22 Things You Didn't Know About 'Mannequin'
Nothing's gonna stop us now... from celebrating the 30th anniversary of "Mannequin."
Since its release three decades ago (on Feb. 13, 1987), Michael Gottlieb got his start in the world of fashion, first as a photographer, then as a commercial director.
2. He claimed he got the idea for "Mannequin" in 1982 while walking past the window of New York's Bergdorf Goodman department store and thinking he might have seen the dummy moving.
3. "Mannequin" would become Gottlieb's first screenplay (co-written with Edward Rugoff) and his feature directing debut.
4. Of course, he might also have gotten the idea from the Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea, the story of a sculptor who falls for his creation. Or from the 1948 movie "Jaws" and played the reporter in the classic shark tale.
6. If "Mannequin" seems a little formulaic to you, that's no accident. It was the first movie produced by Hollywood market research guru Glenn Close instead of having her frame him for her own death.
8. "Mannequin" is the rare Hollywood romance where the lead actress is older than the lead actor. Kim Cattrall was 30 and fresh off "Pretty in Pink," but he wasn't considered a big box office draw before "Mannequin" went into production. Still, Farrell determined that he had strong appeal to the young girls he'd designated as the film's target market, so McCarthy won the lead role of Jonathan.
10. The comedy marked the second time McCarthy had co-starred with Police Academy."
12. To make the mannequins used in the movie, Cattrall sat for a Santa Monica sculptor for six weeks. The filmmakers used six different dummies, each with a different facial expression.
13. Deg Women," when he was cast as Jonathan's gay pal, Hollywood Montrose.
14. The filmmakers scouted department stores all over the country before settling on Philadelphia's John Wanamaker's, one of the oldest department stores in America, to play the role of Prince's department store. (It's still there today, but now it's a Macy's.)
15. The Golden Girls," when she was cast as store owner Claire Timkin. It was the first major movie role for the 63-year-old actress.
16. As it turned out, Prince the song "Slow Love" for his 1987 "Sign o' The Times" album.
17. "Mannequin" cost $7.9 million to make. It earned back $43 million, making it the 27th biggest hit of 1987.
18. Despite scathing reviews, "Mannequin" did earn one Oscar nomination, for Best Song, for Diane Warren; she's been nominated eight times over the past three decades but has yet to win.
20. For all the film's success, "Mannequin" didn't do much for Cattrall's career. She auditioned for the role in 1987's "Sex and the City."
21. No one from the original film, except Taylor, returned for the 1991 sequel, "Kristy Swanson.
22. In 2010, there was talk of a "Mannequin" remake; in keeping with the times, the updated romance would be about a man who falls in love with a hologram. So far, the reboot has yet to materialize.
Mannequin
