You can unsubscribe at any time. Where are those four characters now: Melanie, Jake, Andrew, and Melanie Lynskey's character, Lurlynn? This was first film to shoot in New York City after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. Tennant said Parks had a dog who would jump in the water and fetch rocks that were at the bottom. The Carmichael Plantation, which Melanie tells the reporter is her childhood home, is the Oak Hill Berry Museum, a historic landmark in Georgia which is near the campus of Berry College in Rome, Georgia. Lucas: I was scared of being famous. During that time, he was offered "Sweet Home Alabama.". paul pion cantor net worth. In her recollection, her initial response was negative: "[Clydie King] said the song was 'Sweet Home Alabama.' Thanks to the on-screen chemistry between Witherspoon and Lucas that fuels the movie along with the great supporting cast that included Fred Ward, Jean Smart, Melanie Lynskey, Ethan Embry, Mary Kay Place, and a very young Dakota Fanning "Sweet Home Alabama" has become a beloved rom-com classic. Show 1 more answer. When Reese is leaving the dog cemetery, she brushes against one of the tombstones that has a stone dog on the top of it, yet as she walks past the dog begins to rock back and forth - clearly this is not a stone headstone. Neil Young pays tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ronnie Van Zant: Alabama / Sweet Home Alabama - 11-12-77. The home that Melanie tries to pass off as her childhood home, the Carmichael Plantation, is actually the Oak Hill Berry Museum, which is a historic landmark in Georgia. Sweet Home Alabama was the first film allowed to shoot in New York City after the September 11, 2001 attacks. I haven't seen her in years. I don't like my words when I listen to it. (01:36:20), Revealing mistake: When Reese is leaving the dog cemetery, she brushes against one of the tombstones that has a stone dog on the top of it, yet as she walks past the dog begins to rock back and forth - clearly this is not a stone headstone. 26 3. It was funny on paper and then when we shot it, when Josh says Melanie Carmichael is dead and you cut to Mary Kay with that reaction that her daughter is dead it was just like, Who thought this was funny? Apparently, I did., Tennant continued, When we showed it to a test audience the whole room was just like, What the fk! The audience loved the movie up until that shot. Reese Witherspoon was just coming off the success of "Legally Blonde" when she agreed to play the southern troublemaker turned New York City fashion designer Melanie Carmichael. Pet cemeteries, just like human, have sturdy stone headstones to withstand the elements, not plastic. Jake announces, "Melanie Carmichael is dead" but then a few seconds later he says, "Long live Felony Melanie." Everyone is in shock. THEN AND NOW: The cast of 'Sweet Home Alabama' 20 years later. We shot it at the actual Tiffany's in New York City. Tennant: I don't know how anybody deals with fame, I really don't. Jake pulls her away and tells her to go home, back to New York City. Josh has that kind of charisma and star power that's rare. Reference: Quiz: Sweet Quiz Alabama . During the end credits some photos are shown with the cast. Design and text 1996 - 2023 Jon Sandys. Despite the cognitive dissonance that Jewel's glossy cover of Skynryd's title track causes, it's actually not a bad reworking of the Southern rock classic into an adult alternative single. These numbers may not look so striking now, but they were, in the context of 17 years ago, really quite something. It's a joke.". Question: In the scene where Jake is driving Andrew to find Melanie, he tells the story about the cat. Welcome to Sweet Home Alabama Road Sign in Alabama USA, Entering Sweet Home Alabama Road Highway Welcome Sign, Sweet home alabama welcome sign at rest area stop off highway, Welcome Sign to Sweet Home Alabama Road along Interstate 10 Photo Image, Aerial photo Welcome to Sweet Home Alabama USA, Alabama We Dare Defend Our Rights State Motto, George Wallace Plaque Alabama Visitors Center, Old used ticket for the concert of Lynyrd Skynyrd at Shoreline Amphitheatre. Boo! There were moments where I felt it was an incredible blessing and other times, like that paparazzi incident, were terrifying. Trivia: During the film's original outdoor reception Jake carries Melanie, who feigns death after having supposedly been struck by a lightening bolt, towards the wedding guests. I was not someone who yearned to be famous and there was a point where I did see a shift. I hadn't seen it since around the time it first came out. I would love to do a "Sweet Home Alabama 2.". And she told me how a former boyfriend had proposed there. So I think there was an intensity to the work experience that I think in some ways Andy was able to utilize. We all talked about accents and stuff in terms of toning ithaving a gentle, subtle, quiet element to it. Arthur Bremer may or may not have been a yankee but he sure destroyed whatever chance Wallace had to be president. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in a hole, but just how deep is it? Ed Araquel/Netflix. Jake and Melanie do this as a practical joke. Lucas is from Arkansas and Witherspoons from Tennessee, but theyve since moved away and lost most of their accents. She is a director's dream. Engaged to Andrew, the son of New York City's mayor, Melanie knows she has to go home to Pigeon Creek, Ala., and face her past before her . And then that Friday the movie opened and Sunday I started getting calls from my agent telling me how huge the movie opened. The script was just as bad as I thought it was before, but I thought the idea was great. I don't know if anybody else wanted me, and I mean Disney (which released the movie by its then theatrical distribution arm, Buena Vista Pictures) and everyone from the power positions. Melanie visits Jake, who has repeatedly refused to sign divorce papers over the years since she left for New York. The plot of the film revolved around the life of Melanie, a successful fashion designer. Jake and Melanie do this as a practical joke. Not many people have heard of a bologna cake the idea to include it in the film came from one of the script re-writers who actually had this happen when he got engaged to his fiancee from Indiana. Sweet Home Alabama is a romantic comedy starring Reese Witherspoon, Patrick Dempsey and Josh Lucas. "[13] "The line 'We all did what we could do' is sort of ambiguous," Al Kooper notes, "'We tried to get Wallace out of there' is how I always thought of it. I still like the plaque that hangs here in my office that says I'm an honorary member of the Alabama State Militiasigned personally by George C. Sure, the man had his flaws. Roll credits. It was released in the United States on September 27, 2002, by Buena Vista Pictures. Pop Market DiscogsPop culture, or popular culture, is the collection of ideas, opinions, and images popular within a culture at a given time. Sign up for notifications from Insider! All rights reserved. Answer: She had a miscarriage. I would say in some ways we pushed each other to try, I think, to find truth. According to Rolling Stone, he's never played "Alabama" again since. Get it? to get Wallace elected. I was pretty uncomfortable, so that doesn't make the person working across from you comfortable. Lucas: We did that six to 10 times. It's not US going "boo" it's what the Southern man hears the Northern man say every time the Southern man'd say "In Birmingham we love the gov'nor". Tell the truth Reese brings that in the scene and I think I do too. Lucas has built an impressive career that includes movies like "Hulk," "Glory Road," and "Ford v Ferrari." The reaction of Melanie's mother at the supposed death of her daughter apparently upset the test audiences so much, that the production crew reshot the whole reception scene, minus the practical joke. But at the same time, we were also making a comedy. Imagine if the credits had rolled at just that point. Toward the end of the movie, Melanie's gay Black friend Frederick (Nathan Lee Graham) is in her mother's (Mary Kay Place) trailer talking about her decorative spoon collection. (01:08:15) Continuity mistake: At the end of the movie, when Melanie is on the beach with Jake and she . Lucas: I did think the ending would work. Copyright 2000-2023 Dreamstime. The supporting cast includes Fred Ward, Mary Kay Place, Jean Smart, Candice Bergen, Ethan Embry, and Melanie Lynskey. It was an eye-opening experience. Everyone was like, "OK, that was easy. A mid-credits sequence shows that they have a baby daughter, Melanie continues to thrive as a designer, and Jake opens a "Deep South Glass" franchise in New York. Sweet Home Alabama characters were essayed by Hollywood's top actors. D Lord, I'm C coming home to G you. In a 2013 interview, Clayton spoke at length about her decision to take the job. Some of it was, "Josh, punch line. The hit led to two television rock show offers that the band declined. Where the skies are so blue and the governor's true, The choice of Birmingham in connection with the governor (rather than the capital of Montgomery) is significant because it was the site of civil rights activism and violence in the 1960s. We went to Aliceville and we just talked to people who would invite us onto their porch for some sweet tea. The supporting cast includes Fred Ward, Mary Kay Place, Jean Smart, Candice Bergen, Ethan Embry, and Melanie Lynskey. Now we all did what we could do In the final scene, we see Ui-Myeong, the other special infectee, escape in the SWAT truck in his 'slime-form'. But in the original ending, there was a fake-out that made audiences believe that Melanie died out on that beach. During the film's original outdoor reception Jake carries Melanie, who feigns death after having supposedly been struck by a lightening bolt, towards the wedding guests. Its now been 15 years since the film was released, so heres a look back at 7 things you probably didnt know about Sweet Home Alabama! Tennant: That's a scene you don't expect in this kind of movie. Als u uw keuzes wilt aanpassen, klik dan op 'Privacyinstellingen beheren'. Tennant: I didn't realize how funny that line would be, but when Melanie [Lynskey] does her whole thing about Jaclyn Smith and the designer, she is just brilliant and can make anything work. On a beach in the fictional town of Pigeon Creek, Alabama, 10-year-old Jake Perry and Melanie Smooter inspect the result of lightning striking sand. Alabama Crimson Tide "Sweet Home Alabama" Iron Bowl Alabama vs. Auburn 2012 Lucas: In the movie, he's my best friend but in reality, that dog was terrified of me. Andy just kept having my back. Free or royalty-free photos and images. Jake announces, "Melanie Carmichael is dead" but then a few seconds later he says, "Long live Felony Melanie." There was a silence on the phone for quite a while. Josh Lucas was the first to admit in his interview with IGN that hes not the best at comedy, so he relied on his co-star, Reese Witherspoon for help. Tennant: I think we were tipping our hand to racial undertones. Now, not the way Patrick's character did it where it's private after-hours, but that began the idea. And that turned out to be "Legally Blonde." Andrew arrives to surprise Melanie, but upon learning her true background and that she never told him she was married, he angrily leaves. Katharine Towne was cast as Witherspoon's character's assistant who ultimately ends up marrying the Patrick Dempsey character, but all other scenes were dropped in the final cut. This is why Reese says, "People need a passport to come down here." The mildly entertaining romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama features an equally take-it-or-leave-it soundtrack that mixes country, rock, and pop and excerpts of George Fenton's score. Melanie is engaged, but her past holds secrets in Alabama. Tennant: I was given the script; it wasn't very good. There's a flash of lightning and it cuts to a wedding reception. Jake's glassblowing shop was filmed at an old mill named Starr's Mill, in Fayette County, Georgia. I've done two movies with her, I did "Ever After" and this. A young woman who has reinvented herself as a New York City socialite must return home to Alabama to obtain a divorce from her husband after seven years of separation. He later returns, saying he still wants to marry her, and the wedding is immediately set in motion. Cue tissues. But even in Witherspoon's most optimistic moments, she probably didn't imagine that teaming up with filmmaker Andy Tennant, who just a year earlier helmed a movie that performed so poorly he was thrown in "director jail," and starring opposite an unknown leading man by the name of Josh Lucas would lead to enormous success. A young woman who has reinvented herself as a New York City socialite must return home to Alabama to obtain a divorce from her husband after seven years of separation. Bobby Ray backs up her pretense that she is a relative and the family mansion is her childhood home. Melanie goes to the Carmichael plantation and apologizes to Bobby Ray, whose family lives there. Melanie finds Jake at the beach planting lightning rods in the sand during a rainstorm to create more glass sculptures. Tennant: Even Reese's lawyer loved the treatment. Answer: It was only humane from Melanie's skewed, immature-at-the-time perspective, believing the cat would be killed instantly. And then "Legally Blonde" came out, and I got a call from the studio and they were like, "What do you think of Reese Witherspoon?" Written by C. Jay Cox, it stars Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas and Patrick Dempsey. New York fashion designer Melanie (Reese Witherspoon) suddenly finds herself engaged to the city's most eligible bachelor. Even though the film received mixed reviews from critics, it has a huge cult following of fans who absolutely loved it and still cherish it as one of their favorite movies today. "All Summer Long" also samples Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London", which has similar chord progression to "Sweet Home Alabama". Jake walks in holding an unconscious Melanie and announces to the room, Melanie Carmichael is dead. The guests are gobsmacked, then he says, Long live Felony Melanie and Witherspoons character pulls a Harry Potter, jolts awake and gives him a kiss. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. You can be a stranger in a strange land if you're not from the South. In the original draft of Sweet Home Alabama there was a character with an entire subplot named Erin Vanderbilt. Expand. When the movie . My kids were going through college so it got me thinking about a new generation of kids going to school and young love and what that would do to parents when they see their kids being real grown-ups. Meanwhile, Kate Hennings, Andrew's mother and the Mayor of New York City, doubts Melanie's suitability to wed her son, whom she is grooming to run for President of the United States. Jake announces, "Melanie Carmichael is dead" but then a few seconds later he says, "Long live Felony Melanie." The loss of their kid, the loss of their dreams, the loss of innocence, all that stuff. Tennant recalled taking a trip to the South before rewriting the movie, and that helped cement its southern feel. And she said, "I made this movie nobody is going to see. When the movie got to like 13 to 14 years later, I started thinking where they would all be. I totally remember you.'. The site's critics consensus reads: "Reese Witherspoon is charming enough, but the road to Alabama is well-traveled. I never had that mentality. D Carry me C home to see my G kin. Melanie Carmichael: The truth is I gave my heart away a long time ago, my whole heart, and I never really got it back. That part was eventually cut out of the movie. Why don't we do a love triangle where the love choices are between a great guy and the right guy? I think what we were going for was she's slapping him because she's embarrassed that she suddenly showed some vulnerability. Sweet Home Alabama was the first film allowed to shoot in New York City after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. ", Tennant has written a treatment for a sequel to "Sweet Home Alabama.". Fred Ward's character is racist, says Tennant. Download Sweet Home Alabama stock photos. beatles mono cd box set fake. In an anniversary interview with Insider, its revealed that as originally shot, the ending found Melanie racing off to the beach where lightning strikes and it cuts to the wedding reception. Mary H. Ellis. So I had to throw him off the dock and from that moment on he hated me. Free or royalty-free photos and images. sweet home alabama road sign - sweet home alabama stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images dog days of summer - sweet home alabama stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images Reese Witherspoon attends the world premiere of Touchstone Pictures' 'Sweet Home Alabama' at the Chelsea West Cinema September 23, 2002 in New York.