A woman who breaks up with her boyfriend because he cheats on her, a man who always focuses on bad girls, a young woman who falls in love alone and cannot finish separating herself from her ex -who is going to marry someone else-, a widowed father who that it is difficult for him to believe in love again and a change of homes – and country – that gives everyone the opportunity to mix and share again.
The restthe film by Nancy Meyers that brought together in 2006 Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black It transcended the category of romantic comedy to become that film that you definitely have to see at the end of the year. From Diaz’s eternal run through the snow and the brief appearance of Dustin Hoffman to the mystery confirmed by Law about Iris’s adorable English cabin, the secrets of a Christmas classic.
With a female perspective
Single and without plans for the holidays, Iris – a journalist from Surrey – and Amanda – a video editor from Los Angeles – decide, through an application, to exchange houses during the end of the year break. In addition to getting away from problems and finding themselves, the two return, without realizing it, to trusting in love: Iris falls in love with Miles, Amanda’s fun friend and sidekick, while Amanda smiles again – and can cry again. – thanks to the lovely Graham, Iris’s brother. The rest It is written and directed from the perspective of a woman, which makes it very different. It’s just a great idea,” summarized Rufus Sewell, who plays Jasper in an interview.
The rest It hit theaters on December 8, 2006 in the United States and the public supported the proposal: it raised, worldwide, around 205 million dollars, a figure much higher than its initial budget, estimated at 85 million.
The end of the dream house illusion?
A few weeks ago, Jude Law once again put the film at the center of the scene: in an interview he gave to the radio station BBCdestroyed the hope of thousands of fans by claiming that the cozy country cabin in the film never really existed. The harsh reality broke the hearts of thousands of lovers of the film, who believed that the cabin that can be visited through an Internet application for renting houses was indeed the place where the film was filmed.
“I find it simply, honestly, glorious,” Law said when asked about the 2006 film. At that time, Kerry Godliman, another of the guests, said that Iris’s cabin is “her dream house” and noted that can use Airbnb to rent it. Far from maintaining the comedian’s illusion, Law ended her fantasies: “That cabin doesn’t exist,” he revealed.
Law then set out to tell how that space came about. “Nancy Meyers, who is a bit of a perfectionist, went all over the area and couldn’t find the typical chocolate box cabin she was looking for, so she rented a field, drew it out and had someone build it,” he revealed. Immediately, he added another unknown piece of information: “This is the funny thing, we filmed here in winter and every time he entered through that door, we cut. We filmed the interiors in Los Angeles three months later,” he added. “Sorry, I burst the bubble,” he apologized with a laugh.
The cabin that was used to make the interior scenes was built in four days, according to The Telegraph. However, the decorators took two more weeks to give it the old and authentic touch. “It was really an amazing process because the people who lived there couldn’t believe that people from Hollywood came and built this cabin. They did a magnificent job. “We built the road, the wall around it and put in the trees,” Meyers told ComingSoon.
While the beautiful country house scenes were filmed in Los Angeles, the rest of the places Amanda and Graham visit in England are real and are in Surrey and Oxfordshire. The pub where they meet again is a bar called The White Horse, while Cornwell Manor is actually a huge estate in Chipping Norton that cannot be visited but can be rented for weddings and parties.
An eternal run
Both at the beginning of the film and at the end, Amanda runs through the snow in elegant heels, a heavy black jacket with a lamb lining, and a warm white sweater. Those long scenes – the second lasts one minute – took seven days of intense work. In a note he gave to the magazine VultureDiaz revealed that the scene in the original book did not exist. “That whole scene took a week to film. That wasn’t even in the script,” he recalled and clarified that there were only “four lines of description” in the text.
The Hollywood star, excited, gave more details about that challenge. “They only used two takes, but we filmed like ten with me running on ten different fields. And all that with that Valentino wool and cashmere jacket and a cashmere sweater with a high neck,” he added. “I was literally very fit at the end of that week. I probably ran seven miles a day in those heels through mud and hills. “It was very fun,” he concluded without losing his grace.
A film tailored to its protagonists
For the main characters of The restNancy Meyers did not resort to extensive castings. He also didn’t send the book to various celebrities or hold auditions. Right from the writing process, the director knew she wanted Kate and Cameron on the project. “I think a screenwriter would be lying to you if he said, ‘I don’t think about anyone when I write.’ I can’t imagine it, you know someone has to say it and do it. “It’s natural to start fantasizing about who is going to be in the story,” he explained.
In relation to Diaz, Meyers classified her as a “great actress.” “She’s really a girl and the kids obviously adore her. “It seemed like absolutely the right choice for a girl from California,” she said. In the same sense he explained Winslet’s choice. “If you’re writing about a 30-year-old woman in England, you obviously think of Kate Winslet; “She is simply one of the greatest actresses,” he added.
Another of the great successes of the film was the inclusion of Jack Black, who came from the world of comedy. “I just love Jack, to death,” Meyers confessed. “It’s hilarious,” he added. “It was terribly difficult to keep a straight face in every scene we did,” Winslet confessed after filming. In addition to confessing that in part he agreed to participate in a romantic comedy for his mother to see, the actor told what it meant to him to work with the protagonist of Titanic. “I can’t believe they paid me just to stare at Kate Winslet,” he joked. Jude Law was, for his part, in charge of making the public fall in love with his fame and his heartthrob lineage. “Obviously he is beautiful and very appropriate for the role,” Meyers confessed backstage.
Two special guests
While Iris and Miles are walking through the video store, he appears on the scene Dustin Hoffman. How did one of Hollywood’s biggest stars come to be part of a tiny scene in the film? As reported in the official video that shows behind the scenes of the production, the protagonist of Kramer vs. Kramer and Tootsie I was having lunch nearby. Noticing the number of cameras, he entered the store to see what was happening and there he met Nancy Meyers. Hoffman’s good vibes were immortalized in the film.
Another well-known star at that time who also made a brief appearance was Lindsay Lohan. The actress appears in the trailer for the film that Amanda edits at the beginning of The restand that very brief role was also thanks to knowing Meyers: she was the one who directed it in twins gamethe film that launched her to fame. “I called her and said, ‘You have to do this for me,’ and she was very nice about it, she was totally present,” the same writer recalled.
Luxury presence
In addition to the four protagonists, The rest has the participation of Eli Wallach. The legendary actor gave life to Arthur, a famous Hollywood scriptwriter who lived through the golden age of cinema and who accidentally crosses paths with Iris. Immediately, the industry legend and the journalist build a close friendship. Wallach turned 90 during the making of the film and it was a true privilege for everyone around him to work with him.
“Being around someone with so much knowledge and wisdom was wonderful,” said Cameron Diaz. “Eli was almost like an extra grandfather that I never had. “He just told us so many incredible stories,” Winslet added. The British star also revealed in an interview with Collider that Eli was much more lively than Arthur, his character, and that on several occasions Meyers had to ask him to behave, when the camera was turned on, like an older person. Wallach died in 2014, aged 98.
Will there be a second part?
Although many fans were excited to hear rumors about a possible sequel – and more information about what happened to those two adorable couples – a while ago the same writer and director took to her Instagram account to clarify the matter. “So many direct messages about this, I’m sorry, but it’s not true,” explained Nancy Meyers and ended the excitement of hundreds of followers.
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