Garry Marshall’s keen casting eye, always on the alert, was helpful in selecting the various princesses who join Mia (Anne Hathaway), Lilly (Heather Matarazzo) and Asana (Raven) for a royal pajama party at the palace: “I noticed this cute young girl at a basketball game, with a full set of shiny braces, so I asked her if she could act,” recalls Marshall. “She said yes, and that she does imitations of her father—she turned out to be Jack Nicholson’s daughter, Lorraine. So I said, ‘Maybe you’ll come and be in our movie, you’ll smile…I need those braces in my movie.” Marshall also enlisted the talents of Charlee Corra Disney, as well as a relative of Julie Andrews, for the scene.
“Julie has a wonderful grandchild, Hannah Schneider, who dances like crazy, and she’s only 10 or so!” notes Marshall. “We also brought in a 4-year-old, Aimee Hall, who is dynamite. We even found some kids related to nobody, who were just talented, so we put them in the scene!”
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