the wedding. In the end scene when Anna is dancing with Jake, there is a woman in the background dancing with an older gentleman, and she looks directly at the camera. That is Lindsay Lohan’s mother, Dina Lohan. Ryan Shuck coached Jamie Lee Curtis to play the guitar solo for the concert scene. Lohan trained for one year to learn to play the guitar before production. The snapshots in the opening credits are photos of Jamie Lee Curtis and her daughter, Annie Guest. Kelly Osbourne was originally set to play Maddie, but dropped out because she did not want to do a children’s movie. She was replaced by Christina Vidal.
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $22.2 million in 2,954 theaters, finishing second at the box office, behind S.W.A.T. ($37.1 million). The film went on to gross $110.2 million in North America and $50.6 million in other territories for a total of $160.8 million.
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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