On May 27, 2021, the classic American drama “Friends: The Reunion” was launched, and it immediately became the top event in the global film and television industry.
This is the first time that the six starring actors have joined forces in the true sense 17 years after the final episode of “Friends” on May 6, 2004.
The one and a half hour reunion special is not a continuation of the “Friends” story, but a super interview.
The main creators on the stage and behind the scenes shared the behind-the-scenes footage of their shooting and recalled the ten years that “Friends” had accompanied them.
Although most of these tidbits are old stories familiar to friends, they do not detract from the enthusiasm of movie fans.
The collective appearance of six people provided a place for collective nostalgia and an opportunity to cherish youth.
More importantly, since the new crown epidemic, the entire world has undergone tremendous changes, and the reunion of “Friends” has also been regarded as the return and call of the emotional connection between people.
On September 22, 1994, the sitcom “Friends” was launched at Warner Studio 24. Six friends Monica (Courteney Cox), Chandler (Matthew Perry), and Rui The stories of Qiu (Jennifer Aniston), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), Joey (Matt Reblan) and Rose (David Hume) unfold slowly and cause a sensation.
“Friends” was aired for ten seasons and screened in 220 countries and regions around the world. Six old friends have accompanied film fans around the world for ten years.
On the night of the finale, 52.25 million viewers watched it in the United States alone, and the audience rating exceeded that of the presidential campaign of the year.
On the night of the finale, the staff began to dismantle the props, because a new crew came in the next day to shoot the pilot episode.
“You watch them dismantle the props, it’s like watching someone empty your childhood home, and then everything is gone.”
Even if I think back to the scene after 17 years, executive producer David Crane still can’t hide his sadness.
At the beginning of “Friends: The Reunion”, Rose’s actor David Hume took the lead in carrying a backpack into Studio 24, which restored the “Friends” set.
He had known in advance that the six old friends would reunite again, but he didn’t expect to be able to return to the set, “I feel that the past time is back.”
David Crane, Marta Kaufman and Kevin Bright, who are also directors, screenwriters, and producers, are the three soul figures of “Friends”. The story of “Friends” begins with them. of.
David, Marta, and Kelvin are college classmates. After graduation, the three of them live under the same roof in New York.
At that time, NBC was planning to produce a TV series for young people around the age of 20 to enter the world. There were originally five or six script options, but they were not satisfactory.
At this time, Marta conceived the concept of a six-person walk. David and Kevin developed it into a script. The materials were all derived from the true stories of their friends.
The name of “Chandler” is the real name of Marta’s friends. The script was sent to NBC and passed quickly, so “Friends” was created.
“Friends” was not called “Friends” at first. Marta and David originally named the script “Insomnia Cafe”. The cafe is the main scene, and the love story of the two protagonists is the main line.
After NBC bought the script, it changed its name several times, from “living at the door” to “friends like us”.
Before filming started, it was renamed “Six People’s Walk”. It was not until the premiere in September 1994 that it was finally named “Friends”.
The highlight is casting. David Hume, played by the dull, knowledgeable, affectionate and stubborn paleontologist Ross, was the first candidate for the “Friends” crew.
The screenwriter Marta has seen David auditioning for a role in a pilot episode, and his humble expression impressed Marta. When creating the role of Rose, she wrote completely in accordance with the image of Rose.
But when the creators found David, he had already left the TV circle. Because of his disappointment in the TV circle, he moved back to Chicago and only acted in the theater.
The creators begged him bitterly and repeatedly declared that “this role was written for you” before David agreed to take on the role of Rose.
After Ross, the neurotic but sweet-hearted Phoebe is the second confirmed role. Lisa Kudrow was perfect as soon as she came in for the audition.
Rose and Phoebe quickly finalized, but for the next two and a half months, the creators did not find a suitable candidate for other roles.
Finally, Maitre Black, who came to audition for Joey, the well-developed and simple-minded playboy, aroused the interest of the creators.
“When Maitre Black came to audition, he had only $11 in his pocket and he had no acting experience.” Marta recalled.
Before Matrei, the creators had interviewed many male actors. They were handsome and obsessed with beauty, but they were not funny. The lines that Maitrey interpreted during the audition suddenly became funny.
There were eight interviews, and in the end, Maitre defeated another actor who entered the final round with him and got the role of Joey.
The directors found that Metre not only interprets Joey’s man side well, but also brings a lovely side to the character.
The central character of the six-Monica, who takes care of everyone like a mother and has a strong desire to control, is played by Courteney Cox.
At first, the creators thought Courteney was more like Rachel. But after reading the script, Courteney felt that she was more like Monica in real life, and she was also a “control freak”.
At Courteney’s insistence, she finally won the opportunity to play Monica.
Chandler is a white-collar worker who works in a large company and is highly regarded by his boss. He likes to sit on the sidelines and then satirize everyone. He likes to arm himself with a sense of humor, and he is a bit nervous.
David Klein recalled that he originally thought Chandler was the easiest role to find because he was typical among urban youth, but all the actors he saw were unsatisfactory.
Marta thought of the actor Matthew Perry, who had worked with him, “The lines Matthew read are full of vitality and can make the script live.” More importantly, the “cold humor” on Matthew is almost the same as Born.
In the original script, Chandler did not have the setting of “being uncomfortable in front of women”. After Matthew took over the role of Chandler, this side of his true character was discovered by the screenwriters and put it on Chandler. Le and other characters are setting.
Rachel is the final role of “Friends”. Rachel is an unpleasant character. She is an unworldly medical lady who is selfish and self-centered but spoiled.
Rachel wanted to be a full-time housewife with money and leisure like her mother, but when she learned that she loves wedding gifts more than her fiance, she ran away from the wedding.
The creators tried countless actors for Rachel. David Klein concluded that the reason for their failure was that they did not really fall in love with the role of Rachel.
In the end, Jennifer Aniston, who was beautiful, funny and fresh, came into their sight. “She has the qualities of passion, sincerity, and non-falseness, which allows you to accept the absurd things Rachel did.” Marta said .
The original plot mode of “Friends” is the “six people + guests” mode. Some senior friends fans have noticed that after the second episode of the third season, the plot mode has changed.
Due to insufficient funds, the screenwriters had to write an episode without any foreign guests. Unexpectedly, this episode was perfect both in the performance of the actors and the feedback from the audience.
From then on, the screenwriter realized that the six protagonists were enough to support the whole play. From that episode on, the “Friends” plot model changed to “Six People”.
“Friends” is one of the most popular TV series in history. All ten seasons are in the top ten ratings of the year, and it is still being aired and re-screened all over the world.
Few dramas can trigger such long-term, continuous and enthusiastic discussions and widespread resonance like “Friends”.
When people talk about “Friends”, they are not only talking about a TV series, but also a lot of private memories, including the absurdity and desperateness of youth, the pains of growing up, and friendship, love and family affection.
For many generations born in the 70s and 80s, they can more or less find their own shadows from the six protagonists.
“Friends” screenwriter and producer Marta Kaufman recalled the original intention of creating the play and mentioned that she originally wanted to create such a group drama, reflecting the urban youth “working hard while looking for true love”.
This can easily resonate among young people; David Klein’s one-sentence introduction to “Friends” is more straightforward, which is “the years of friends and family.”
Some netizens concluded that compared to the successful contemporary soap operas “Sex and the City: The Movie”, “Growing Pains” and “ER”, “Friends” is more outstanding in that it combines the touching stories in the hospital and the family room. The playful story and the romantic passion in the metropolis are integrated.
Both the elderly and children, as well as white-collar students, including minority groups, can enjoy the sense of role substitution.
“Friends” is a melodrama with three positive outlooks. It conveys positive energy. Even if she is spoiled like a wealthy daughter, Rachel did not “gnaw the old” or sit in the mountains. She has been struggling, and she did it from the waiter in Central Park. Fashion executives.
This drama also provides a friendly utopia in which friends will always support you no matter how ridiculous your dreams are.
For example, Joey, who hasn’t had a serious job at the age of 30, has dreams of an actor that others seem unrealistic. He auditioned repeatedly and failed again and again.
But as long as he has the opportunity to audition, his friends will unconditionally support him, be happy for him, and do their best to help him when he is destitute.
In the end, Joey finally starred in “Days of Our Lives” as he wished, becoming a celebrity and realizing his dream that was once recognized by no one except him and his friends.
Related Post:After a year’s postponement, the “Friends” reunion special program finally came.
The discussion of “Friends” permeates every aspect of life and even becomes a social phenomenon.
The family sitcom '' that influenced a generation of Chinese audiences benefited from the inspiration ofFriends”.
English lovers regard it as an indispensable tool for English learning, and young people are vying to imitate the dress of the fashionable New York girl Rachel.
Research enthusiasts are keen to unravel the mystery of the income of the people around six old friends from clues.
For example, Rachel’s father, Doctor Green, who did not show up, was speculated by fans to be a well-paid vascular surgeon.
At the end of “Friends”, everyone in the play has a happy ending. Should the viewers worry about Ross and Rachel who have experienced separation and reunion, should they reunite?
The screenwriters had a discussion and wanted to write a vague ending.
Rachel, who is chasing fashion dreams, embarked on a flight to Paris. Rose went to the airport to see him off. Whether Rachel got off the plane for true love is still a suspense.
But in the end everyone agreed that the ending should not be blurred, “This is’Friends’. The audience waited for ten years to see this pair together.
We must meet this expectation, but we have to figure out how to create a surprising process. “David Crane said.
At the scene of “Friends: The Reunion”, the host James Corden asked Phoebe’s actor Lisa if he had thought about making a sequel or movie version of “Friends”, after all, it is such a well-known IP.
Lisa refused altogether, and her answer represented the voice of the creators: “The ending of this play has been very successful, and everyone’s ending is perfect.
If you want to make a sequel, they (the screenwriters) must disrupt these good things before they have a story to write. I don’t want anyone whose happy ending will be disrupted.”
