It’s a movie that launched a thousand boiled rabbits—not literally, but the one that rested on screen—and, according to its star Glenn Close, “scared a generation people”.
Now fatal attractionThe 1987 sexual thriller that turned a cheating Michael Douglas into a sympathetic figure has been recast as an eight-episode series starring Liz Caplan and Joshua Jackson, promising Gives more context to the troubled character of Alex Forrest.
Lizzy Caplan succeeds Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction in the iconic but problematic role of Alex Forrest. Credit: Sibel Levy
“She’s still the villain of the show,” says Kaplan, who plays Alex. “But audiences have more sympathy for Alex than the movie version might have allowed. In our version, we can delve a little deeper into how her brain works, as she grows up, and how she Why the way it is now instead of just branding her this wicked woman.”
Played by Close in the film, Alex initiates an affair with a willing Dan Gallagher (Douglas), but things spiral out of control when Alex begins stalking and harassing Dan and his family. Cue Boiled Rabbit and some of the most memorable final scenes in the movie. (Note that we will discuss fatal attraction movie so get over your Spoiler Now. This movie is 36 years old, folks. )
Lizzy Caplan as Alex Forest, Joshua Jackson as Dan Gallagher in TV reboot of Fatal Attraction Gallagher).
After the film’s release, Close talked about how Alex’s story wasn’t done right. she says”play out the stigma’ Mental illness, sensationally transformed Alex into a deranged villain rather than a woman in need. This The ending of the movie was even changed Against Cross’ wishes. In the original, Alex framed Dan for murder by slitting her throat and then leaving the knife on the kitchen bench.
But that’s not a good fit for a test audience. “[The audience] Hope we end this bitch with extreme prejudice,” declared one film executive. So they did. Alex was killed by Dan’s wife. The audience loved it. close hate it. time The magazine called it an “80s sex nightmare fable”. It was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actress.
In Australia, fatal attraction Became the first non-local movie with a box office of over 2 million in the first week, second only to Crocodile Dundee (We must have cared a lot about big knives back then).
Glenn Close was unhappy with Fatal Attraction’s revised ending, which she felt stigmatized her character’s mental health issues.
“Amazing,” Kaplan said when I relayed the news to her. “I don’t know if I realize Crocodile Dundee Very popular in Australia. I mean, I guess I’m going to assume…”
Oh yes, we love it. This is one of my memories of going to the movies for the first time. I even remember where we sat (third row from the back, on the right, at the Star Court theater in Lismore).
“Maybe that will be the next Paramount+ remake, Crocodile Dundee,” Kaplan continued.
She’s chatting via Zoom in London, but Caplan’s camera is off, so I can’t see her “big bug eyes” popping up with each of Alex’s more suspicious behaviors.
“Glenn put a lot of really careful work into the character of Alex,” she said. “And I know she feels reduced to this black-and-white, binary, evil character. That’s not how she sees her. That’s certainly not how I see her.
“When you rewatch the movie, especially if you know how much Glenn Close put in so much work for Alex, it’s on screen. There’s a lot of depth to this character. But even if people don’t notice all that depth, the movie Movies can work too.”
fatal attraction This is Kaplan’s second knockout role in six months, after he starred opposite Claire Danes in the TV show adaptation of Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s acclaimed book Fleishman in trouble. (She also appeared in another hit comeback, but I’m not spoiling that one.)
Kaplan has been a favorite of indie filmmakers since her breakout role in the TV comedy Geeks and Geeks Then cemented her cult status as scene-stealing goth Janis Ian in the 2004 comedy mean girl. Kaplan then matured significantly sex gurubut no matter what role she plays, her dry expression and world-weary air remain.
Now 40 years old, she shoots Fleishman and deadly Back-to-back last year, Fleishman started just three and a half months after she gave birth to baby Alfie.
“In any other year, it would have felt like an insurmountable task,” she said of filming the two shows. “Then you have kids and you realize how capable you are. You’re also forced to find a work-life balance. I don’t get a chance to go home and really agonize over today’s job or future job, I’m working You have to be very focused, and I’m very focused at home. It showed me what I’m capable of in a whole new way.”
If that sounds all-encompassing, maybe the bigger commitment is the spiral perm she got for it fatal attraction – A nod to Close’s wild hair – which fell out after she contracted COVID a few days before filming began. “COVID ate my perm!” she laughs. “It’s one of the symptoms of COVID. It’s probably not at the forefront of research. But I have a bit of a poodle perm. I’m sad to see it go away.”
Kaplan thinks fatal attraction The TV series is not so much a reboot of the movie as it is a starting point for exploring deeper things.
The TV series incorporates the mythical stories of the movie, and many scenes have a feeling of deja vu from the movie.
“I totally understand people’s knee-jerk reaction when they hear something is being remade,” she said. “The inevitable chorus is, ‘Why are you doing that? There’s no need. I’ve always been a part of that chorus. But there’s something wrong with this thing, and I think part of it is because Glenn Close was so blunt Said how unfairly she thought Alex had been treated.
“She was the only one who supported her back then. But now, in 2023, the culture has changed dramatically and viewers will think [Alex] I believe, she’s been treated unfairly, otherwise they would have been more inclined to delve deeper into why she did what she did, rather than take it all at face value and immediately stand in for the Dan Gallagher character side. “
While it’s true that the series isn’t a rip-off of the films, it leans toward the film’s mythology — think Rabbits, Tubs, and Knives — and scenes that feel familiar, if not direct copies. It also offers a dual timeline – before and after Alex’s death. The show opens with Dan (Joshua Jackson) getting out of prison, where he spent the past 15 years for the murder of Alex.
Then the story flashes back to when Alex and Dan met. Is it a simple encounter – they work in the same building, he’s the D.A. and she’s in Victim Support Services – or is something more sinister? Did she happen to be in court at the same time? Was that really cookie-related chitchat at the buffet, or was it an elaborate presentation?
As with the films, the series doesn’t explicitly address Alex’s mental illness, although Close and a handful of psychologists diagnosed her with borderline personality disorder. Kaplan, however, doesn’t want to label it.
Kaplan got in trouble with Adam Brody (left) and Jesse Eisenberg in the wonderful Fleishman.
“Alex is a very lonely woman. I have a lot of sympathy for her,” she said. “I feel like she grew up being let down by the important people in her life. And I don’t think she really had much of a chance. I think it’s her brain chemistry that defines who she becomes, but if she’s in a more practical, more If she grew up in a loving family, maybe she wouldn’t be where she is now.”
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A practical, loving family is exactly what Kaplan’s character is after Fleishman in troubleHer character, Libby, is a disaffected writer in New Jersey struggling with the burdens of being a wife and mother. She misses her youth and wonders if it is. yes. it. It’s a show-stealing performance that ends with Kaplan dancing at the end of the credits.
“I really like it Fleishman,’ she said. “I’m so proud to be a part of it and to be a part of it. And being a part of being such an adult. Fleishman It feels like the early 1990s type of movie, the ones that make you want to be an actor, and it’s basically adults talking about how to be an adult, and the things they’re fighting for.
“For someone of that age group who’s struggling with these very common ideas, there’s not a lot going on. There’s an audience, obviously. Fleishman The balance that has allowed me to reconnect so much with my past and have so many very deep conversations with my friends about middle age and parenthood and work and finding my place is so elusive. “
does she think there will be any reconnection fatal attraction?
“That might be a different target market.”
fatal attraction Play it on Paramount+ from May 1st.
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