Tagline: New Girl. New School. New Rules.
When 16-year-old Malibu princess Poppy (Emma Roberts) trashes her beach front home in order to “welcome” her dad’s (Aidan Quinn) new fiancée, he carries out a long-promised threat to send her away to boarding school in York, England. There, she’ll finally learn the scholarship, fellowship and loyalty that have so far eluded her.
Very much a fish out of water, Poppy gets off to a royal bad start at the Abbey Mount School for Girls. She refuses to acknowledge the authority of snobbish and cruel Head Girl Harriet (Georgia King) and makes an instant enemy of the fifth-generation Abbey Mount student. She also fails to see the point in bonding with her schoolmates. Why bother? Poppy intends to be out of there and back to the beach in a few weeks anyway.
Several of her roommates-Drippy (Juno Temple), Kiki (Sophie Wu) and Josie (Linzey Crocker)-give Poppy the cold shoulder once her outrageous behavior starts costing them privileges. But the most mature of the girls, Kate (Kimberly Nixon, extends an olive branch when Poppy confides that her mother died in a car accident five years ago and she’s been struggling since. Naturally, the girls decide to help their wounded American sister get back home by aiding her in an expulsion.
Let Operation Freedom begin. When a series of audacious, humorous pranks doesn’t result in punishment from the school’s headmistress, Mrs. Kingsley (Natasha Richardson), the girls quickly realize they have to up the ante. Kate suggests Poppy target Mrs. Kingsley’s son, Freddie (Alex Pettyfer). The last girl caught snogging with him was sent packing.
When Harriet discovers Poppy is making the moves on Freddie, she’s furious. She’s always had a crush on him and (in her mind) is the rightful recipient of his affections. As Poppy challenges all Harriet holds sacred, the queen bee begins a campaign of sabotage. She has two intentions: leave Poppy friendless and Freddie-less.
Meanwhile, to take her mind off her troubles, Poppy gets in the swing of school life. When challenged by Mrs. Kingsley to make an effort, she launches into training the lacrosse team… American style. Poppy begins to understand her new friends are genuine and truly care about her-versus the vapid hangers-on she left behind at her old high school. All her efforts to leave the academy, particularly her flirtations with Freddie, make her realize that happiness at Abbey Mount might be in her grasp.
Furious at losing her power, Harriet forges emails that suggest Poppy has been using everyone for her own advantage-laughing at the idiocy of her new friends and the foolishness of Freddie. All her mates are hurt and devastated by the lies. Utterly forlorn, Poppy retreats to a quiet corner of the kitchen. She sits in misery, nervously flicking her souvenir lighter. Absorbed and unthinking, she lights a thread at the bottom of the kitchen curtains, and they accidentally alight. Horrified, she quickly puts out the fire and runs from the scene, leaving her lighter behind.
Though Poppy thinks she put out the fire, it has unfortunately been relit. It spreads and chaos ensues throughout the school. She confesses to Mrs. Kingsley and, after doing so, discovers a lacrosse team photo from 1977 and learns her mother both went to her school and was captain of the team. Mrs. Kingsley has no choice but to propose her for expulsion before the school honor court, a trial by peers system. Fortunately, Kate and the other girls have finally realized the emails were doctored and show up to support their close friend.
During her interrogation of Poppy, Harriet accidentally trips up and reveals her own role in restarting the fire. Poppy is found innocent and then leads her team to a triumphant lacrosse win. While on holiday back home, a blissful Poppy and her newly happy dad relish the enjoyment Freddie and the girls find at their taste of the wild child’s world. She realizes the value of her lessons at the Abbey Mount and understands she has finally become the young woman her mother dreamed she’d be.
Malibu to Hertfordshire: Shooting the Comedy
In order to create Poppy’s move from a Southern California high school to a British boarding school, filming crisscrossed England’s countryside, as well as the city of Los Angeles. The shots of key interior scenes took place at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire; Robin Hood’s Bay, near Whitby, North Yorkshire; and in the historic village of Haworth, situated at the edge of the Pennine Moors in West Yorkshire. This region was made famous by authors who long ago documented the angst of young women-the prodigious Brontë sisters-and is now known as Brontë Country.
In the center of Haworth on Main Street, the exteriors and interiors of local businesses were transformed to accommodate filming. These included the vintage clothing and accessories shop The Souk, which became the charity shop where the girls rummage for fashions for the dance; the Rose & Co. Apothecary, which became the liquor store where Poppy charms her way into buying a few bottles; and Emma’s Eating Parlour, which became the site of Poppy’s transformation into a lovely brunette, Christopher’s Salon.
The majority of the exterior and interior school scenes were filmed at Cobham Hall in Kent, chosen as the setting for the fictional Abbey Mount School for Girls. Today, Cobham Hall is an independent boarding and day school for young women. It is steeped in history and set in 150 acres of Grade II-listed parkland in Kent.
Dating back to the 12th century, Cobham Hall was given by Henry II to a French knight. On two occasions, the manor house was visited by Elizabeth I, and Charles I spent a night of his honeymoon at Cobham. Charles Dickens often passed through the park on his way from his home at Gad’s Hill Place to drink ale at the Leather Bottle Inn in Cobham village-frequently stopping to visit his friend, the Earl of Darnley. The Hall has been home to everything from a priceless collection of old masters to recuperating Australian servicemen in the First World War.
Roberts felt right at home on the storied grounds. Her comfort level even allowed her to nod off while she was supposed to be faking rest during the shoot. She laughingly recounts, “I actually fell asleep in one scene. We were lying in bed and before I knew it, they were cueing everyone and said, `Linzey?’ and she had to wake up, then `Kim?’ and she had to wake up. Then it was, `Emma? Emma? Emma?’ I just woke up and said, `What happened? What happened?’ They knew I fell asleep so easily; it was so embarrassing.”
The Honor Court where Poppy is given the chance to clear her name and key classroom scenes were filmed by director Moore and cinematographer Chris Seager at Balls Park in Hertfordshire. The mansion, a building of great architectural interest and beauty, was erected by Sir John Harrison in 1640 during the reign of Charles I. It is situated in more than 100 acres of parkland on the outskirts of the county town of Hertford.
A private residence in Malibu became the location for Poppy’s beachside home. There, she would torture dad Gerry’s love, Rosemary, with an outrageous welcome to the family. Additional Los Angeles filming took place at the landmark Fred Segal shops and in Paradise Cove.
All of the girls had the opportunity to bond during the rehearsal process when they learned how to play lacrosse and dance to a routine that involved krumping. As producer Phillips recalls, “We were scared to death of the lacrosse, because not only did we not know anything about the game as filmmakers, not one of us had ever played it, and none of the girls were lacrosse players. We were very conscious we needed to shoot it authentically and believably, so we went to the experts and did a lot of training with real lacrosse players. In fact, the girls can play; they’ve all grasped it beautifully.”
Production wrapped, Nick Moore took off his director’s cap and headed to a place where he was very familiar: the editing bay, with Wild Child’s editor, Simon Cozens.
While he had been advised not to “pre-cut” the film in his mind, he found that old habits die hard. Of that shooting challenge, he reflects, “There were times when I thought, `I’m sure I’m not going to use this shot, except for that word. Why don’t we just shoot that word?’ But you can’t; it’s not fair on the actors. I remember being on set of a film I was cutting and there was an emotional scene on a wide shot. Halfway through the dialogue, the director cut it and I thought, `Poor actress!’ tried not to do that with my first film as a director.”
He needn’t have worried, as all the girls of Wild Child had quite a good experience in what was the first film for most. Concludes Roberts of her time on the shoot: “It’s been really fun working with a U.K. cast and crew. I’ve always wanted to visit England. Everyone made fun of me though, because I say things differently,” she laughs. “But they’re all coming to L.A., so then, we can make fun of them…”
Continue Reading and View the Theatrical Trailer
Wild Child (2008)
Directed by: Nick Moore
Starring: Emma Roberts, Natasha Richardson, Shirley Henderson, Aidan Quinn, Kimberley Nixon, Juno Temple, Linzey Cocker, Eleanor Turner-Moss, Selina Cadell, Daisy Donovan
Screenplay by: Lucy Dahl, Kate Kondell, Daisy Donovan
Production Design by: Eve Stewart
Cinematography by: Chris Seager
Film Editing by: Simon Cozens
Costume Design by: Julia Caston
Set Decoration by: Robert Wischhusen-Hayes
Music by: Michael Price
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some crude sexual content, language and drinking – all involving teens.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: August 15, 2008
Visits: 91
