30 Years of Mrs Doubtfire: Celebrating the 30th anniversary of “Mrs. Doubtfire,” director Chris Columbus shared insights into the making of the 1993 comedy in a recent interview with Business Insider. Columbus revealed that Robin Williams, renowned for his improvisational skills, shot 2 million feet of film during the production due to his spontaneous dialogue.
According to Columbus, Williams approached him early in the process with a proposition: “I’ll give you three or four scripted takes, and then let’s play.” This meant Williams wanted to improvise, and that became the approach for every scene. Columbus recalled the challenges this posed for the script supervisor, who had to handwrite Williams’ improvised lines as he often changed them with each take.
On several occasions, Williams improvised so much that he exhausted all the film loaded into the camera. Columbus had to resort to shooting the entire movie with four cameras to keep up with Williams’ unpredictable improvisation. The director explained that he wanted to capture the reactions of other actors, as nobody knew what Williams would say next.
Despite the copious amount of footage shot, Columbus revealed he still has over 900 boxes of material, including outtakes and behind-the-scenes clips. He expressed the desire to turn this treasure trove into a documentary to showcase Robin Williams’ unique creative process.
Columbus stated, “There is something special and magical about how he went about his work, and I think it would be fun to delve into it.” With approximately 2 million feet of film in storage, the director envisions the potential for a fascinating exploration of the making of “Mrs. Doubtfire.”
For those interested in revisiting the classic film, “Mrs. Doubtfire” is currently available for streaming on Disney+.
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Our Reader’s Queries
Why was Mrs. Doubtfire 2 Cancelled?
The Mrs. Doubtfire sequel never happened after Robin Williams’ unfortunate passing, as no one else could fill his shoes in the iconic role. Matthew Lawrence and Lisa Jakub were on board for a sequel, but Mara Wilson and Sally Field were not interested in reprising their roles.
How many years ago was Mrs. Doubtfire?
Adapted from the 1987 English novel Madame Doubtfire, the movie hit theaters on November 24, 1993.
How much did Robin Williams improvise in Mrs. Doubtfire?
Director Chris Columbus revealed that they captured a staggering 2 million feet of film during the making of ‘Doubtfire’ due to Robin Williams’ unparalleled improv skills. Columbus expressed his intention to repurpose the unused footage for a future documentary project.
Do Daniel and Miranda get back together?
The initial conclusion had Daniel and Miranda remaining divorced, but it was later revised to have them reconcile and tie the knot again.