The Parent Trap
Short description
Hallie Parker and Annie James are identical twins who have never met. Separated as infants after their parents divorced, Hallie grew up in California's Napa Valley with her father, a vineyard owner, while Annie was raised in London by her mother, a wedding dress designer. Neither girl knows the other exists until a summer camp in Maine brings them face to face, and the striking resemblance between them leads to the truth about their family.
The sisters decide to trade places, each returning home as the other in order to meet the parent she has never known. Their plan gains urgency when they learn that their father is preparing to marry a woman they dislike, and they set out to bring their parents back together.
Nancy Meyers directed and co-wrote the film, her first turn in the director's chair, working from a screenplay she wrote with David Swift and Charles Shyer; Shyer also produced. Lindsay Lohan plays both twins, with Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson as their parents, and Elaine Hendrix, Lisa Ann Walter and Simon Kunz in supporting roles. Made for a modest 15 million dollars, it took in about 92 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.7 from roughly 172,000 votes, on TMDB 7.2 from a much smaller base, and critics gave it 6.8 from 52 reviews. Meyers went on to direct What Women Want, Something's Gotta Give and later films.
What's left behind the scenes
- The plot is based on the work of German writer Erich Kästner, "The Double Lottie" (Das doppelte Lottchen).
- Initially, Michelle Trachtenberg was supposed to play the twins. Coincidentally, her birthday is on October 11th, the same day as Holly and Annie's.
- The lost boy in the camp is played by Michael Lohan, Lindsay's brother.
- When Holly arrives at the London airport in the film, Lindsay's mother, Dina Lohan, can be seen in the crowd holding Lindsay's brother, Dakota Lohan.
- The twins' names in the film were chosen deliberately. The daughters of the film's director, Nancy Meyers, and producer, Charles Shyer, are named Annie and Holly Meyers-Shyer. Both girls played small roles in the film.
- When Holly walks with her mother to the wedding studio and they cross the road, the scene clearly references the cover of The Beatles' album 'Abbey Road'. At the same time, the song 'Here Comes the Sun' is playing.
- In the split-screen scenes, Lindsay Lohan (who played both Hallie Parker and Annie James) used an earpiece that played the other sister's lines.
- Mara Wilson auditioned for the dual role of the main characters, but it was decided that she was too young for them. Scarlett Johansson, Alex McKenna, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Tina Majorino also auditioned for these roles.
- The scene in which Annie and Hallie are lying in bed, and the camera pans from the moon to a photo of their parents and back to the girls, took 6 hours to film. Lindsay Lohan had to switch between being Annie and Hallie many times.
- Director and screenwriter Nancy Meyers chose Lindsay Lohan for the role of the twins and personally called the Lohans to inform Lindsay.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
