To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
Short description
Vida Boheme and Noxeema Jackson win a New York drag competition and earn places at a national contest in Los Angeles. Before leaving, they meet Chi-Chi Rodriguez, a younger performer left crushed by her loss that night, and take her along. The three trade their plane tickets for a car and set out across the country together. When the vehicle breaks down, they are stranded for several days in Snydersville, a small, isolated town, and their arrival unsettles the locals while the visitors find ways to lift the town's spirits.
Beeban Kidron directed the film, her second feature after Used People and before Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Douglas Carter Beane wrote the screenplay, G. Mac Brown produced, and the large credited cast runs to 76 performers. Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo play the three leads, with Stockard Channing, Blythe Danner and Arliss Howard among the supporting players.
Made by Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment on a budget of about 30 million dollars, the comedy-drama was released in September 1995 and grossed roughly 48 million dollars worldwide, a modest return on its cost. On IMDb it holds 6.8 out of 10 from about 41,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.5 from 846 votes. A critics' rating of 5.4 from 45 reviews places it below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- One day, the actress, singer, and dancer Julie Newmar herself appeared on the set. She was even persuaded to play a cameo role in the film.
- The beauty pageant scenes featured real drag queens (a slang term for performers, usually male, who use female images and dress in women's clothing).
- Immersing themselves in their roles, the main characters spent some time in New York's drag scene.
- A man named Chi-Chi Rodriguez, a golfer, won a lawsuit against Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment for an undisclosed amount, claiming that John Leguizamo's character used his name. The plaintiff argued that this damaged his reputation.
- Before filming the scene where Chris Penn’s character stops his car, Patrick Swayze (1952-2009) put an ear of corn down his trousers. Penn’s astonishment in the subsequent shots was entirely genuine.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
