When “Land of the Lost” opens in theaters tomorrow, fans of the original Sid and Marty Croft Saturday morning television versions will notice some major differences between the original series and the movie. One of the biggest is the characters of Will and Holly are no longer children, but are grown-up and played by by adults.
Another change will be the natuer of the Marshall and Holly relationship. According to actress Anna Friel, her Holly will have a crush on Marshall, played by Will Farrell. It’s because of that crush that she follows him on the expedition that leads to the trio being dumped in the “Land of the Lost.”
“My reasoning was always that she thinks that this genius is just hidden with all these mad eccentricities, so although he’s doing that, that’s a real genius behind that or something,” she told SciFi Wire. “It’s really hard not to fall in love with Will. I think he’s such a charming and warm guy, as is Danny. Just to play it very literal and to try and be endearing and empathetic but also have surprising balls. Brad had always said she was a secret football hooligan. I met the girl that it was based on, the character at the La Brea Tar Pits, and sat and talked to her a lot about it.”
Fans will also notice that Friel, who worked on the American series “Pushing Daisies,” has kept her British accent in the role of Holly. She said that her co-stars Farrell and Danny McBride encouraged her to keep the accent in playing the role.
“They wrote the character as a Brit from the very beginning,” she said. “[Director] Brad [Silberling] had always seen it like that. I don’t know why. Well, a lot of things change, because she was 14 [on the original show], the character that Danny McBride plays was 15 of 16, and they were brother and sister.
“I think just to move it on, they thought they needed different relationships,” she continued. “So that was nice. It was quite scary, to be honest, speaking in my own accent, because I usually hide. Not hide behind it, but it totally separates you from the character you’re playing, because you don’t hear yourself. So at first it was quite vulnerable-making, and then I settled into it and found it actually quite liberating and free.”
Starring in an effects-driven blockbuster was a new experience for the actress, who said the role came with its own set of difficulties.
“I did hurt my ankle,” said Frield. “One of the days, you know when we’re in the vines and we’re taken up? That was about a week of being in harnesses, and there was one when we were just yanked so hard. We’d all eaten lunch, and that’s really not a good idea to eat lunch before those harnesses. I’ll never do it again. Not only did we feel sick, but both Will and I were like, “I can’t quite see properly, can you?” He’s like, “No.” I said, “Are you having problems breathing?” He was like, “Yes.” We all thought we were going to have some kind of aneurysm, and we only took, like, a half an hour break, because we couldn’t breathe from that, and he had to be in it a lot more.”
Fans will be able to decide if they like the new take on the character when “Land of the Lost” opens in theaters Friday.
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