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| The
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|  The
Fabulous Baker Boys is a 1989 film written and
directed by Steven Kloves
about two brothers (played by real-life brothers Jeff
and Beau Bridges) who perform
a duo piano show together in small Seattle clubs. They
hire a singer (Michelle Pfeiffer)
to keep their act current. The woman they hire causes
tensions between them. Although the film is set in the
present, its look, mood, and dialogue reflect a nostalgia
for films of the 1940s.
It was nominated for Academy
Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing,
Best Music, Original Score and Best Actress in a Leading
Role for Michelle Pfeiffer.
This movie meant the definitive recognition as an actress
for Pfeiffer and the scene where Michelle-Susie sings
“Makin’ Whoopee” on top of a piano
is already part of the History of Cinema. |
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| The Fabulous
Baker Boys: Genesis and Filming set |
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| In the Spring of 1985, screenwriter
Kloves had his Racing with the
Moon script made into a movie and sold his next
script, The Fabulous Baker Boys,
to producers Paula Weinstein
and Gareth Wigan who made
a deal with then President of Warner Brothers Mark
Rosenberg to make the film. However, Weinstein
and Wigan’s production company disbanded and she
became an executive consultant with MGM while Rosenberg
left Warner Bros. to form Mirage Productions with producer-director
Sydney Pollack. The project
stalled for awhile until Weinstein struck a deal with
MGM and Mirage but this eventually fell through and
Jeff and Beau
Bridges became attached to the project.
 Kloves
had originally envisioned them playing the Baker brothers
and they signed on after he met with Jeff on his Montana
ranch. He liked it and gave it to his brother to read.
Beau remembers, “Initially,
I was a little reluctant since Jeff had initiated it
and I didn’t want anyone to feel that big brother
had been forced upon them. By the time I’d finished
reading the script however, I would have killed to have
done it.” Madonna
was originally approached to play the part of "Susie
Diamond", she initially expressed interest in the
part, but after reading the script she refused to take
the part claiming it was "too
mushy". Debra Winger,
who was the second choice for the part was then approached
but she also declined the offer because she wanted to
spend time with her family. Michelle
Pfeiffer was a friend of Kloves prior to getting
the part, read the script, expressed an interest in
doing it and he then offered her the role.
By 1988, the film was finally greenlighted by Gladden
Entertainment and 20th Century Fox with Kloves directing.
Initially, it was thought that a more experienced filmmaker
would direct and George Roy Hill
was even considered at one point but over the three
years of development, Kloves convinced the producers
that he should direct. They were impressed with his
refusal to make a safe, Hollywood movie. He said in
an interview, “This was
a project where there was a feeling in town that it
could be made with Chevy Chase and Bill Murray which
would be a disastrous mistake.”
 Pfeiffer
hadn’t sung professionally since Grease
2 in 1982. She spent four months strengthening
her vocal chords with extensive daily practice sessions.
She also spent time researching lounge singers in the
Los Angeles area. Famous jazz pianist Dave
Grusin dubbed Jeff Bridges
piano playing while John F. Hammond
dubbed for Beau Bridges.
The actors were also coached by Joyce
Collins and Lou Foresteri
in order to look like they were actually playing the
piano.
Principal photography began on December 5, 1988 in
L.A. at the Ambassador Hotel, the home of the famous
Cocoanut Grove nightclub. Even though the film’s
story is set in Seattle, the filmmakers chose to shoot
most of the film in L.A. over the course of ten weeks
so that they wouldn’t be at the mercy of the Pacific
Northwest’s notoriously temperamental weather.
The crew ranged from 50 – 75 people and they spent
only one day shooting at each location.
Production designer Jeffrey Townsend
worked hard to create a specific look that reflected
the characters by suggesting “in
the succession of lounges that these are dank little
clubs they have always played and that the probably
look the same as when they were first booked into them
– fifteen or twenty years behind in the decor,
with years of drinks spilled on the carpets and smoke-infested
upholstery. Once Susie joins them, suddenly we see a
little more outdoors – windows overlooking ponds,
greenery, trees and rooms on higher floors of buildings.”
 For
the famous scene where her character sings “Makin’
Whoopee” on top of a piano, Pfeiffer rehearsed
it wearing knee and elbow pads but when it came to filming,
she went unprotected, claiming that it “was
rough on my knees” and that “the
most difficult thing was climbing down at the end.”
For this scene she had only one choreography lesson
that lasted three hours with choreographer Peggy
Holmes. Pfeiffer remembers, “We
didn’t want it looking like a choreographed dance.
The dress had to be open enough so I could move in it,
but closed enough so I wouldn’t be flashing.”
To achieve the elaborately shot sequence, a wooden platform
with a dolly track was built in an oval around the piano
which was on a stage in front of 300 extras. The scene
took six hours to film in four takes.
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| Movie
Details |
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| » Production Date: 1989
» Country: USA
» Runtime: 114 min
» Genre: Drama
» Box-Office Gross: $16,823,529
(USA) |
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| Cast
& Crew |
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Jeff Bridges
Jack Baker |
Michelle Pfeiffer
Susie Diamond |
Beau Bridges
Frank Baker |
Ellie Rab
- Nina
Jennifer Tilly -
Monica Moran
Xander Berkeley -
Lloyd
Dakin Mathews - Charlie
Gregory Itzin - Vince
Nancy
Wendy Girard - Donna
Baker
Jensen Daggett -
Jenny
Albert Hall
- Henry
Directed by Steve
Kloves
Screenplay by Steve Kloves
Produced by Mark Rosenberg
& Paula Weinstein
Co-produced by Bill Finnegan
Executive producer Sydney
Pollack
Associate producers Julie
Bergman & Robin
Forman
Original Music by Dave Grusin
Photography by Michael Ballhaus
Production Design by Jeffrey
Townsend
Set Decoration by Anne H.
Ahrens
Costume Design by Lisa Jensen
Film Editing by William
Steinkamp
Casting by Wallis Nicita
Production Companies:
Gladden Entertainment
Mirage
Tobis Filmkunst |
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| Filming
Locations |
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| Ambassador
Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles,
California, USA
Biltmore Hotel - 506 S.
Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California,
USA (interiors: hotel)
Crystal Ballroom, Biltmore
Hotel - 506 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles,
California, USA (Susie Diamond - song routine
on piano)
Fairfax, Los Angeles,
California, USA (delicatessen)
First Avenue, Seattle,
Washington, USA (opening
scenes)
Greystone Park & Mansion
- 905 Loma Vista Dr., Beverly Hills, California,
USA (exteriors: hotel)
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
- 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles,
California, USA (performance
location - Michelle Pfeiffer singing atop the
piano at hotel's Cinegrill)
Masin's Furniture Company
- 220 Second Avenue South, Seattle, Washington,
USA (apartment)
Pioneer Square, Seattle,
Washington, USA (apartment)
Roosevelt Hotel - 1531 Seventh
Avenue, Seattle, Washington, USA (West
Coast Roosevelt Hotel)
S. Grand Avenue, Downtown,
Los Angeles, California, USA
Union Station - 800 N. Alameda
St., Downtown, Los Angeles, California,
USA
Variety Arts Theatre - 940
S. Figueroa Street, Downtown, Los Angeles,
California, USA
Wilshire Boulevard, Los
Angeles, California, USA
Belltown, Seattle,
Washington, USA (opening
scenes)
Beverly Hills, California,
USA
Downtown, Los Angeles,
California, USA
Hollywood, Los Angeles,
California, USA
Los Angeles, California,
USA
Pasadena, California,
USA (auditions)
Seattle, Washington,
USA
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| Titles |
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» Original Title: The
Fabulous Baker Boys
» Austris/West Germany: Die
Fabelhaften Baker Boys
» Spain/Argentina: Los
Fabulosos Baker Boys
» France/Canada: Susie
et les Baker Boys
» Hungary:
Azok a csodálatos
Baker fiúk
» Denmark:
De Fabelagtige Baker Boys
» Spain (Catalan title): Els
Fabulosos Baker Boys
» Portugal:
Os Fabulosos Irmãos
Baker
» Venezuela: Los Fabulosos
hermanos Baker
» Sweden: De Fantastiska
Baker Boys
» Poland:
Fantastyczni Baker Boys
» Italy: I Favolosi
Baker
» Finland:
Loistavat Bakerin pojat
» Brazil: Susie E
os Baker Boys
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| Release
Dates |
» USA -
13 October 1989
» Argentina
- 7 December 1989
» France -
7 March 1990
» Australia
- 8 March 1990
» UK - 9 March
1990
» Finland -
16 March 1990
» Sweden -
6 April 1990
» West Germany
- 26 April 1990
» Netherlands
- 4 May 1990
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| Awards |
»1990 - Academy
Awards (Orcars), USA
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Michelle
Pfeiffer (Nominated)
Best Cinematography: Michael
Ballhaus (Nominated)
Best Film Editing: William Steinkamp
(Nominated)
Best Music, Original Score: Dave
Grusin (Nominated)
» 1991 - BAFTA Awards.
UK
Best Sound: J. Paul Huntsman,
Stephan von Hase,
Chris Jenkins, Gary
Alexander and Doug
Hemphill (Won)
Best Actress: Michelle Pfeiffer
(Nominated)
Best Original Film Score: Dave
Grusin (Nominated)
» 1990 - British
Film Institute Awards (Sutherland Trophy)
, UK
Steve Kloves (Won)
» 1990 - Chicago
Film Critics Association Awards, USA
Best Actress - Michelle
Pfeiffer (Won)
» 1990 - Golden Globes,
USA
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture
- Drama: Michelle Pfeiffer
(Won)
Best Original Score - Motion Picture: Dave
Grusin (Nominated)
» 1990 - Grammy Awards,
USA
Best Album of Original Instrumental Background
Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television:
Dave Grusin (Won)
» 1989 - Los Angeles
Film Critics Association Awards, USA
Best Actress: Michelle Pfeiffer
(Won) - Tied
with Andie MacDowell for Sex, Lies, and Videotape
(1989).
Best Cinematography: Michael
Ballhaus (Won)
» 1989 - National
Board of Review, USA
Best Actress: Michelle Pfeiffer
(Won)
» 1990 - National
Society of Film Critics Awards, USA
Best Actress: Michelle Pfeiffer
(Won)
Best Cinematography: Michael
Ballhaus (Won)
Best Supporting Actor: Beau
Bridges (Won)
» 1989 - New York
Film Critics Circle Awards, USA
Best Actress: Michelle Pfeiffer
(Won)
» 1990 - Writers
Guild of America, USA
Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen:
Steve Kloves (Nominated) |
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Sources: IMdB. |
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PfeifferTheFace Career | Movies - The
Fabulous Baker Boys
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© Francisco J. González
Since September 16, 2007
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March, 1990
February, 1990
