Writing Works
Legally Blonde the musical
After the producers of Legally Blonde the Musical (Hal Luftig, Kristin Caskey and Mike Isaacson) saw the movie “Freaky Friday,” they thought I might be a good choice to become the book writer for Legally Blonde. I was dubious about writing for Broadway (what’d I know?) but I loved the original film, so I met with them. It was a lovefest from day one and I knew in my bones it was meant to be. After Jerry Mitchell the director read my script “Not Kappa Material,” and he wanted to hire me as well. Then I met Larry O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin the composer and lyricist, and we were off to the races. It was four years of difficult, beautiful work, and I consider the entire production a bit of child of mine. I ended up getting pregnant with my daughter Harper and found myself pumping milk during rehearsals. I love Elle Woods so much.
Freaky Friday
After winning the 1999 Walt Disney Screenwriting Fellowship, my assigned Disney producer Andrew Gunn really sparked to my “Heathers”-esque dark comedy “Not Kappa Material.” He passed the script along to then-Disney president Nina Jacobson who thankfully also enjoyed it. I was then hired me to rewrite “Freaky Friday,” a movie I had driven down to Des Moines to see on the big screen as a kid and didn’t much care for. When “Princess Dairies” opened to a huge box office, the pressure was upped on me to really deliver on “Freaky Friday.” Getting the call from my Disney executive Kristin Burr they were going to make the movie was one of the best moments of my life.
What to expect when you’re Expecting
I was about nine months pregnant with my son Drake when I sold the pitch to What to Expect. There was a mad bidding war (Lionsgate won) and it was a true passion project. I was back to work almost immediately on the script after Drake’s birth. The character of Wendy was by far the easiest for me to write (a hormonal mess).
Freaky Monday
When Mary Rodgers wrote Disney president Michael Eisner about how much she loved the remake of “Freaky Friday,” I wrote her back! She was an idol of mine and we forged a friendship. I don’t recall exactly how the book came about but I was eager to work with Mary, and writing a novel had always been a life goal of mine. I ended up writing the script of "Freaky Monday” which Disney Channel was going to make, but Mary Rodgers’ estate wouldn’t sign off on it for some reason. That was a bit heartbreaking but I’m still grateful for the chance. It was fun to write, and I crafted a lot of it on my days off while I was shooting MTV's “The Search for the Next Elle Woods” in New York.