sweet home alabama ending credits pictures

He tells everyone "Melanie Carmichael is dead." From Reese Witherspoon to Josh Lucas. I felt that I had become a star overnight and I had zero anticipation of that. With this film, Witherspoon solidified herself as a rom-com queen. Fred Ward's character is racist, says Tennant. After he orders her out of his house, Melanie empties Jake's checking account, hoping to spur him into ending the marriage. Sweet Home Alabama. And I was like, "Hell, yeah, let's take it.". Its evenly balanced. Feb 27, 2003. Tennant: Charlize and her production company were the original principals behind the project. I'm not singing nothing about nobody's sweet home Alabama. It never bodes well when you hear youre doing a major reshoot, but it worked out.. Contact me | Privacy policy | Join the mailing list | Links. She is a director's dream. Andrew arrives to surprise Melanie, but upon learning her true background and that she never told him she was married, he angrily leaves. It was something I had never experienced before or since. [11] In addition to the original appearance on Second Helping, the song has appeared on numerous Lynyrd Skynyrd compilations and live albums. One . 2 Credits. Tell the truth The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in a hole, but just how deep is it? as well as other partner offers and accept our. And I was like, "What?" But it's still one of the best choices I ever made. Tennant: I think what happens is you get the cast you deserve Reese was coming off a huge hit with "Legally Blonde," Patrick Dempsey had done movies before but he was the '80s heartthrob and this was his start as a leading man, and then Josh was unknown so I think if there was any kind of nervousness on Josh's part he should have seen what it was like in my head. Tagged: Sweet Home Alabama, First Love. It has come and gone ever since and I'm now way further beyond that where I don't give it much credence either way. 30 Melanie and Jake have a _________ at the end of the movie. On the beach just before, it was dirty and wet from the storm and sand. In 1975, Van Zant said: "The lyrics about the governor of Alabama were misunderstood. Tennant: I didn't realize how funny that line would be, but when Melanie [Lynskey] does her whole thing about Jaclyn Smith and the designer, she is just brilliant and can make anything work. Melanie finds Jake at the beach planting lightning rods in the sand during a rainstorm to create more glass sculptures. "[13] "The line 'We all did what we could do' is sort of ambiguous," Al Kooper notes, "'We tried to get Wallace out of there' is how I always thought of it. "When we showed it to a test audience the whole room was just like, 'What the fuck!'" he said. tab. Lucas would be so serious in some takes that Tennant would call him "Ralph," referring to the actor Ralph Fiennes, so he would loosen up. And she said, "I made this movie nobody is going to see. Unheard of. Buy our Film Stories and Film Stories Junior print magazineshere. The song is credited to Matthew Shafer, Waddy Wachtel, R.J. Ritchie, Leroy Marinell, Warren Zevon, Edward King, Gary Rossington and Ronnie Van Zant. But even in Witherspoon's most optimistic moments, she probably didn't imagine that teaming up with filmmaker Andy Tennant, who just a year earlier helmed a movie that performed so poorly he was thrown in "director jail," and starring opposite an unknown leading man by the name of Josh Lucas would lead to enormous success. During the film's original outdoor reception Jake carries Melanie, who feigns death after having supposedly been struck by a lightening bolt, towards the wedding guests. Lucas: There were a few dogs who played Bryant, but the main one, in the scene where he jumps off the dock and swims for the bone, in order to do that scene the dog needed to jump and he wouldn't do it. It was always let's just find someone good. But the main thing that happened when we were down there was we were having lunch and we heard these booms in the distance and it was like, "What the fuck is that?" Its now been 15 years since the film was released, so heres a look back at 7 things you probably didnt know about Sweet Home Alabama! 15. Andrew is engaged to a girl named Erin Vanderbilt. "All Summer Long" also samples Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London", which has similar chord progression to "Sweet Home Alabama". Lucas: Reese was very unsure of me and had no reason not to be. So we drove out to witness the reenactment and it was such a crazy thing that you can't make up and we had to put it in the movie. With a reported budget of US$30 million, it was a box office hit, despite the mixed reviews. Jake walks in holding Melanie in his arms who looks unconscious. Then he auditioned to play the male lead, Jake, in "Sweet Home Alabama. Sweet Home Alabama was the first film allowed to shoot in New York City after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Tennant: When we showed it to a test audience the whole room was just like, "What the fuck!" That I wasn't working. (01:06:40). Lucas: It never bodes well when you hear you're doing a major reshoot, but it worked out. Because you can leer, you know, and because people definitely have the full thing, and with that you can over do it. In the two decades since it was made, "Sweet Home Alabama" went from an unwanted script to a surprise box-office hit to a rom-com classic. I'm in many ways a lot like him. Jake pulls her away and tells her to go home, back to New York City. At the reception at the end of the movie, Mel's dress is clean and dry. But he spoke for the common man of the South. January 1, 2002 13 Songs, 48 minutes This Compilation 2002 Hollywood Records, Inc. The coonhound cemetery was on Moore Street in Crawfordville and the bar was located at Heavy's Barbecue near the town. In this fluff ball of a fairy tale, Reese Witherspoon is Melanie Carmichael, a rising New York fashion designer from humble Southern roots who is forced to choose between two Prince Charmings. Posted by Simon Brew | Nov 16, 2021 | Feature. But Melanie's past holds many secrets, including Jake (Josh Lucas), the . Trivia: Erin Vanderbilt, the woman that Andrew is shown marrying at the end originally had a bigger part, but test audiences misunderstood her relationship with Andrew before breaking up with Melanie, so all of Erin's scenes were cut except for that small bit over the credits. The interviews have been condensed and edited for clarity. (01:36:20), Revealing mistake: When Reese is leaving the dog cemetery, she brushes against one of the tombstones that has a stone dog on the top of it, yet as she walks past the dog begins to rock back and forth - clearly this is not a stone headstone. During the film's original outdoor reception Jake carries Melanie, who feigns death after having supposedly been struck by a lightening bolt, towards the wedding guests. So there were some intense moments. When Melanie announces her engagement, her father Earl asks her mother, Pearl, to pull the bologna cake out of the freezer. Boo!' Freestylers. Now Watergate does not bother me Katharine Towne was cast as Witherspoon's character's assistant who ultimately ends up marrying the Patrick Dempsey character, but all other scenes were dropped in the final cut. Tennant: I wrote a treatment and a lot of it has to do with Reese's character and Melanie Lynskey's character taking their kids on a college tour. And then "Legally Blonde" came out, and I got a call from the studio and they were like, "What do you think of Reese Witherspoon?" Als u uw keuzes wilt aanpassen, klik dan op 'Privacyinstellingen beheren'. I've been acting for 30 years now and I regularly have people ask me if I've ever made another movie. Jake scolds her and takes her home, preventing her from driving drunk, and Melanie wakes to find the signed divorce papers on her bed. of them Melanie's parents are "scared" by a punk with a pierced tongue, Learn more about the full cast of Sweet Home Alabama with news, photos, videos and more at TV Guide . Question: In the scene where Jake is driving Andrew to find Melanie, he tells the story about the cat. The audience loved the movie up until that shot. Then he says, "Long live Felony Melanie" and Melanie, who was just playing dead, gives him a kiss. Does your conscience bother you? Lucas was convinced he wasn't connecting with Witherspoon and was going to get fired. Mary H. Ellis. At the end of that scene, where I say, "Go home," originally we shot it where Reese slaps me and then walks away. Then Ronnie wrote the lyrics and Ed and I wrote the music."[10]. And on top of that Josh's character comes in and says he's really happy for her. Reference: Quiz: Sweet Quiz Alabama . So I enjoyed Witherspoon and the local color, but I am so very tired of the underlying premise. We had to build a fake dog head to come out of the water because the dog was just in an ideal world that dog was supposed to jump into the water. In addition, Dakota Fanning and Thomas Curtis appear briefly as the childhood versions of Melanie and Jake, respectively. In the scene where Jake is driving Andrew to find Melanie, he tells the story about the cat. I think he was a stock-car driver. Jake: It's funny how they do. I was pretty uncomfortable, so that doesn't make the person working across from you comfortable. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. There's a flash of lightning and it cuts to a wedding reception. Answer: It was only humane from Melanie's skewed, immature-at-the-time perspective, believing the cat would be killed instantly. The film tells the story of Melanie Smooter, a Southern girl from a small town who becomes estranged from her past after she moves to New York to become a fashion designer. Imagine if the credits had rolled at just that point. The film was directed by Andy Tennant, from a screenplay by C Jay Cox (with story credit going to Douglas J Epoch), and it tells the story of Melanie Smooter, a woman who left her home in Alabama for New York City. Most of the downtown scenes were filmed in Crawfordville and Taliaferro County. And it was cold out that night. Jake walks in holding an unconscious Melanie and announces to the room, Melanie Carmichael is dead. The guests are gobsmacked, then he says, Long live Felony Melanie and Witherspoons character pulls a Harry Potter, jolts awake and gives him a kiss. Expand. Lucas: There wasn't much heat on the movie, we didn't have the premiere at a glitzy theater, but what happened there is to this day one of the strangest experiences of my life. For its used as a device to announce that Melanie under her old surname is dead, and Melanie under her new surname is alive. Lucas has built an impressive career that includes movies like "Hulk," "Glory Road," and "Ford v Ferrari." I don't know if anybody else wanted me, and I mean Disney (which released the movie by its then theatrical distribution arm, Buena Vista Pictures) and everyone from the power positions. 29. The script was just as bad as I thought it was before, but I thought the idea was great. . It was also the first film ever allowed to film in Tiffanys since Breakfast at Tiffanys in 1961. But theres still something of a case of what-if here. Lucas: She rung my bell a couple of times. Suhail F. Kafity. Josh and I continue to lobby Reese, but she's busy. Although the film takes place primarily in the fictional town of Pigeon Creek, near a fictional Greenville, Alabama, it was mostly shot in Georgia. It received a mixed critical reception[2] but was a success at the box office.[1]. The film takes its title . Reese Witherspoon was at the height of her box office powers when she decided to take the lead in Sweet Home Alabama.By this stage in the early 2000s, she'd built a career quickly and impressively off a mix of very smart choices and very savvy commercial picks. It's just a thing. I never had that mentality. Ridley Scott discusses The Last Duel box office failure, superhero films, Revisiting the 1970s films of Michael Caine: Pulp (1972), The 1950s movie that became the most expensive comedy ever, Revisiting Bandslam, and how it sets itself apart as a teen musical, Quiz Answers: 2nd September 2022 (Inside Number 10), Podcast: in conversation with Aline Brosh McKenna, Remembering The Outsiders: a video Film Stories, By continuing you accept the privacy policy. Tennant: "Sweet Home Alabama" is on all the time. See production, box office & company info, Reese Witherspoon sweet performance makes this work. Written by C. Jay Cox, it stars Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas and Patrick Dempsey. What I think worked for us is it was all true. Not many people have heard of a bologna cake the idea to include it in the film came from one of the script re-writers who actually had this happen when he got engaged to his fiancee from Indiana. Henry and Mattie Sweet had one son, also Henry W. Sweet (1902-1990). To mark the 20th anniversary of the movie's theatrical release, Insider spoke with Tennant and Lucas, who shared never-before-told stories about the making of the movie, including details about the original ending that needed to be reshot, the multiple slaps to the face Lucas took from Witherspoon for a scene that ended up being cut, and how the rom-com almost starred Charlize Theron. All rights reserved. When Jake shows up in the scene, Melanie is at her most vulnerable and they kiss. Sweet Home Alabama is a romantic comedy starring Reese Witherspoon, Patrick Dempsey and Josh Lucas. [5], The song remains a staple in southern and classic rock, and is arguably the band's signature song. It's not a popular opinion but Wallace stood for the average white guy in the South. Tennant: I may have had Reese slap him a few more times just to fuck with him. beatles mono cd box set fake. And they were both like, "Put it back.". I caught some of "Sweet Home Alabama" on tv the other day. I had never done anything at that scale before. I knew from then on that this was unique. The film cost some $30m, and would gross $127m in the US alone, off the back of a massive $35m opening in September of that year. Although centered in a fictional version of the town of Pigeon Creek, near a fictional version of Greenville, Alabama, the film was mostly shot in Georgia. We went to Aliceville and we just talked to people who would invite us onto their porch for some sweet tea. It is , however, a good. Sign up for notifications from Insider! You can also see this in the pictures at the end of the movie. The two return to what should have been Melanie and Andrews reception and have their first dance. "Hello Mr. Tennant, is there anything you need me to do?" In the present day, Melanie is a successful New York fashion designer who has adopted the surname "Carmichael" to hide her poor Southern roots. It works because of the talents of those two actors. My memory was that Andy felt I'm the guy and then he really went to bat for me. Jake asserts that they will be married one day, whether they are cousins or not. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider "[2] At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. She is cornered there by Kate's assistant, sent to gather information on Melanie's background. Despite the cognitive dissonance that Jewel's glossy cover of Skynryd's title track causes, it's actually not a bad reworking of the Southern rock classic into an adult alternative single. She can be found in the finished version of the film at the end when Melanie is shown a newspaper wedding announcement during the closing credits. Written by C. Jay Cox, it stars Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas and Patrick Dempsey. Earl Smooter: You can't ride two horses with one ass, sugarbean. But in the original ending, there was a fake-out that made audiences believe that Melanie died out on that beach. The ending was reshot because test audiences thought Reese Witherspoon's character died. Learn to play Lynyrd Skynyrd with easy chords for beginners. A bologna cake consists of bologna, cream cheese and horseradish. George Watters II. It's a riddle to me. I keep hearing that others from the movie would absolutely love to do it. * Sales figures based on certification alone. It is sampled by Kid Rock. Copyright 2000-2023 Dreamstime. ", Tennant has written a treatment for a sequel to "Sweet Home Alabama.". D Lord, I'm C coming home to G you. What is humane about blowing it up and if it was gonna die of cancer all those years ago why is it still roaming around town? On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The early stuff in the movie, Melanie coming to Jake's house with the divorce papers for him to sign, we rehearsed that and there's a friction in the relationship and a real sense of love and passion underneath the surface. She tells him they are still married, they return to what would have been Melanie and Andrew's reception, and finally, have their first dance as husband and wife. Journalist Al Swenson argues that the song is more complex than many believe and is not an endorsement of Wallace. He has the divorce papers, which Melanie hadn't signed. Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. Weekend Song. There was a silence on the phone for quite a while. As Melanie is walking across the battlefield looking for her father she steps across 'dead bodies'. Jake and Melanie do this as a practical joke. 0; At the time, it had the highest September opening weekend, surpassing Rush Hour. Song listed in our famous tablatures. I've done two movies with her, I did "Ever After" and this. This was first film to shoot in New York City after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. In the final scene, we see Ui-Myeong, the other special infectee, escape in the SWAT truck in his 'slime-form'. Nobody had told me beforehand this movie is going to be a big success. It was released in the United States on September 27, 2002, by Buena Vista Pictures. What do they say? Lucas: I did think the ending would work. Charlize Theron was originally supposed to star in the movie. All this stuff boiling. It was also the first film allowed to film at Tiffany's since Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). This film received mostly mixed reviews from critics. Alabama Crimson Tide "Sweet Home Alabama" Iron Bowl Alabama vs. Auburn 2012 Pop Market DiscogsPop culture, or popular culture, is the collection of ideas, opinions, and images popular within a culture at a given time. So I went home and talked to my wife and she said, "I was proposed to at Tiffany's." And my agent said, "We spoke to them and they thought you were great and they are going to bring you back." It is still roaming town because it somehow survived the attempt to blow it up and it either never had cancer or has gone into remission. It's the "almost" part that makes the movie work. They were like, "What did you do?" More trivia for Sweet Home Alabama. Tennant: Melanie slapped Jake for a variety of reasons. [1], Sweet Home Alabama (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), the film soundtrack, includes thirteen songs by different artists. So I think there was an intensity to the work experience that I think in some ways Andy was able to utilize. I totally remember you.'. And then that Friday the movie opened and Sunday I started getting calls from my agent telling me how huge the movie opened. You can be a stranger in a strange land if you're not from the South. Glass that forms when lightning hits sand, as in the film, is called fulgurite. Witherspoon landed the lead role ahead of Charlize Theron, who was also considered, and the movie which co-stars Josh Lucas and Patrick Dempsey then plays out as something of a fairy tale. Andrew Hennings , Sweet Home Alabama. I mean, truly attacked. At the end of the movie (spoiler alert), Melanies wedding to Andrew is disrupted when its revealed she never signed her divorce papers. As my mom and I left, I got attacked basically by paparazzi. In an interview with Garden & Gun, Rossington explained the writing process: "I had this little riff. I was in director jail for about a year and then "Sweet Home Alabama" came around again. He made her feel things she didn't want to feel anymore and it erupted. Where the skies are so blue and the governor's true, The choice of Birmingham in connection with the governor (rather than the capital of Montgomery) is significant because it was the site of civil rights activism and violence in the 1960s. And my memory is on the second or third day, Andy came up to me and said, "Disney absolutely loves what you're doing, we're free." There were moments where I felt it was an incredible blessing and other times, like that paparazzi incident, were terrifying. That Jake would have mid-life issues and that there are differences where Jake and Melanie landed. I might have been the lowest-paid actor in the entire movie. Bobby Ray backs up her pretense that she is a relative and the family mansion is her childhood home. The cat had cancer and Melanie wanted it to die a "humane" death. Design and text 1996 - 2023 Jon Sandys. Witherspoon stars in the film as a successful New York fashion designer who returns to her small Alabama hometown to finalize her divorce from her husband Jake (played by Josh Lucas) and announce her engagement to a wealthy New Yorker named Andrew (played by Patrick Dempsey). 5:02. "Sweet Home Alabama" was written in answer to two songs by Neil Young, "Southern Man" and "Alabama", because the songs "took the entire South to task for the bloody history of slavery and its aftermath. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. What is humane about blowing it up and if it was gonna die of cancer all those years ago why is it still roaming around town? The Reese Witherspoon-headlined romcom Sweet Home Alabama nearly took a bit of a dark turn. And she told me how a former boyfriend had proposed there. I'm talking every single person on the movie. In her recollection, her initial response was negative: "[Clydie King] said the song was 'Sweet Home Alabama.' There are only two hitches. Reese brings that in the scene and I think I do too. Its on the campus of Berry College in Rome, Georgia. Yet a different denouement was filmed that would have seen the pair embracing only to be promptly struck by lightning. Thanks to the on-screen chemistry between Witherspoon and Lucas that fuels the movie along with the great supporting cast that included Fred Ward, Jean Smart, Melanie Lynskey, Ethan Embry, Mary Kay Place, and a very young Dakota Fanning "Sweet Home Alabama" has become a beloved rom-com classic. Contact me | Privacy policy | Join the mailing list | Links. The stuff she does in every take is wonderful. I'm there tightening up things on the movie. U kunt uw keuzes te allen tijde wijzigen door te klikken op de links 'Privacydashboard' op onze sites en in onze apps. She and Andrew wish each other well, though Kate berates Andrew and insults Melanie, her family, and the entire town, for which Melanie punches her in the face. Meanwhile, Kate Hennings, Andrew's mother and the Mayor of New York City, doubts Melanie's suitability to wed her son, whom she is grooming to run for President of the United States. I think my big takeaway for the rewrite for me and my writing partner, Rick Parks, was that in the original script, I think the fianc of Reese's character was a complete tool and the guy down South was a hunky, handsome guy. Vinyl Records, CDs, and More from pop. After wealthy Andrew Hennings proposes, Melanie returns to Alabama to announce her engagement to her parents and finalize a divorce from her husband Jake, whom she married as a pregnant teenager and left after she miscarried their baby. Kid Rock's 2008 song "All Summer Long" interpolates "Sweet Home Alabama" on the chorus and uses the guitar solo and piano outro, as well as the "turn it up" shout before the guitar solo; Billy Powell is featured on the track. Reese Witherspoon terrific heartfelt performance makes this movie work. Sound/Sound Designer 1 Credit. Reese Witherspoon was just coming off the success of "Legally Blonde" when she agreed to play the southern troublemaker turned New York City fashion designer Melanie Carmichael. Lucas: I was scared of being famous. At the end of the movie, when Melanie is on the beach with Jake and she goes to kiss him she has her hands on his face, but in the next shot her arms are stretched out and she wraps them around his neck. It's now been 15 years since the film was released, so here's a look back at 7 things you probably didn't know about Sweet Home Alabama! "[13] Toward the end of the song, Van Zant adds "where the governor's true" to the chorus's "where the skies are so blue," a line seemingly contradictory to the previous lyrics. Get it? Being from Illinois and I live in New York, I was fascinated by the history and I was always surprised by how generous, kind, and friendly the people in the South were. You can unsubscribe at any time. Never work with kids or animals. The scene cuts to Fred Ward, playing Melanie's father, giving a snarky look as the two talk. Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote "Sweet Home Alabama" as a response to "Southern Man" and as a way to show rock fans that the South was . Answer: baby girl. It is still roaming town because it somehow survived the attempt to blow it up and it either never had cancer or has gone into remission. Played by Katharine Towne, the character was cut from the film after test audiences were confused about her relationship with Andrew. Reese Witherspoon was at the height of her box office powers when she decided to take the lead in Sweet Home Alabama. The streets and storefronts of Crawfordville, Georgia, were used as the backdrop for the Catfish Festival and other downtown scenes. Jake: The only reason I ain't signing is cause you've turned into some hoity-toity Yankee bitch, and I'd like nothing better right now than to piss you off. When you get slapped and it's cold, it's a lot worse. (Witherspoon's rep told Insider she was unavailable to be interviewed for this story. Stay up to date with what you want to know. And, whoa, I'm gonna get in trouble over this whole dang post!"[16]. Wynn's Pond in Sharpsburg, Georgia, is the location where Jake lands his plane. They then go and dance as the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Sweet Home Alabama" plays. In order to depict two people from Alabama, they had to practice their Southern drawl. Indeed, the film grossed $180 million worldwide and is a constant fixture of cable TV. The film ultimately ends with Witherspoons character staying with her ex-husband, and the pair of them get married again. So we were talking to a waitress and we got into this whole conversation with some of the locals about how this is what it must have felt like back during the Civil War hearing those cannons not too far from where you were. Buena Vista Pictures; Alyssa Powell/Insider, TIMOTHY WHITE/TOUCHSTONE/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK.

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