LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman view \u201cPractical Magic\u201d very differently today than they did when they made it 28 years ago.<\/p>\n
In 1998, the film received mixed reviews and had a modest box office performance. It has since become a cult favorite, embraced by a new generation who found the romantic comedy through social media clips. The two Oscar winners are returning to their roles of witchy sisters Sally and Gillian Owens in \u201cPractical Magic 2,\u201d in theaters on Sept. 10, giving them a chance to reckon with the original\u2019s rocky reception and its unlikely second life.<\/p>\n
Both films trace their roots to Alice Hoffman\u2019s novels: \u201cPractical Magic,\u201d published in 1995, inspired the original film, while her 2021 novel \u201cThe Book of Magic\u201d expands the Owens family\u2019s story and provides inspiration for the sequel.<\/p>\n
\u2018Maybe it needed to marinate\u2019<\/p>\n
Bullock recalls a promotional push for the original film that became memorable \u2014 for the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had so much trauma from the press junket from the first one because it was brutal,\u201d Bullock recalls. \u201cWe were not well-received because we were \u2018too much,\u2019 \u2018too witchy,\u2019 \u2018too many women,\u2019 \u2018too many tones.\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018Have you lived a day in a life as a woman?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t stumble, but it stumbled, but it didn\u2019t really stumble. Maybe it needed to marinate a little bit. We were marinating,\u201d said Bullock. \u201cBut here we are, and how lucky are we that we\u2019re still here to be able to go reap the benefits and the rewards of our work?\u201d<\/p>\n
The movie eventually found the audience it had missed in theaters, and Bullock said she realized there had been a reappraisal about six years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was still harboring so much shame,\u201d she said. \u201cI was like, \u2018Oh my god, the things that were said, I\u2019m sorry, we thought we were doing something nice.\u2019 And turns out we did. It was just 28 and change years too early.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reclaiming the witch<\/p>\n
Part of that second life, Bullock believes, reflects a broader change in the way people have come to view the word \u201cwitch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA witch has always been a negative connotation. It was presented that way. The word is being taken back, and there\u2019s ownership of it from the community saying, \u2018I\u2019m a witch and I\u2019m proud,\u2019 \u201d Bullock said.<\/p>\n
For Kidman, the film\u2019s resurgence became personal.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople started just coming into my life who would go, \u2018You want to know what my favorite film of yours is? \u2018Practical Magic.\u2019 And suddenly I was like, \u2018What? Wow, OK,\u2019 \u201d she said.<\/p>\n
When it came time to make the sequel, Bullock sat down with her children and their friends to watch the original.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted fresh eyes,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause we were embarking on the new chapter, the new baby witches coming in. I wanted to understand it from a point of view I didn\u2019t have. I wanted to see what they had to say.\u201d<\/p>\n
Building the magic again<\/p>\n
As producers, Bullock and Kidman also faced the practical realities of mounting a legacy sequel on a budget. Among the challenges was recreating one of the original film\u2019s most recognizable elements: the Owens house.<\/p>\n
The production rebuilt the house on a London back lot as a full structure, rather than the temporary exterior shell used for the original film.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an incredibly tough fiscal time. We were hedging the dollar,\u201d Bullock said. \u201cWe\u2019re not a big superhero film, so you don\u2019t get the luxury of a big price tag.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kidman added: \u201cAnd we also knew the responsibility of bringing it in on a certain price because then you go, \u2018OK, we can breathe a bit,\u2019 \u201d she said. \u201cI think when a budget blows out, you\u2019re like, \u2018Oh my gosh, the stress.\u2019 And we don\u2019t need any more stress in our lives. It\u2019s stressful enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
A new generation of witches<\/p>\n
The sequel continues the story of the younger generation of Owens women, with Joey King and Maisie Williams playing Kylie and Antonia Owens, the daughters of Sally.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really appreciate that it\u2019s like a passing of the baton. I think it\u2019s beautiful,\u201d King said. \u201cIt just felt like we were stepping into their world and doing this with them, and it\u2019s a real gift and honor to be considered the people who are taking the batons.\u201d<\/p>\n
Producer Denise Di Novi, who also produced the original and cast King in her first leading role in 2010\u2019s \u201cRamona and Beezus,\u201d said the new characters could carry the story forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would love to make a third one, and I think there\u2019s so much more to do with Kylie and Antonia,\u201d she said. \u201cAt the end of the movie, spoiler alert, but you kind of feel like the Sally and Gillian characters are kind of the elder aunts, you know, and Kylie and Antonia are the ones launching off into the world as witches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams is also hoping to expand on the younger Owens women\u2019s story: \u201cWe\u2019re so there for it. There\u2019s so much more of \u2018Book of Magic\u2019 that we didn\u2019t get to explore,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman view \u201cPractical Magic\u201d very differently today than they did…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":609414,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[276060,276059,4670,458,884,276061,146,276058,85,46,253529,81852,397,11087,66999],"class_list":["post-609413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-alice-hoffman","tag-antonia-owens","tag-california","tag-celebrities","tag-comedy","tag-denise-di-novi","tag-entertainment","tag-gillian-owens","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-joey-king","tag-maisie-williams","tag-movies","tag-nicole-kidman","tag-sandra-bullock"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/609414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}