Mrs. Doubtfire
Short description
Daniel Hillard is a voice actor and devoted father of three whose playful, childlike approach to life has worn down his marriage. When his wife Miranda asks for a divorce and a judge limits him to one visit with the children each week, Daniel is devastated. Learning that Miranda is looking for a housekeeper, he uses his skills as an actor and impressionist to invent an older British nanny, Euphegenia Doubtfire, and applies for the position. Hired without Miranda realizing who she has taken on, Daniel is able to see his children daily and gradually becomes a steadier parent, while keeping his double life hidden.
Chris Columbus directed the film, the fifth of seventeen features he has directed and the one that followed Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Robin Williams stars as Daniel and also produced, alongside Mark Radcliffe and Marsha Garces Williams. The screenplay is by Randi Mayem Singer, Leslie Dixon and Jeffrey Price. Sally Field plays Miranda, with Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence and Mara Wilson as the children and Pierce Brosnan as Stu.
Released in 1993, the film cost about 25 million dollars to make and took roughly 441 million dollars worldwide, a strong return. It holds a 7.1 rating on IMDb from over 314,000 votes and a 7.2 on TMDB from a smaller number of votes, while the critics' rating stands at 5.9 from 54 reviews, so audiences have responded more warmly than critics.
What's left behind the scenes
- In the film, Robin Williams' character is divorcing his wife and becomes a nanny for her children. In real life, Robin divorced his wife to marry his nanny.
- According to Williams' biography, he once decided to test the believability of his character (Mrs. Doubtfire) and went to a bookstore in disguise. After spending some time in the store and making a few purchases, Robin remained unrecognized.
- The film's producers fired the first screenwriter for preparing a script with a “tragic” ending – the children’s parents remained divorced. After several attempts to write a script with a happy ending, the production team came to the conclusion that the original ending looked more believable. As a result, the screenwriter was reinstated, and we saw the realization of the very first script.
- The filming of the scene searching for a replacement for Mrs. Doubtfire involved members of the administrative film crew, specifically assistant Eric Ross, art department coordinator Kristen Ross, and production coordinator Jacqueline A. Shi.
- The surname Doubtfire was taken by the main character from the first newspaper headline he came across – “Police Doubt Fire Was Accidental”.
- The scene where Daniel loses his mask, which then flies out the window, required more than 50 takes. This mask was actually just a support for the rest of the makeup, which consisted of eight separate parts.
- Mrs. Doubtfire's distinctive accent was borrowed from Scottish director Bill Forsyth, with whom the lead actor, Robin Williams, actively collaborated on the set of "Being Human."
- Director Chris Columbus, aware of Williams’ penchant for improvisation on set, gave the actor carte blanche. As a result, during filming, Robin allowed his character to utter several lines that were on the verge of being inappropriate. Subsequently, each of them had to be approved by the artistic council.
- Robin spent about 4.5 hours in makeup every day. The procedure was that complex.
- The film's producers fired the first screenwriter for preparing a script with a “tragic” ending – the children’s parents remained divorced. After several attempts to write a script with a happy ending, the production team came to the conclusion that the original ending looked more believable. As a result, the screenwriter was reinstated, and we saw the realization of the first script.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
