Garner’s research for the role of Jenna, included hanging out with 13-year-olds and trying to remember what was special — and not so special — about that age. “Luckily, I have this really good friend, Madeline Sprung Keyser, who was 12 at the time and we’ve been friends for five or six years,” says Garner. “Every now and then she will react to a situation like an adolescent and remind me that she’s everything at once — a grown-up child. A kid of 13 can seem like an adult, but that can be deceptive. You always have to remember they are also incredibly vulnerable, skittish and childlike. Finding that balance was challenging.”
Another aspect of the character Garner researched was how 13-year-olds relate to one another. For this she turned to producers Arkoff Roth and Arnold, “borrowing” their teen daughters Hannah and Julia for a sleepover. “Hannah and Julia invited some of their friends over and we all spent the night together. I stayed up as late as I could, which I have to admit wasn’t very late. I did try to rouse myself around 4 a.m. because I knew some really good stuff had to be going on. I dragged myself into the kitchen where they were all talking. I tried with all my might to pay attention and stay awake. Unfortunately, I don’t remember much of what happened then. Hannah and Julia later told me that I stumbled in, made a s’more, ate it and went back to bed. Oh, to really be 13 again,” she laughs.
Despite her best efforts to bond with teenagers, there were some places Garner drew the line, especially when it came to the sleeping arrangements. Faced with the prospect of nodding off in a sleeping bag, Garner commandeered the couch. “I told them, ‘Hey, I am 30 years old. I’m pulling rank. I get the couch and I am going to bed right now.’”
In the movie, Jenna Rink is lucky enough to have every teenager’s fondest dream come true. She gets to skip the challenges of adolescence and find herself already grown up enjoying the fruits of adulthood. During the rehearsal period, the 13 Going on 30 acting ensemble bonded, sharing their own personal stories about the agonies and joys of growing up. “We all remembered how terrified we were of all that lay ahead for us,” says Garner, to which Greer adds, “We all related to how badly we wanted to be on our own at that age and not have anyone tell us what to do — even though we knew we weren’t really ready yet.”
The cast members also confessed some of their own wishes and dreams as teenagers. “I was in a very awkward stage for a long time,” says Garner. “I played in the marching band. I didn’t wear cool clothes ever and I wore huge glasses. I just wanted to grow up and be able to put one foot in front of the other and carry on a conversation. Oh, and to wear contact lenses,” she laughs. “I really wanted contacts.”
For Greer, her teenage years were marked by the kind of torturous anxiety that only peer pressure can engender. “At the time I didn’t think I’d ever fit in or find a place where I belonged,” she says. “When you’re a kid you think it’s really important to hang with the cool people at your school. Then when you grow up, you realize it doesn’t matter at all. They don’t even end up being your friends. You have all new friends — thank goodness.”
Serkis remembers that at 13 all he wanted was the chance to see Steven Spielberg’s classic Jaws. “I was furious that my older sister could see it and I couldn’t. So I borrowed a pair of shoe lifts and my sister’s mascara to fill in the tiny bit of moustache hair I had and tried to pass myself off as older to get into the theater. It didn’t work.”
A touchstone of their common experience is evident in the film’s “Thriller” dance sequence — a nod to Jenna’s childhood and the 1980s. It takes place at a hip New York party for Jenna’s Poise magazine at which she innocently tries to liven things up, with a group of people who have apparently forgotten how to have fun. When Jenna starts to dance, however, her guests drop their poses and soon everybody’s dancing.
“I had only one cassette tape growing up and it was ‘Thriller,’” says Garner. “So getting to do that dance, to rehearse it and have all the back-up dancers was seriously one of the most fun experiences I have ever had.”
Ruffalo agrees, though when it came time to actually dance, he suffered from a bit of stage fright at first. “That was my youth,” he recalls. “‘Thriller’ was the tape that everyone passed around. But I was really nervous about the dance because I really don’t dance. We had to take lessons. I wound up having a very good time.”
Greer also had a good time during the dance rehearsals. “It was really enjoyable to work with the choreographer and learn the routine,” she says. “ It was so cool to be part of a great big dance number in a movie. It was also tougher than it looks. My feet hurt for three days.”
Like Ruffalo, Serkis was a bit apprehensive about the dance number — actually, “terrified” is a better word, he says. “I had no idea it was going to be a full-fledged routine. I got a call in London, where I live, saying they wanted me to do a moonwalk. So I spent ages with a choreographer. When I arrived on set the first day of dance rehearsals it seemed as if everyone knew the routine very well. I was terribly frightened. Fortunately, we were allowed to fall in and out of it, just as people who are remembering an old dance would normally do.”
The spirit of the dance number proved to be infectious. Even producer Matthews got into the swing of it. Dusting off her 80s dance shoes, she stepped in front of the camera and let her hair down. “Like everyone else, I was obsessed with “Thriller.’ I stayed up until midnight when it premiered on ABC. I recorded it on my Beta deck and memorized every move. When we started rehearsing, all the moves came back. They were ingrained in my memory.”
For Winick, the challenge of the dance sequence was to harness the actors’ energy and make the scene build organically to serve the story. “I didn’t want it to feel like a music video. I wanted it to work dramatically. As good as the dancing is, the reason the scene works is because it’s plot oriented. Jenna is saving the party the way a 13-year-old would, not an adult.”
There are other 80s references in the movie — from pop icons like Madonna, Rick Springfield and Pat Benatar, to slang like “grody” and “gag me with a spoon.” Since most of the actors grew up in that period, “it was super fun,” says Greer. “I’d forgotten a lot of it, but after awhile it all came back”
In the film, Garner makes use of her experience with physical action — only this time it’s in the service of comedy. “I think there’s a huge correlation between physical action and physical comedy,” she says. “It’s all about being used to being in your body and not being afraid to go for it.”
Her invaluable partner in the transition to physical comedy was her director, she says, who allowed her free rein, but always kept her focused through his keen attention to detail. “I don’t know if it’s because of his background in independent films, but Gary is better with story than anyone I’ve ever worked with,” she says. “He was always aware of the logic of this strange little world we’d created for the character and the reality of what would happen to her from moment to moment. There was never a second when I didn’t feel like he elevated what I was doing.”
Greer was also taken with Winick’s highly personal style of directing, again a product of his background in independent film. “He was never back at the monitor or hidden behind 14 assistants,” she says. “He was right there next to the camera, watching us, talking to us. And I came to trust him to that degree that I knew he wouldn’t stop until he had gotten what he wanted out of us. He knew what he wanted and was able to tell us what it was.”
The producers were also enthused about Winick’s team-player approach as well as the personal insights he brought to the project. “Gary understands women very, very well,” says Arnold, “and he’s dogged about the things he believes in. He always remains true to himself, and yet at the same time he is unbelievably collaborative. He’s eager for input and was open to all our ideas and gave them the weight and respect they deserved.”
Adds Matthews, “He really cares about being truthful to the theme and that the audience really understands Jenna’s journey. Gary had a strong sense of both the comedic elements and the truth of the story. And that combination is priceless. It brought wonderful levels of subtlety to the film.”
Coming from the independent world of digital-video and minimal crews, Winick’s first foray into Hollywood-style filmmaking initially took him aback. “I think he was a bit shocked when he walked onto set the first day and there were 100 people there instead of just four,” laughs Arkoff Roth.
Winick admits that the sheer size of the production took some getting used to. “I came in thinking that dealing with such a large crew might be frustrating, especially since I was able to accomplish a great deal on Tadpole in 12 days with a digital-video camera and just a few people. On 13 Going on 30, I was suddenly dealing with more than 100 crew people at a time. Once I got to know everybody’s names it was great to have. There were some, like the men and women down on the street controlling that traffic, who I hadn’t even met yet. But what was gratifying was the level of experience and professionalism. They thought of everything. Nothing ever got by them. And that’s very comforting for a director.”
A native New Yorker, Winick was also happy that 13 Going on 30 was set in New York — and then surprised to learn that all the interiors would be shot in Los Angeles. “I am a New Yorker and want to make all my movies in New York. So picking a project set in New York was a big plus for me. So I was amused when I found out most of it would be done in L.A. In the end, however, it was a great experience to shoot in L.A. and I got to shoot 17 days in New York. And by the time we got to New York to film the exteriors, I was really well prepared and very comfortable with the crew.”
Garner was also accustomed to shooting in New York and was thankful for her experience on “Alias,” which better prepared her for the crowds that formed around the locations everywhere she went. “One day we were in the middle of Manhattan and there were hundreds of people watching from across the street. I had to come though some revolving doors and freak out — to jump up and down waving my hands wildly in the air with all these people watching. They really had no idea what I was doing or why I was doing it. And there were all these paparazzi taking pictures. It was a bit intimidating. Fortunately, I was familiar with acting in public because of “Alias,” which made it somewhat easier to pull off.”
Second Chances
Producer Gina Matthews was immediately taken with the idea for 13 Going on 30 when it was pitched to her by writers Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith, who had created Matthews’ big hit What Women Want. “Cathy and Josh always come up with great, funny concepts with strong themes. Any time you sit down with them you know what they’re going to tell you is going to be hilarious and entertaining and that audiences will gravitate to it for all the right reasons.”
Thematically, the core of 13 Going on 30 for Matthews was “about the choices we make in our lives and how easy it is to get off track. One day you can wake up and look around and ask yourself ‘Am I happy where I am?’ This story is all about wish-fulfillment and second chances.”
Donna Arkoff Roth and Susan Arnold, the producers of such memorable films as America’s Sweethearts and Grosse Point Blank, fell in love with the character of Jenna Rink when they read an early draft of the script.
“Jenna was a character we could all relate to, a confused young woman on the verge of adulthood,” says Arkoff Roth. “Thirteen is a tough age because you’re on the brink of becoming — You’re caught in the middle … You’re not quite a woman, but you’re not a kid anymore either.”
“We had this image of Jenna holding a stuffed animal in one hand and mascara in the other,” adds Arnold. “Who doesn’t relate to that awkward age when you’re so impatient with childhood but apprehensive about becoming an adult as well? We’ve all been there.”
Like Matthews, Arkoff Roth and Arnold were also drawn to the underlying theme of the movie. “We love comedies with a message, and the ultimate message of this story is that you have to be true to yourself,” says Arnold. Arkoff Roth adds, “It’s a wonderful feeling when you can make people laugh and also give them a little something to think about — to see someone struggle and then emerge with a very simple, but meaningful answer.”
Arkoff Roth and Arnold have always been drawn to unique and multi-dimensional female characters. Having previously worked with Julia Roberts (America’s Sweethearts) and Sandra Bullock (Forces of Nature). Jenna’s tale, the producing partners realized, would also require a special actress with a unique blend of vulnerability, pluck and humor. They found that rare combination in actress Jennifer Garner, the award-winning star of TV’s “Alias.”
“The moment we sat down with her, we realized that Jennifer was a really funny person with a wonderful ingenuous quality,” says Arnold. “It was such a stroke of good fortune to find someone who is funny and smart and who embodied all the qualities necessary — the innocence and playfulness — to portray Jenna Rink,” adds Arkoff Roth.
Garner was happy to hang up Sydney Bristow’s (her character on “Alias”) kickboxing boots for the hiatus and slip into Jenna’s tennis shoes. “There were so many things I liked about Jenna’s story,” says Garner. “I loved the idea of being 13 again – naïve and childlike and eager to fit in. But perhaps the most endearing quality of the script is about having second chances, not only with true love, but with your relationship with your parents — and getting the opportunity to turn your life around.”
“This movie shows Jennifer in a way that we haven’t seen her before,” says Arkoff Roth. “Even though she’s known for the fearless action role she plays on ‘Alias,’ we recognized her abundant talent as a comedienne. For anyone who has spent time with her, or even seen her being interviewed on television, it’s immediately obvious that she has fantastic comic timing. She’s a very funny person.”
“What’s interesting about Jennifer is she is this incredibly open, effervescent, wonderful woman,” says Matthews. “ When she walked into the room to meet us she embodied this youthful yet wise spirit of Jenna Rink.”
Having the good fortune to have found Garner to play their leading lady, the producers’ next task was to bring in a director with a bold, fresh approach to the material. That turned out to be independent film director Gary Winick, whose feature film Tadpole won the directing award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2002. “I was offered a lot of romantic comedies after Tadpole, but I chose 13 Going on 30 because it had more substance. It’s about second chances,” Winick declares. “It’s about getting everything you ever wanted only to realize that none of those things make you happy, and then having a second chance to make the right choices.”
Another facet of the story that appealed to him was how complex and imperfect all the characters are. “In the story we come to understand what each person is going through and know them a little better — and maybe ourselves as well,” says Winick. “I’m not trying to sound artsy about it. It’s an entertainment, but it does have something to say that’s really meaningful.”
Apart from his attraction to the story, a deciding factor for Winick was the casting of Garner. “Jennifer was a huge reason why I wanted to do this movie. She has both the vulnerability and the strength of personality to take us on Jenna Rink’s journey. The levels she brought to her performance turned out to exceed even my wildest expectations.”
As with everyone on the project, Garner quickly became charmed with Jenna and her struggle to get back the life she has left behind. “What gives the story such resonance is that we get to see what happens when Jenna makes the choice to be popular and what road that leads her down,” says Garner. “I love that when she wakes up she is suddenly 30 years old has to find out what happened in her own life. She has to piece together her own history like she’s had some kind of crazy amnesia. She’s ultimately given the chance to go back and redo her life, but she has to fight for it.”
Once on board, Winick found that he had jumped into a project heavily fueled by estrogen. “Three female producers and a female star,” he laughs. “But thank goodness for that, because they were pretty focused on the dilemmas facing 13-year-old girls. Not only were my producers women but they also had 13-year-old daughters. It was perfect.”
Jenna’s best childhood friend, Matt Flamhaff, is a slightly overweight, solitary adolescent, who evolves into an unconventionally handsome and interesting 30-year-old photographer. The producers immediately set their sights on the fast-rising actor Mark Ruffalo (You Can Count on Me, In the Cut) for the role.
“Right off the bat, Donna, Susan and Gina all agreed that Mark was the one,” says Winick, “which pleased me enormously because I thought they’d be going after a more typical Hollywood-type leading man that we usually see in this kind of romantic comedy. Mark is a serious actor with a huge independent film background and he brought a completely different dimension to the part.”
For Arnold the choice of Ruffalo was a no-brainer. “In addition to being an amazing actor, you get the sense from Mark that he can genuinely portray Matt’s earnestness and devotion. He’s the kind of guy you can see Jenna falling in love with.”
Ruffalo’s style also complemented Garner’s in a way that Matthews felt would give the story a solid grounding in reality. “Mark has a sort of dry wit that made his scenes with Jennifer very real. Every choice he made was a completely honest one.”
Ruffalo enjoyed the opportunity to play with the character of Matt Flamhaff since, as he puts it, “I usually end up playing more intense characters. But I had a lot of fun with Matt. He’s a pretty straightforward guy, but he also has this wonderfully goofy quality as well.”
In Matt, Ruffalo saw an incomplete human being who not only helps Jenna come to better understand who she is, but discovers something about himself as well. “In a lot of ways Matt is shut down. He’s given up on the idea of romantic love because he was burnt so badly by Jenna when he was younger. She kind of re-ignites his passion.”
The chance to play opposite Ruffalo was exciting for Garner, she admits, since she was a not-so-secret fan. “Mark is delicious. I don’t know anyone who saw You Can Count on Me who didn’t fall head over heels for him,” she says. “If, at that time, you would have told me that I would be working with him a few years later, I wouldn’t have believed you. It would have been a total dream come true.”
Jenna’s nemesis in the film is the very cool and popular Lucy (a.k.a. Tom Tom), who is portrayed by Judy Greer (Adaptation). Winick labels Greer “unbelievable, a comic genius. She was our secret weapon.”
For Greer the role is more of a stretch than one would imagine. “It’s weird that I got to play the girl who was the most popular in school because that was so not the case with me. Also, Lucy can be pretty mean. I make Jenna do my homework for me. I try to control her and use her as a stepping stone to get what I want.”
British actor Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) earned the role of Richard, Jenna’s flamboyant boss at the troubled, high fashion magazine Poise, who is at first frustrated and then charmed by Jenna’s antics. “Richard has always thought Jenna was a bit eccentric. But they have always been creatively in tune until recently. Now she seems a bit off and he is thrown by her,” says Serkis.
While he plays a very colorful character, Serkis was careful to keep his actions in the proper perspective. “I always wanted to be certain that it was the situation that was funny, not the character.”
13 Going on 30 (2004)
Directed by: Gary Winick
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Kathy Baker, Judy Greer, Andy Serkis, Marcia DeBonis, Christa B. Allen, Sean Marquette, Kiersten Warren, Lynn Collins, Mary Pat Gleason
Screenplay by: Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, Niels Mueller
Production Design by: Garreth Stover
Cinematography by: Don Burgess
Film Editing by: Susan Littenberg
Costume Design by: Susie DeSanto
Set Decoration by: Leslie E. Rollins
Art Direction by: Chris Cornwell
Music by: Theodore Shapiro
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content and brief drug references.
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: April 23, 2004
Visits: 215
