With the script and a director in place, casting for the lead character, Lola, began. Sugarman had a clear idea of the type of actor that she wanted for the role. “Someone who could cope with the dialogue and make their own, but still be able to shine through it.
Someone who you believed was special. Someone who could keep a balance between the eccentric and modern contemporary styles which the character embraces. We needed a girl to reflect that.”
Lindsay Lohan was that girl. Lohan had recently completed work on Disney’s “Freaky Friday,” and her performance as a teenager trapped in her mother’s body for one day made it clear that she had the talent to play both comedy and drama, an attribute that would be critical for any actor chosen for the role of Lola.
“Lindsay was an easy pick. She glows like a five hundred-watt bulb,” says Shapiro. “She’s incandescent. She smiles, you smile, and the world’s okay.”
“Lindsay was our choice from the very beginning,” says Sugarman. “She is Lola – she’s not afraid to be herself and definitely stands out in a crowd. She had the part from the moment we met her.”
According to Leider, Lohan’s age was important. “She’s 17, and doesn’t purport to be 18, 19, or 20. She’s still a teenager, and I think she gets to that part of the Lola character very well. Of course she’s beautiful. She dances, she sings, and she’s good with the other actors.”
She also wanted to play a character that was a departure from anything that she had done before. “Lola is just such a different character from the one I played in ‘Freaky Friday,’” continues Lohan. “It’s good to see how she develops throughout the story. She brings out the fun and the good in people. She helps her friend, Ella, to become the person she truly is, and changes herself at the same time. It’s fun to do different things and switch on and off and see what I’m capable of doing.”
Alison Pill, who has received attention and acclaim for her recent performance in “Pieces of April,” was selected for the role of Ella Gerrard, a reserved young girl who comes into her own when Lola arrives at her school. The relationship between Ella and Lola was mirrored off-camera by Pill and Lohan.
“We had a great time together – we just clicked,” says Lohan. “We have so much fun together. Our chemistry is just incredible.”
“The balance between Lindsay and Alison is pretty spectacular,” notes Shapiro. “Alison is somebody who we’ve been watching for a long time. When we were casting this movie, we met her in New York, introduced her to Sara, and she read for us. Her reading was extraordinary. We’re so happy to have her.”
Pill was hooked by Ella’s transformation. She explains, “Ella changes so completely. She goes from being terrified of being herself because she thinks she’ll disappoint her parents. At the end, she decides, ‘I’m going to do what I want because I’ve decided to be who I am,’” comments Pill. “Ella allows herself to feel the enthusiasm that she has kept inside until she met Lola.”
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