“FREAKIER FRIDAY, a sequel to the beloved 2003 film with a multigenerational twist, stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as Tess and Anna Coleman. The story picks up years after Tess and Anna endured an identity crisis. Anna now has a daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. As they navigate the myriad of challenges that come when two families merge, Tess and Anna discover that lightning might indeed strike twice!” – Walt Disney Pictures
Lightning did strike twice, in a very positive way, in the form of star Jamie Lee Curtis!
Set Decorator Brandi Kalish SDSA tells us, “I was really excited to get the call from Production Designer Kay Lee to set decorate FREAKIER FRIDAY. At the time, I was wrapping the film ELLA MCCAY after shooting for seven months in Rhode Island, and Jamie Lee Curtis was on both projects! I found out the next day, while on a set for ELLA MCCAY, that Jamie had been talking with the FREAKIER FRIDAY director, Nisha Ganatra, the night before and had mentioned my work on ELLA MCCAY! It was so selfless of her to do this, and I have thanked her many times since.”
“Kay Lee and I have worked together before, and we really have a lot of fun on projects. She is talented, has bold ideas and, most of all, she is a really kind person. Between the Art Dept., Props and Set Dec we really had an incredible crew.”
Here’s a quick look at some of the fabulous sets they created...
Record Shop...
“This is a location in Hollywood, an existing shop. We made custom art, but also found local California artists to add. There was no Coffee Bar...we pulled so much out of this location to then bring SO much in, all of the set dressing is colorful and reflects the SoCal vintage record shop vibe. I made sure to use our Los Angeles vendors for rentals to spread the love.”
Record Shop, Coffee Bar. OnSet photo. All Rights Reserved.
The Photo Shoot...
“We shot this at a DTLA Warehouse. All of our sets were beyond fun, but this one sticks out to me the most. Production Designer Kay Lee and I, plus our talented crews, found food-related giant set dressing...a giant pink and white movie popcorn box that we filled with popcorn kernel balloons, colorful oversized cupcakes, donuts & popsicles, playhouse stage waves, custom-made cotton candy clouds, and hundreds of yards of cotton candy tulle from the Fabric District.”
The Photo Shoot. Giant food-related set dressing! OnSet photo. All Rights Reserved.
The Photo Shoot. Giant popcorn box with popcorn-shaped balloons. OnSet photo. All Rights Reserved.
The Photo Shoot. The photo equipment, custom cloud backdrop and “cotton candy” tulle. OnSet photo. All Rights Reserved.
Anna’s House...
[Lindsey Lohan’s character’s house]
“This location was a cute South Pasadena bungalow that was completely empty. So, once our designer Kay Lee had the walls painted in these incredible gems-tones, I started to add the layers of LiLo’s character Anna and her daughter Harper.
Harper’s Bedroom was a riot! She is a surfer and a true diehard California girl. I added stickers and poster art of Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa in her room to express the storm-tossed feeling Harper was experiencing as her mother Anna was soon to be married to Eric, who came with Lily, a new stepsister in tow.
There are layers upon layers throughout the house, from us making “memorabilia” to bringing our own personal items from the past to show a mother’s love for her child.
I wanted to make sure I showed Anna as a strong-yet-loving single mom who was still rock-star cool, but had her own dreams to be something more, and making her daughter proud.
Anna’s House.
Aesthetic layers of love, life, strength and vision. OnSet photo. All Rights Reserved.
Anna’s House, her daughter Harper’s Bedroom. A surfer girl haven, even the comforter is quilted in waves! OnSet photo. All Rights Reserved.
Coleman House...
This was an empty location 5-bedroom home, which we came in and dressed during the beginning of summer. I dug deep for classic California nostalgia that Dr. Tess Coleman [Jamie Lee Curtis], Anna’s mother, would have collected with her husband Ryan [Mark Harmon], which is displayed in layers on their bookshelves.
The large contemporary cactus painting from ArtSpace Warehouse is by artist Will Beger, who paints Southern California, Palm Springs and Southwest pieces.
Art Department wallpapered, we added all new lighting and custom window treatments, and dressed every single room to the last detail.
Coleman House. Tasteful, classic California home. OnSet photo. All Rights Reserved.
Coleman House. A great California collection, from art to furnishings. Upscale beach vibes. OnSet photo. All Rights Reserved.
Peg’s Bar: Bridesmaid Party...
I had so much fun doing this set. I found on Facebook Marketplace one of those giant Halloween skeletons from Home Depot for sale, we bought “just the skull” and cleaned it up, then took it to Lolli Props, a boutique prop house, where they encrusted it with mirror pieces for our Disco Skull on the set. It was fought over by many cast and crew -- everyone wanted it!
Peg’s Bar: Bridesmaid Party. House of Chiang catered party buffet is a soft shoutout to the place where the girls shared fortune cookies in the original FREAKY FRIDAY. Note the great barback Brandi’s team created. OnSet photo. All Rights Reserved.
Peg’s Bar: Bridesmaid Party. Guitar case full of gifts. Inset: Set Decorator Brandi Kalish SDSA holds the Skull Disco Ball she had made for this party scene. Yes, we have a definition for fabulous! OnSet photos. All Rights Reserved.
Notes on the making of the film...
FREAKIER FRIDAY is a love letter to LA, shot in LA for LA...How could we not?
Many of the locations were sadly lost in the Palisades and Eaton fires. particularly the original FREAKY FRIDAY house, which was the last set on our shooting schedule.
SO many things had to be custom made for Freakier Friday!
I am truly grateful for all my crew members who are all gifted artists and crafts persons.
Leadperson: Tom Bartlett. “My right hand man and a logistical mastermind”
Gangboss: Terra Espinosa. “Tiny, talented and keeps us organized”
Buyer: Emilie Louise. “Red hot illustration artist with Einstein drapery skills”
Buyer: Julia Moquin. “Glittery hummingbird who can pull a decker with calculated precision”
Set Dec Coord: Annie Parham. “Calm and centered bombshell who makes sure every penny has its place”
On-Set Dresser: Bruce Seymour. “He is in tons of paparazzi photos with LiLo because that’s how important he is, for realz!”
Set Dresser extraordinaire: Jordan Kelmenson Paul. “Flies in like a bat in the night at the 11th hour and fixes literally anything”
Set Dressers: Yaniv Bashan, Colin Bartlett, Curtis Shane Rogers, Brian Porter, Jon Aguillon, Mitch Lamoureux, Eric Shafer, Phil Briggs, and tons more!
“These Set Dressers had our backs always and are so packed full of skills that we’d survive an apocalypse if stuck in the gold room when it happened”
And our Los Angeles Hollywood SDSA Vendors!!!
Truly could not have done it without them. I was very mindful of the state of our industry and was so happy to hear we were filming all in LA.
Special shout out to these LA vendors!
• Lolli Props
• Advanced Liquidators
• Warner Bros Property
• Universal Property
• American Screen and Window (AMCO)
• Lennie Marvins Prop Heaven
• U-Frame-It
Special note:
“I also feel it is important to mention, with the state of our industry right now, that just in the Set Dec Department alone, my Leadman Tom Bartlett and I were able to help over a dozen Local 44 members either reinstate their health insurance or be able to make their remaining hours to keep their health insurance for themselves and their families. Please consider that in production choices, studios."
