Twenty years after the original “Mean Girls” movie charmed audiences, its newest iteration, “Mean Girls: The Musical,” has debuted at No. 1 at the weekend box office. This latest film, a blend of the original 2004 hit and the Broadway musical adaptation, marks a return for the franchise.
Tina Fey, the creative force behind the original screenplay and Broadway show, reprises her role as Ms. Norbury, the math teacher.
Another person returning to the movie was Lindsey Lohan, who was the star of the 2004 hit film. Fey said that Lohan, despite being seven months pregnant and residing in Dubai, was eager to be part of the new project. Her involvement was kept a secret, adding an element of surprise for the audience.
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“The original movie is really Lindsay’s movie, you know? She’s just luminous through it,” said Fey. ” I thought if she was gonna do anything, I thought it might be nice to have her come kind of late in the movie when you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I didn’t think,’ you’ve so much forgotten that you’re looking for cameos.”
Fey said that adapting the story to 2024 involved updating certain elements while retaining the essence of the original. By transforming it into a musical, Fey said she wanted to bring the standout songs from the Broadway show into the movie she wrote more than 20 years ago.
“So, I mean, it was kind of — it’s a real gift to get to go back to something that you wrote and, and reopen it and clean the gums,” Fey said.
Fey was also involved in the editing process for the new movie, something different from her time making the first film, where she was a first-time screenwriter and less involved in the post-production process.
With its blend of nostalgia and contemporary flair, Fey is excited to see how the audience receives “Mean Girls: The Musical.”
“We knew that, you know, the Broadway show brought so much joy to so many people and we only closed because the pandemic came,” she said. “And I just knew there was more joy to be had and I wanted more people to experience this. I felt like there was nothing but joy to be had on the other side of this.”
Return to the Golden Globes?
When asked about a potential comeback to co-host the Golden Globes with Amy Poehler, Fey said she enjoys working with Poehler but did not confirm any plans for the duo to return as hosts.
Fey said the role of being host is “thankless” after many people criticized first-time Golden Globes host Jo Koy on his performance during the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards.
“He did great. Like it’s, it’s also so thankless because it’s like either there’s only two ways it goes, either people say like, great, do it again. Or they go, we didn’t like it and there’s no in-between,” Fey said.
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Koy referred to the short amount of time he had to prepare for the show during his opening monologue — something that Fey also agreed with.
“You don’t get a lot of time. It’s a tough room, you know, if they don’t know you and the other thing about it is you, you don’t get to practice it. You are doing your jokes in a vacuum. You don’t get a dress rehearsal,” she said.
