Luketic originated a term called “the Wanda take” to describe the final take of a scene for which he would ask the actors to “riff a little bit about what’s going on in the scene, or to try the first thing that pops into your mind when the cameras roll.” The purpose was to observe the actors’ gut reactions while wearing their characters’ hats.
“For great comediennes like Wanda, that’s just part of their genetic makeup and whatever comes out is brilliant,” says Luketic. “Wanda’s perfect at icing the end of a scene with some little pearl of wisdom.”
Sykes was not the only cast member whose contributions were welcomed by Luketic.
“He was very open to any suggestions that Jennifer or I had,” says Fonda. “It didn’t matter if it was in the script, or that we did things he didn’t expect. He’s very receptive and gives a lot of feedback. Robert explains what he wants you to do and why.” When she wasn’t going over a scene with Luketic, Fonda spent a lot of time on set surrounded by her family. There was a steady stream of relatives and friends who dropped by, from her son, actor Troy Garrity (Barbershop), to daughter Vanessa Vadim with grandchildren in tow, as well as her stepmother, Shirley. Fonda was always entertaining a new visitor, introducing them to the cast & crew.
Fonda remembers fondly her son’s visits to her sets, and credits him for helping her develop her character. “Troy gave me some very valuable suggestions and ideas,” Fonda says. Despite the regular family visits to the set, Fonda still managed to develop a great rapport with the rest of the cast and crew.
“Jane introduced herself hand-to-hand to every member of the crew,” says Weinstein. “They went from awe and being nervous around her to being relaxed and creating very personal relationships with her.”
With Fonda rarely retreating to her trailer between scene set-ups, the cast and crew found her to be incredibly accessible and approachable. During production Fonda also spent her down time working on her many charities and completing her memoirs for Random House Publishing, entitled My Life So Far and arriving in bookstores in April 2005.
One major difference about Fonda’s approach to work this time around was that she decided not to look at any dailies.
“When I was producing On Golden Pond with Bruce Gilbert, I wondered why Katherine Hepburn never attended the rushes,” says Fonda. “Katherine said, ‘Jane, once I realized that I was paying attention to my wrinkles and not what was good for the film, I stopped going.’ She was right – this is the first time in my career I did not go to see rushes.”
Fonda concedes that she will return to the screen again if the right project comes along, but she is not looking to restart a full-time acting career. “I’ve had my career,” she says. “I might be interested in this film or that if all the variables worked out, but I don’t see myself having a film career.”
Fonda and Sykes created such camaraderie on set that rumors began to fly about a sequel that Fonda has entitled, Viola and Ruby Do Rome.
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