One of the most popular TV series of the early 2000s is certainly Una mamma per amica. The 7 seasons, broadcast between 2000 and 2007, also received considerable public success in Italy, where they were appreciated above all for the issues addressed, for the dialogues and for the subtle irony and lightness that the characters also demonstrated in dealing with complex topics. The original 7 seasons followed by a sequel of 4 episodes in 2016, aired on the Netflix platform, with a particular structure divided into the 4 seasons of the year, starting from winter.
The mother / daughter relationship between Lorelai and Rory is unique. Just as unique is the way adolescence, family relationships and conflicts are told. To make everything even more authentic there is the context. The reality of a small town, where everyone knows each other, there are no secrets and everyone helps each other, is beautifully photographed. Even if the most loyal fans will surely know each episode by heart, we are sure that some curiosity will have escaped.
So let’s find out together 10 curiosities about A mother as a friend that you may not yet know:
1) The city of Stars Hollow
Let’s see immediately the first curiosity about A mother as a friend . Stars Hollow is a city born from the imagination of the creators and producers of the series, the spouses Daniel and Amy Sherman-Palladino. It seems that it took shape in the series starting from the city of Washington Depot. Amy and her husband stayed in the country of just over 3 thousand inhabitants in Connecticut and were fascinated by the friendliness of the inhabitants, their habits and the fact that everyone knew and helped each other, in a synergy never seen before. During the episodes Stars Hollow takes shape in a very detailed way,enough to be able to ideally draw a map. We know the year of foundation (1779), the number of inhabitants (9,973), the battles fought and the history of each street. Just think, there was also a site, now removed, which allowed it to be viewed from the satellite. It really seemed like a finished city but in reality it was hiding some secrets …
City of Stars Hollow; frame from Tour por Stars Hollow video, Gilmore Girls Brasil YouTube channel
2) “Recycled” sets to shoot Una mamma per friend
The reality is that the entire Gilmore Girls series was shot in the spaces provided by Warner Brothers , many of which are also used for other productions. Another curiosity about A mom as a friend concerns the famous square located on a plot of land near the studios, right next to the external set of the hospital of the television series ER, doctors on the front line . The same outdoor set was also used in the series Ghost Whisperer, Pretty Little Liars and Hart of Dixie. The Dragonfly Inn , the hotel owned by Lorelai Gilmore, was the home of the Waltsons in The Waltsons series whileStars Hollow High School was the county courthouse in Hazzard.
3) Curiosity on the character of Lorelai Gilmore
Here are some curiosities about A mother as a friend that directly concerns one of the most beloved characters: Lorelai Gilmore. She is the director of the Independence Inn , then of the Dragonfly Inn of Stars Hollow and mother of Rory only 16 years old, she has a conflicting relationship with her parents and collects bad luck stories with the representatives of the opposite sex. Curiously , the first choice of the production was to entrust her character to actress Sherilyn Fenn. Once her role as protagonist, later conquered by Lauren Graham, has faded, we think of entrusting her with that of Jess’s adoptive mother in a spin-off, never realized, on the story of the character played by Milo Ventimiglia. In the end, however, the actress found a place in the seriesGilmore Girls as Anna Nardini, Luke’s ex-girlfriend and mother of his daughter April, kept hidden for several years from the owner of the club Luke’s .
Frame from the video Una mamma per friend (4 × 20), YouTube channel
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4) A mother as a friend : the role of Rory Gilmore
The real protagonist of the series is her, Rory Gilmore . Despite the amorous intertwining and the events of the other characters, all the topics of A mother as a friend revolve around her , adolescence, the difficult path to adulthood, the interpersonal relationships between parents, children, relatives, friends and boyfriends. . But who is Alexis Bledel, the actress who gave Rory’s face? Class ’81, Bledel was born in the United States into a family whose mother tongue is Spanish. The actress will only learn English in school and during this time her parents will send her too to study theater acting to try to melt her shyness. Little more than her teenager she becomes the face of the cult brand for the teenagers of the 90s Onyx . She is cast in the role of Rory despite never having acted in front of a camera. In fact, it seems that, especially during the 1st season, Lauren Graham used to hold the new actress under her arm to keep her on the positions and paths established by the scenes. One last curiosity: Alexis Bledel hates coffee.His mugs were full of Coke .
5) The character of Paris
The character of Paris is one that divides. There are those who find it brilliant, others unbearable. The fact is, however, that for the construction of the history of the Gilmore Girls it turns out to be a key role for the growth of Rory. Few people know, however, that the actress who plays her, Liza Weil, had participated in the auditions of A mother for a friend to get the role of Rory. Found unsuitable as a protagonist, she was nevertheless noticed by the producers, so much so that they decided to build the character of Paris Geller just for her.
Here is how the interpreter of Paris is today; source: Instagram, Liza Weil
6) Lane Kim
The character of Lane Kim was played, for all 8 seasons, by the American actress, originally from Honolulu, Keiko Agena. Keiko plays Rory’s best friend, her age, born and raised in Stars Hollow, since the very first episode. In 2000, however , the actress was actually 27 years old , only 5 less than the age of Lorelai’s character at the beginning of the series. The Lane Kim of A Mom as a Friend is inspired by Palladino producer Helen Pai’s best friend. The confirmation of this curiosity about A mom as a friend can be found in the name of Lane’s band: Hep Alien and the anagram of the name Helen Pai.
7) Luke was supposed to be a female character
This is the juiciest of the curiosities about A mom as a friend . Yes, you read that right: Luke Danes, the character played by Scott Patterson, was originally supposed to be a woman named Daisy. However, given the massive presence of female figures, the producers decided that he would be a man. This also made it possible to imagine a future love affair between him and Lorelai. Another curiosity about Luke’s character is his hat. It is no coincidence that you always wear it. In fact, Scott Patterson had played baseball for 8 years before turning to acting.
Source: Instagram, Scott Gordon Patterson
8) Jess, the beautiful and damned
As in any self-respecting TV series, at some point even in Una mamma per amica a character arrives determined to complicate the everyday life of the charming town of Stars Hollow. This is Jess Mariano, Luke’s nephew, played by Milo Ventimiglia. The rebellious boy who comes from afar approaches Rory, becoming her official boyfriend in the last episode of the 2nd season. Although their love was later wrecked, it was not the same for the one between the 2 actors off the set. Milo Ventimiglia and Alexis Bledel have in fact had an important relationship , which lasted almost 4 years and ended in the summer of 2006.
9) The Gilmore Girls actors were forced to speak very fast
This is one of the curiosities that most distinguish the production of Una mamma per amica . Usually the scripts, that is the screenplays of the TV series, are between 35 and 40 pages long. Those of the Gilmore Girls series were 75/80 pages. The actors were practicing to be able to speak quickly so that all the lines fit in the canonical 40-minute episode. When they did not succeed, during the editing phase, some parts were accelerated to reduce the time. We imagine that even for the voice actors it will not have been a walk!
10) Farewells to “new shores”
The last curiosity about A mother as a friend concerns the actors. Many have in fact left the series to continue their careers in other series. Tristan, Rory’s schoolmate played by Chad Michael Murray became Lucas Scott on One Tree Hill . Dean Forester, played by Jared Padalecki and now Sam Winchester in Supernatural . Adam Brody, who in the 3rd season plays Dave Rygalsky (member of the band Hep Alien and 1st boyfriend of Lane), leaves the series to take on the role of Seth Cohen in the series The OC . A detail that will not have escaped the most attentive fans: the character of him leaves to go to college in California, where the series is set that will have a huge success also in Italy.
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