“Music is a really big part of Anna’s life,” comments Lohan. “Rock ’n’ roll is a way for her to let her stress and angst out. But she’s got problems with her mother, who doesn’t really understand it.”
Lohan was thrilled to be starring with Curtis. “She brings so much energy into a room,” says Lohan. “I found her to be very cool, and we really bonded. I think the fact that she has a daughter my age helped.”
“If I’m alone with Lindsay, the two of us can be teenagers together very quickly,” agrees Curtis.
“The chemistry between Jamie and Lindsay was just immediate,” remembers Gunn. “The first time they met in rehearsals, we knew that it was going to work.”
To assist the actresses in their portrayals of each other, Mark Waters wanted Curtis and Lohan to know each other’s specific looks, voice inflections, and hand movements. He used a tactic during rehearsals to help his actresses with the unique challenges of their roles.
“I had two video cameras record Jamie and Lindsay performing their characters throughout the whole script, as if the mother and daughter had not switched places, so they could actually see what the other actress would do if they were playing that scene. Eventually, we all got very schizophrenic,” laughs Waters. “But, just by seeing the other person do it, they were able to be very, very specific in their performances and really be playing each other.”
During the course of production, brief ‘refresher courses’ were held for the actors before some scenes. “It was very informative for both of us,” comments Curtis. “For example, Lindsay has a very specific intonation with the expression, ‘shut up.’ Of course, in the teen world, ‘shut up’ answers every question. ‘Is it gonna rain today?’ ‘Shut up.’ ‘I just got the lead in a movie.’ ‘Shut up.’”
There were also other differences to take note of. “For both Jamie and Lindsay, it was a physical thing and a speech thing,” explains Gunn. “When Lindsay plays Anna, she talks really quickly and she’s a little more slouched.”
“That reference of Jamie Lee doing Lindsay, and then visa versa, has worked out very well,” says Waters. “Audiences will really be able to tell the difference between the characters each actress is playing.”
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