Channing Tatum - She's The Man Production Notes 3

On the rival soccer fields, Robert Torti, who had last worked with Andy Fickman in “Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical,” was cast as Cornwall’s chauvinistic Coach Pistonek, and, in something of a casting coup, onetime soccer great Vinnie Jones was set to play Illyria’s tough Coach Dinklage.

“Bringing in Vinnie Jones, who was one of the all-time great footballers, really grounded the soccer scenes for us,” Fickman offers. “It was great to have him on set because he’d be the first to kind of nudge us and say, ‘We’d never do that.’ Then we’d make the change, mostly because Vinnie is big and imposing and could hurt me if I didn’t,” he jokes.

Fickman says that from the veterans to the newcomers and from the teenagers to the baby boomers, “I loved the ensemble feel of our cast. I loved the fact that, on any given day, cast members would show up on set, even when they were not filming. These people had plenty of opportunities to go play when they were not on call, but every day I’d turn around and see them there. Now, admittedly, it was usually around lunch…”

The producers and cast all credit Fickman with creating a fun, family atmosphere on the set. “First of all, he’s got boundless energy,” Ewan Leslie states. “Whether it was 5:00 a.m. or the end of the day, he was ready to go. He created a really positive set, and everybody loved and respected him.”

Shuler Donner adds, “This is the most fun I’ve had producing a movie, and I’ve produced a lot of them. Andy was a joy in that he knows what he’s doing, and he has a great time doing it. That joy carried over to every member of the cast and crew.”

“Andy was so great,” Amanda Bynes attests. “He was there for everyone, and it’s not every day that you have a director who is always in such a good mood. We were all having so much fun together, I didn’t want it to end.”

To foster that feeling of fun and camaraderie, Fickman brought the cast together for two weeks of rehearsals prior to the start of filming. James Kirk recalls, “We all came in for rehearsals and really got to know each other before we started shooting. We totally bonded. I think that approach came from Andy’s theatre background because, in theatre, the relationships are built during rehearsals, whereas, in filming a movie, you’re usually put on the spot with total strangers. This way, we all warmed up to each other and the comfort zone was there, which made it so easy on the set.”

“We spent a lot of time together on and off the set, which made it very familylike,” Channing Tatum agrees. “Andy has a way of bringing that side out of everybody. It was the best because, when you were doing a scene with someone who’s supposed to be your best friend, it wasn’t hard to imagine.”

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