American dream of "American girl"
This is the first feature film adapted from the popular series American Girl. Abigail breslin, who was nominated for the Oscar, turned into a beautiful and brave little girl in the film ... In fact, as long as she is between 3 years old and 12 years old, she can be called an "American girl", which is a wide range and is also included. Most of them are blonde girls, who are sweet, smiling from ear to ear, or constantly shouting "Oh, my God, my God" to express their anger ... As one of the top 65,438+05 publishers of children's books in the United States, American Girl has created a series of related stories, which are a mixture of traceable historical truth and inspirational fictional elements, but without exception,
Since 1986, "American Girl" has sold more than 654.38+23 million copies of related books, and more than/kloc-0.4 million sets of extended products, such as dolls based on novels. The award-winning magazine "American Girl" has a circulation of more than 620,000 copies, which is specially issued for girls over 8 years old. The book with the largest circulation ... It is this unprecedented success and environment that made producers Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, lisa roberts gillian and Julia Roberts plan to put this series of books on the big screen as early as six years ago.
Lisa roberts gillian and julia roberts learned the unique charm of "American girl" from an expert. Roberts said, "Our mother, whom we now call Grandma Betty, often buys dolls from American Girl for my niece Emma to play with. She really likes them. Show them to Geelan and me and introduce them one by one. Every doll has its own story, family and even world outlook, and there are also connections or connections between stories. " For Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, the story told in "American Girl" is a combination of many common sense and lessons, with the characteristics of the times and full of spirituality, which is enough to make a feature film have the same attraction: "The most successful place of this series of books is that although it is specially written for girls, it is not as sweet as candy. The background of the story is not only the Great Depression, but also slavery and single-parent families ... These are unique experiences told through the eyes of a 9-year-old girl. By comparing and even comparing different views on American history, we modern girls can understand that we are also an inseparable part of history. Although it comes from the past, such stories will not be outdated because of time, and even become a bridge connecting the past and the present. American Girl uses many great metaphors to teach children to start from themselves and find similar connections. As a filmmaker, it is our responsibility to find a compelling and interesting way to introduce these stories to the audience through the big screen. "
Ellen L. Brothers, president of American Girl, also joined the film production as a producer. She said: "We feel the feelings and thoughts of girls with a very serious attitude. All the stories told in American Girl are interpreted by a 9-year-old girl. By the way, she was later introduced into the virtual world. In the movie version of Kate kittredge: The Secret History of an American Girl, you will see a 9-year-old girl who is very confident and independent, and then feel a different Great Depression through her, which is one of the reasons why the content is so unique. "Brassers also said that in fact, the idea of putting American Girl on the big screen has been running through the company for many years:" From the beginning, we thought that American Girl would be made into a movie sooner or later, which was natural. But after all, I am not familiar with the film industry and dare not rashly try. Until Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Lisa Roberts-Gillan and Julia Roberts contacted me actively to discuss whether we could use TV and movies to test whether the audience could accept their favorite' American girl' as a real person. Subsequently, we made three TV movies in a row, which had a great response. This also proves that our audience is really looking forward to seeing these characters appear in front of them alive. Whether in theory or in practice, the next step is naturally the road of film. "
Explore the road with "TV movies"
The first TV movie "Samantha: An American Girl's Holiday" was released in 2004, and then two films were also adapted from this series. Lisa roberts gillian is the producer of these three TV movies. She said: "The titles of these three works are Samantha, Felicity and Molly. Their success and wide acclaim only prove one thing, that is, so many girls are looking forward to seeing the story in' American Girl' become three-dimensional and vivid, so a trip to the big screen is imperative. " Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, another producer, added: "Apart from the most important marketing and market prospects, we all feel that we have achieved quite good results. After the production of the third TV movie, we began to explore some alternative story materials and think about how to make them have the drama needed for a movie. We all admire what Bob Bernie, chairman of the studio, and Colin Callender, president of HBO, have done. Because of their existence, movies have always maintained a high standard. Like us, they realize that everything about' American girls' can't be simply covered by novels and dolls. There are not only many beautiful and real characters, but also more beautiful and real stories to tell. "
Bob Bernie is full of irresistible enthusiasm for making the film version of Kate kittredge: The Secret History of an American Girl. He said, "We all agree that as the first film in this series, the story about Kate kittredge is a perfect choice. Kate is an extraordinary person, a brave and enthusiastic little girl who lives in difficult times. You can tap the source of inspiration from her, because some things around her teach us to care for people less fortunate than ourselves, which will make you tolerant and grateful. " Colin Calander said, "My two daughters recommended me to read the American Girl series, and I was deeply attracted by the wonderful stories. Although they represent the distinctive images of different periods in our history, the challenges they face from life can also make modern girls find a sense of * * * in them ... When you combine these great characters and stories, plus "American girls",
In February 2007, when all the partners were firmly solidified, the pre-shooting of the film was ready and ready to go. Producer Lisa Roberts Geelan said, "We were very lucky to find the screenwriter Ann Peacock and create a warm and comfortable spiritual story for this film. In addition, this work has attracted many very creative filmmakers to join us from the beginning. First of all, the most talented child star abigail breslin decided to play the leading role of Kate kittredge, followed by director Patricia Rozema ... Looking at so many star faces, the film also entered the production process at an incredible speed. " The most famous work before Rozma was mansfield manor (1999). Now that she has two little daughters, she is naturally not unfamiliar with the American girls series. She said, "I like Kate very much. She is like a little reporter, looking for stories everywhere. She wants to express herself and do the right thing. You know, many movies made for children are generally like this,' Oh, I still have love, I want to be my own princess, and I have the whole world now.' However, there are few stories that show children and adults solving problems together in their own way-we all hope that this film will show some value rather than materialization. "
Julia roberts from Pretty Woman, Ann Peacock from The Legend of Narnia and abigail breslin from Little Miss Sunshine, what brought these three people together? Let them be producers, screenwriters, or starring in their respective roles? The answer is simple: martel Toys Company. Specifically, it is a branch of martel, which is known as American noble doll company "American Girl". What's so strange about martel? Even the world-famous Barbie doll is its proud product!