ShoWest Decade of Achievement: Drew Barrymore
Flower power
March 15, 2005
Although her roles elicit laughs from audiences worldwide, actress and producer Drew Barrymore is someone Hollywood takes very seriously.
In fact, industryites have no choice but to show deference now that the child star, who once gained notoriety for her prepubescent imbibing, has evolved into a veritable showbiz powerhouse. With a string of romantic comedy hits and summer tentpoles produced through her Flower Films over the past decade, the 30-year-old topliner is finally generating more ink for her professional triumphs than her personal misadventures.
Following on the heels of three Flower Films productions -- 2000's "Charlie's Angels," 2003's "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and 2004's "50 First Dates," all of which were $100 million-plus domestic earners -- studio heads are rolling out the welcome mat for Barrymore and her producing partner, Nancy Juvonen.
"She is one of the most professional, hardworking, amazing producers I've worked with," says Amy Pascal, vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and chairman of Sony Motion Picture Group, who has worked with Barrymore and Flower Films on both "Charlie's Angels" films, "Dates" and 2001's "Riding in Cars With Boys." "(Drew is) really insightful, really a filmmaker, a total perfectionist."
In recognition of Barrymore's recent stellar run, ShoWest will fete the multihyphenate with its 2005 Distinguished Decade of Achievement in Film award. Past recipients include Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman and Gwyneth Paltrow.
"I started Flower Films 10 years ago with Nancy, and it is in this decade that I have found I've been the happiest and most productive in my whole life," says Barrymore, who also made her directorial debut last year with the youth-voter documentary "Choose or Lose Presents: The Best Place to Start," which aired on MTV. "My 20s was about producing and acting, and I'm determined to challenge myself in my 30s and take all of it higher."
Born into Hollywood royalty -- she is the granddaughter of John Barrymore and the great-niece of Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore -- Barrymore made her screen debut at age 3 in Ken Russell's acclaimed 1980 hit "Altered States." She continued to toil on a number of high-profile projects, including Steven Spielberg's 1982 blockbuster "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and Charles Shyer's "Irreconcilable Differences" in 1984. She also toplined a pair of Stephen King-penned horror movies: 1984's "Firestarter" and 1985's "Cat's Eye." But the heavy workload led to alcohol and drug abuse, which was chronicled in her 1990 autobiography "Little Girl Lost," and Barrymore appeared to be washed up by her teens.
But the plucky actress re-emerged in the early '90s in a series of Lolita-esque roles, including 1992's "Poison Ivy" and "Guncrazy" and the 1993 telefilm "The Amy Fisher Story," whose director, Andy Tennant, saw in Barrymore a determined professional who wanted respect.
"I found her incredibly tenacious," says Tennant, who later directed Barrymore in one of her turning-point films, 1998's "Ever After." "I think that's what I admire most about her: She didn't quit."
Stephanie Savage, director McG's writing and producing partner, who worked with Barrymore on "Full Throttle," first met the actress in the early '90s during her potentially dead-end femme-fatale oeuvre. But, Savage recalls: "She was just indefatigable. She was like, 'I'm gonna take control and make my own company; I'm gonna make my own movies.'"
In October 1994, Barrymore did just that when she recruited Juvonen, then an executive personal assistant to E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons. The pair set up Flower Films in the laundry room of Barrymore's Los Angeles home.
"She had all of this empirical knowledge from all of these years of making films, but we hadn't studied film," Juvonen remembers. "What we had was we had our audience heads on, which we still do." Barrymore and Juvonen began to analyze movies that resonated with them and started to compile binders with potential screenwriters and directors for their first project.
Around the same time, Barrymore's non-Flower Films roles began to improve. She landed a part in Woody Allen's 1996 musical "Everyone Says I Love You," which showcased her underused comedic skills. But it was three films in 1998 that offered a glimpse of Barrymore as one of Hollywood's most bankable romantic heroines: "The Wedding Singer," in which she co-starred with Adam Sandler; "Home Fries," in which she played Luke Wilson's pregnant love interest; and Tennant's Cinderella reinterpretation "Ever After."
"When we did 'Amy Fisher,' she was a young girl and very successful, doing her job.
But when we did 'Ever After,' she had blossomed into a remarkable woman who was focused, grounded and a grown-up," Tennant says, explaining Barrymore's dramatic metamorphosis. "There are moments in 'Ever After' that break my heart because they seem to be way beyond a performance. I really think that the camera captured a part of Drew that she'd never shown before."
Barrymore's banner year helped pave the way for her first Flower Films production, 1999's "Never Been Kissed," for which she and Juvonen took their first producer credits.
The film was a hit, grossing more than $55 million at the domestic boxoffice, and demonstrated the duo's nose for material. Then came Barrymore's toplining turn in "Charlie's Angels" for Sony. Producers Barrymore and Juvonen took a risk by hiring newcomer McG, which turned out to be a shrewd decision when the film became a domestic and international boxoffice success, as well as a cultural phenomena that embodied the over-the-top spirit of the new millennium.
"It's not very often that people can say this, but I 100% owe my entire film career to Drew Barrymore, and that is not an exaggeration," says McG, who also directed the actress in "Full Throttle." "I went in to pitch the first 'Charlie's Angels' picture to Amy Pascal. She did not want to hire me, and Drew went in and said, 'He does the picture, or I'm not doing it.' Amy acquiesced. I owe everything to Drew."
Barrymore and Juvonen took a chance on another emerging talent when they read the script of a then-relatively unknown twentysomething writer-director named Richard Kelly. The Flower Films partners approached Kelly's agent at ShoWest 2000 and expressed interest in Kelly's strange, experimental "Donnie Darko," which was a clear departure from their previous popcorn fare.
"When I heard that, I just flipped out," says Kelly, who then met Barrymore on the set of "Charlie's Angels." "It was the difference between a green light and not a green light. Her name was enough to raise $4.5 million."
Barrymore took a small role in the 2001 film, but as Kelly recounts, she stayed mostly hands-off. "Her main agenda was, 'I'm here to protect you, to get you your financing, to let you make your movie however you want to make it,'" he explains.
"Darko" initially was a boxoffice flop, earning just $727,883 during its domestic theatrical run. But the sci-fi/fantasy film spurred a cult following, finding success in its video/DVD afterlife. Eventually, Kelly's director's cut was rereleased theatrically, which provided vindication for the Flower Films partners.
"We have tried hard to stay true to ourselves while still expressing our range," explains Barrymore, who takes Hollywood's fickle ups and downs in stride.
And despite Barrymore's recent successes, the actress-producer did weather one Flower Films disaster with 2003's Danny DeVito-helmed black comedy "Duplex," which grossed less than $10 million at the domestic boxoffice despite an estimated $40 million budget. Also, the $120 million-budgeted "Full Throttle" was something of a boxoffice disappointment, performing below expectations by barely crossing the $100 million mark in North America.
Next month, Barrymore will return to her winning formula -- light romantic comedy -- with the release of the Fox 2000 production "Fever Pitch," directed by brothers Bobby and Peter Farrelly and co-starring Jimmy Fallon. Like many of Flower Films' recent efforts, "Pitch" showcases Barrymore as a multitasking filmmaker.
"She's very involved in all aspects of postproduction," Fox 2000 president Elizabeth Gabler says of her experience collaborating with Barrymore, who she calls a "consummate professional but with a smile. She is a true producer, not just someone who takes the title."
Adds Pascal: "Drew gets involved in every single detail. There's nothing that's going on with one of Drew's movies that she doesn't know. Drew sits in the editing room. Drew is on the mixing stage. ... You couldn't get her out of the marketing meetings, being in on cutting the trailers."
Or as Pascal aptly summarizes, "Drew is full-service."
In fact, industryites have no choice but to show deference now that the child star, who once gained notoriety for her prepubescent imbibing, has evolved into a veritable showbiz powerhouse. With a string of romantic comedy hits and summer tentpoles produced through her Flower Films over the past decade, the 30-year-old topliner is finally generating more ink for her professional triumphs than her personal misadventures.
Following on the heels of three Flower Films productions -- 2000's "Charlie's Angels," 2003's "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and 2004's "50 First Dates," all of which were $100 million-plus domestic earners -- studio heads are rolling out the welcome mat for Barrymore and her producing partner, Nancy Juvonen.
"She is one of the most professional, hardworking, amazing producers I've worked with," says Amy Pascal, vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and chairman of Sony Motion Picture Group, who has worked with Barrymore and Flower Films on both "Charlie's Angels" films, "Dates" and 2001's "Riding in Cars With Boys." "(Drew is) really insightful, really a filmmaker, a total perfectionist."
In recognition of Barrymore's recent stellar run, ShoWest will fete the multihyphenate with its 2005 Distinguished Decade of Achievement in Film award. Past recipients include Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman and Gwyneth Paltrow.
"I started Flower Films 10 years ago with Nancy, and it is in this decade that I have found I've been the happiest and most productive in my whole life," says Barrymore, who also made her directorial debut last year with the youth-voter documentary "Choose or Lose Presents: The Best Place to Start," which aired on MTV. "My 20s was about producing and acting, and I'm determined to challenge myself in my 30s and take all of it higher."
Born into Hollywood royalty -- she is the granddaughter of John Barrymore and the great-niece of Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore -- Barrymore made her screen debut at age 3 in Ken Russell's acclaimed 1980 hit "Altered States." She continued to toil on a number of high-profile projects, including Steven Spielberg's 1982 blockbuster "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and Charles Shyer's "Irreconcilable Differences" in 1984. She also toplined a pair of Stephen King-penned horror movies: 1984's "Firestarter" and 1985's "Cat's Eye." But the heavy workload led to alcohol and drug abuse, which was chronicled in her 1990 autobiography "Little Girl Lost," and Barrymore appeared to be washed up by her teens.
But the plucky actress re-emerged in the early '90s in a series of Lolita-esque roles, including 1992's "Poison Ivy" and "Guncrazy" and the 1993 telefilm "The Amy Fisher Story," whose director, Andy Tennant, saw in Barrymore a determined professional who wanted respect.
"I found her incredibly tenacious," says Tennant, who later directed Barrymore in one of her turning-point films, 1998's "Ever After." "I think that's what I admire most about her: She didn't quit."
Stephanie Savage, director McG's writing and producing partner, who worked with Barrymore on "Full Throttle," first met the actress in the early '90s during her potentially dead-end femme-fatale oeuvre. But, Savage recalls: "She was just indefatigable. She was like, 'I'm gonna take control and make my own company; I'm gonna make my own movies.'"
In October 1994, Barrymore did just that when she recruited Juvonen, then an executive personal assistant to E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons. The pair set up Flower Films in the laundry room of Barrymore's Los Angeles home.
"She had all of this empirical knowledge from all of these years of making films, but we hadn't studied film," Juvonen remembers. "What we had was we had our audience heads on, which we still do." Barrymore and Juvonen began to analyze movies that resonated with them and started to compile binders with potential screenwriters and directors for their first project.
Around the same time, Barrymore's non-Flower Films roles began to improve. She landed a part in Woody Allen's 1996 musical "Everyone Says I Love You," which showcased her underused comedic skills. But it was three films in 1998 that offered a glimpse of Barrymore as one of Hollywood's most bankable romantic heroines: "The Wedding Singer," in which she co-starred with Adam Sandler; "Home Fries," in which she played Luke Wilson's pregnant love interest; and Tennant's Cinderella reinterpretation "Ever After."
"When we did 'Amy Fisher,' she was a young girl and very successful, doing her job.
But when we did 'Ever After,' she had blossomed into a remarkable woman who was focused, grounded and a grown-up," Tennant says, explaining Barrymore's dramatic metamorphosis. "There are moments in 'Ever After' that break my heart because they seem to be way beyond a performance. I really think that the camera captured a part of Drew that she'd never shown before."
Barrymore's banner year helped pave the way for her first Flower Films production, 1999's "Never Been Kissed," for which she and Juvonen took their first producer credits.
The film was a hit, grossing more than $55 million at the domestic boxoffice, and demonstrated the duo's nose for material. Then came Barrymore's toplining turn in "Charlie's Angels" for Sony. Producers Barrymore and Juvonen took a risk by hiring newcomer McG, which turned out to be a shrewd decision when the film became a domestic and international boxoffice success, as well as a cultural phenomena that embodied the over-the-top spirit of the new millennium.
"It's not very often that people can say this, but I 100% owe my entire film career to Drew Barrymore, and that is not an exaggeration," says McG, who also directed the actress in "Full Throttle." "I went in to pitch the first 'Charlie's Angels' picture to Amy Pascal. She did not want to hire me, and Drew went in and said, 'He does the picture, or I'm not doing it.' Amy acquiesced. I owe everything to Drew."
Barrymore and Juvonen took a chance on another emerging talent when they read the script of a then-relatively unknown twentysomething writer-director named Richard Kelly. The Flower Films partners approached Kelly's agent at ShoWest 2000 and expressed interest in Kelly's strange, experimental "Donnie Darko," which was a clear departure from their previous popcorn fare.
"When I heard that, I just flipped out," says Kelly, who then met Barrymore on the set of "Charlie's Angels." "It was the difference between a green light and not a green light. Her name was enough to raise $4.5 million."
Barrymore took a small role in the 2001 film, but as Kelly recounts, she stayed mostly hands-off. "Her main agenda was, 'I'm here to protect you, to get you your financing, to let you make your movie however you want to make it,'" he explains.
"Darko" initially was a boxoffice flop, earning just $727,883 during its domestic theatrical run. But the sci-fi/fantasy film spurred a cult following, finding success in its video/DVD afterlife. Eventually, Kelly's director's cut was rereleased theatrically, which provided vindication for the Flower Films partners.
"We have tried hard to stay true to ourselves while still expressing our range," explains Barrymore, who takes Hollywood's fickle ups and downs in stride.
And despite Barrymore's recent successes, the actress-producer did weather one Flower Films disaster with 2003's Danny DeVito-helmed black comedy "Duplex," which grossed less than $10 million at the domestic boxoffice despite an estimated $40 million budget. Also, the $120 million-budgeted "Full Throttle" was something of a boxoffice disappointment, performing below expectations by barely crossing the $100 million mark in North America.
Next month, Barrymore will return to her winning formula -- light romantic comedy -- with the release of the Fox 2000 production "Fever Pitch," directed by brothers Bobby and Peter Farrelly and co-starring Jimmy Fallon. Like many of Flower Films' recent efforts, "Pitch" showcases Barrymore as a multitasking filmmaker.
"She's very involved in all aspects of postproduction," Fox 2000 president Elizabeth Gabler says of her experience collaborating with Barrymore, who she calls a "consummate professional but with a smile. She is a true producer, not just someone who takes the title."
Adds Pascal: "Drew gets involved in every single detail. There's nothing that's going on with one of Drew's movies that she doesn't know. Drew sits in the editing room. Drew is on the mixing stage. ... You couldn't get her out of the marketing meetings, being in on cutting the trailers."
Or as Pascal aptly summarizes, "Drew is full-service."
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