Principal photography on Charlie's Angels began in January 2000.
The film was shot on location in and around Southern California. Keen-eyed film buffs and Steven Spielberg fans may recognize one setting used in the movie-the house where Barrymore 'drops in' on two video game-playing kids is the very same house occupied by then child-actor Barrymore and others in Spielberg's blockbuster, E. T. The Extraterrestrial.
With the assembled comedic talents of Bill Murray (Emmy nominee for "Saturday Night Live" and Golden Globe nominee for Rushmore and Ghostbusters), Drew Barrymore (ShoWest's Comedy Star of the Year 2000), Cameron Diaz (Best Actress Golden Globe Award nominee for the acclaimed comedy There's Something About Mary) and Lucy Liu (Emmy Award nominee as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for "Ally McBeal"), the film's own comedic voice began to take shape.
Although Goldberg admits, "We have a lot more comedy in the film than we ever did in the series," Charlie's Angels is not a spoof. According to McG, there are other essential qualities—in addition to a healthy sense of fun—that make an Angel an Angel. "An Angel has to have the dexterity to go in and out of any situation and feel right at home. They have to be very effective and have the panache to capture everyone's imagination. They have to make the men say, 'I want to be with her' and the women say, 'I want to be like her."'
Barrymore credits the direction of McG for bringing out the best the Angels had to offer. "He drove us to be tougher and smarter and have a better time than we would have had without his influence and energy and passion and enthusiasm. His belief in us made us work harder and be better at our jobs. He constantly made us go the distance and push ourselves further. And that," says Barrymore, "is what the Angels of 2000 are."
As for the sex appeal of the TV show, McG admits, "we certainly didn't want to come up short on that level in the movie, because the show is well remembered for that. At the same time," notes the director, "a woman's place in the world is much different than it was 20 years ago. Women are a lot more active-jumping off cliffs on motorcycles, riding upside-down on snowboards, running corporations and, at the same time, successfully raising families. We needed to be cognizant of the way men and women are perceived on a societal level in the year 2000."
"One of the things that I really appreciate about our film is that the women are human and accessible," echoes Barrymore. "They have desires and needs, humor and darkness, and they are entirely capable."
Liu concludes, "It's very simple. To be an Angel, you just have to be yourself. The great thing about our characters is their different personalities. It kind of allows for anyone to be an Angel."
Crew members also drew inspiration from this concept of the Angels as a trio of free- spirited, modern women. Academy Award®-nominated production designer J. Michael Riva says, "The inspiration for what I did on this picture came from the three girls. They're all separate parts of the same woman—if you had one woman and split her into three, you'd have Charlie's Angels. That is something that I tried to weave into the visual of the picture.
Movie Database
In Theaters
