First Daughter Producer John Davis describes the film’s title character as “an American princess who has lived this sheltered, protected life, but not by her own choosing. She goes off to college, and she just wants to be a normal student, but she’s burdened with a high profile.
She has the almost impossible task of doing what every kid does when they go off to college, and that’s separating from your parents and becoming your own person. The film deals with these trials and tribulations in a comedic and poignant way.”
The project required a director with a keen eye for comedy and romance, and Forest Whitaker brought those qualities, and much more, to the table. “Forest is really wonderful directing romantic movies, and he’s great with actors,” says Davis. “He can get more out of an actor than almost any director I’ve ever worked with. He’s also meticulous with details, and gives scenes so much life.”
Whitaker wanted to make First Daughter feel like a fable filled with subtle signs and references. “There’s symbolism throughout everything I do, because that’s how I see the world,” says Whitaker. To that end, he imbued the script with icons, specific colors and more of a fairy tale story line.
“It’s the story of a princess who leaves the ‘castle’ [the White House] to go out in the world to discover who and what she is,” says Whitaker. “She falls in love and is betrayed, but she doesn’t give up. She comes to find herself, and then goes off on a journey to be complete. Sam is trying to find her own voice and define herself outside of her parents, on her own terms, amidst fun and constant pressure and scrutiny, to come to a place for herself that feels good.”
Whitaker insists that he couldn’t imagine anyone but Katie Holmes in the title role. “I was a judge at the Sundance Film Festival where her independent film ‘Pieces of April’ was screened,” he recalls. “And I was mesmerized by her performance.
“Katie is a woman, but she can also seem very young,” Whitaker continues. “And FIRST DAUGHTER is about Samantha’s coming of age. I thought Katie could manage the difficult task of walking those two worlds. She’s also beautiful in a classic way, and I wanted to make a classical type of film. Katie also makes you laugh; she isn’t afraid to make fun of herself. And she shows all these qualities in our film.”
For Holmes, it was the character’s transitions that most appealed to her. “As wonderful a position as it is being the First Daughter, certain hardships come with it as well,” says the actress. “Sam is very innocent when you first see her. She’s been protected and isolated from her peers because she’s been around adults her whole life. She’s always on display, and she supports what the First Family wants to benefit the President. ”
Despite the pressures of being First Daughter, Samantha yearns for a normal life – and she will do everything possible to make that happen. “What I love about Samantha is her sassiness,” says Holmes. “She is determined to have a life outside her parents’ sphere and she’s going to go as far as she can to get that. I love people who take risks, and I liked that about Sam.”
As eager as she is to break from the constraints of being the First Daughter, Samantha enjoys a strong bond with her father – a charming, empathetic, fun dad who just happens to also be the leader of the free world. “I wanted this President to have a sense of humor, be down to earth, but also have the weight to carry some of the emotional scenes,” explains Whitaker. “Michael Keaton effortlessly does all of those things, and more.”
Keaton understood the part immediately. “I didn’t model this President after any other; I wanted him to be original,” he says. “He’s compassionate, understanding and bright. He also has a lot of integrity. He sees all that in his daughter, so they’re kindred spirits.”
The father-daughter bonding made their scenes together a joy for both actors. “Katie is authentic and genuine,” says Keaton. “Those are two adjectives I seldom use for other people. And when acting with her, she makes really smart, sometimes very subtle, instinctive choices. I was impressed.”
The other man in Samantha’s life is her dormitory Resident Advisor, James Lamson, whom Whitaker, in keeping with his vision of the film as a fable, describes as “a Lancelot to Samantha’s Guinevere.” Marc Blucas takes on the role.
Prior to Blucas’ audition, Whitaker had neither met Blucas nor seen his previous work. A chance encounter outside the film’s casting offices between director and actor intrigued Whitaker even before Blucas’ reading. “I saw Marc, and said to the casting director, ‘Who is that guy outside? He’s the star of our movie,’” says Whitaker. Blucas sealed the deal after an impressive audition.
But what Whitaker liked most about Blucas was something less obvious. “I loved Marc’s spirit and the fact that he’s innately wholesome, charming and honest,” says the director. “And that is important because in the end, what James is doing is noble and a sacrifice for a greater cause. And Marc convincingly brought all that to the part.”
When Samantha first falls for James, it’s not all blaring trumpets; it is a much more down-to-earth romance. “I think Sam is attracted to James because he’s throwing a sweatshirt at her, or calling her just by her last name,” says Blucas. “She’s never been treated like this before. She’s thinking ‘here’s someone who’s dealing with me like a real person, not the First Daughter.’”
Blucas was pleased that James appears so gallant in many scenes. But his heroic acts sometimes took their toll on the actor physically. “For one scene, I carried Katie out of a bar, down the street a hundred yards, up thirty stairs, and down a dorm hall. We did it probably 25 times. And I realized that carrying even a beautiful actress like Katie wears on you. And I’m sure it wasn’t easy on Katie either. I was throwing her over my shoulder. She probably couldn’t breathe, and maybe she was getting my elbow jammed in her stomach half the time.”
While James and Samantha are trying to find their way through romance and college life, Samantha’s roommate, Mia, is enjoying her new-found freedom and collegiate life too. R&B talent Amerie makes her acting debut as Mia, whom Amerie calls a “spunky know-it-all with a lot of attitude.”
Whitaker had interviewed many candidates for this role before he met Amerie, whose naturalness and personality proved irresistible to the director. “Amerie is naturally very irreverent and funny; just what Mia should be,” he says.
The young actress says she is fortunate to have had Whitaker, himself an actor, to guide her through her first acting job. “My experience as a singer showed me that working with producers who are also performers themselves is a bonus. Since Forest is such an amazing actor, he could explain what he wanted from my performance in a way I could easily understand.”
Rounding out the First Daughter starring cast members are Margaret Colin as Melanie Mackenzie, the First Lady, and Lela Rochon Fuqua as Liz Pappas, the President’s Press Secretary.
First Daughter (2004)
Directed by: Forest Whitaker
Starring: Katie Holmes, Marc Blucas, Michael Keaton, Dwayne Adway, Andrew Caple-Shaw, Margaret Colin, Amerie, Lela Rochon, Michael Milhoan, Ken Moreno, Alex Avant
Screenplay by: Jerry O’Connell, Jessica Bendinger
Production Design by: Alec Hammond
Cinematography by: Toyomichi Kurita
Film Editing by: Richard Chew
Costume Design by: Francine Jamison-Tanchuck
Set Decoration by: Denise Pizzini
Art Direction by: Keith Neely
Music by: Michael Kamen, Blake Neely
MPAA Rating: PG for sexual situations, alcohol-related material.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release: September 24, 2004
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