Aquamarine
Short description
Claire and Hailey are best friends facing a summer that is about to end badly: Hailey's family is moving far away, and the two have only days left together. A storm changes things when a mermaid named Aquamarine turns up in the pool of the Florida beach club where the girls spend their time. Aquamarine has run away from an arranged marriage and has a short window to convince her father that true love is real, which would let her call the wedding off. She asks the girls to help her win a date with Raymond, a lifeguard at the club. In return, she offers to grant them a wish. Claire and Hailey, whose ideas about romance come mostly from magazines, throw themselves into the scheme, though the outcome differs from what any of them expected.
The film is a comedy with family, fantasy and romance elements, directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum in her first feature, ahead of Ramona and Beezus, Careful What You Wish For, Purple Hearts, Sneakerella and Guarding Stars. Jessica Bendinger and John Quaintance wrote the screenplay, and Susan Cartsonis produced. Emma Roberts plays Claire, the singer JoJo plays Hailey, and Sara Paxton plays the mermaid; Jake McDorman, Arielle Kebbel and Claudia Karvan also appear among a credited cast of 26.
Made for about 12 million US dollars, the film took roughly 23 million worldwide, a modest return. On IMDb it holds 5.5 out of 10 from around 48,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.5 from far fewer votes, so audience feeling is mixed and the sample sizes differ greatly.
What's left behind the scenes
- Of all the actors who appeared in the film, only five were American. These were Emma Roberts, Joanna “JoJo” Levesque, Sarah Paxton, Ariel Kebbel, and Jake McDorman. All the others were Australian.
- Australian studio JMB FX Studio undertook the creation of mermaid tails for actress Sarah Paxton. A total of 4 tails were made with silicone and foam skin, each covered with more than 5000 scales, weighing over 40 kg and almost 2.5 meters long. Additionally, another tail with remote control was made for moments requiring more complex and fluid tail fin movements that could not be depicted with the attached tail.
- In the scene where Hailey and Claire meet Aquamarine in the pool, Aquamarine says the line “I`ve never been this close to a human before.” – “I have never been this close to a human before.” This exactly repeats the words of the mermaid Ariel from the classic Disney cartoon “The Little Mermaid” (1989).
- On the roll of honor in the main hall of the beach club, you can see the names of some of the crew members, including costume designer Sally Sharpe.
- The role of Aquamarine was offered to Jessica Simpson, but she had to decline due to a busy work schedule.
- To prepare for her role, actress Sarah Paxton needed a month of intensive swimming lessons.
- Copies of the film were delivered to cinemas under the false title “H2O” (the chemical designation for ordinary water).
- Throughout the entire filming period, Sarah Paxton had to wake up at 4 am, as applying makeup took 2.5 hours each time, and another 2.5 hours was spent attaching the mermaid tail.
- The scene where Hailey swims with the dolphins was filmed at the Sea World amusement park in Australia, and actress Joanna “JoJo” Levesque was quite frightened at the prospect of being in the same pool as the dolphins.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
