9 Behind The Scenes Facts About Disney's Cheaper By The Dozen 2022 Remake
The latest interpretation of the 1948 novel of the same name, Cheaper By The Dozen (2022) was released on Disney+ earlier this year and starred Zach Braff and Gabrielle Union as a family made up of a dozen children. Written by Black-ish creator Kenya Barris, the movie tackles family themes and racial issues while attempting to give families a good ol' belly laugh.
But while the movie was being made, it had plenty of behind-the-scenes obstacles and drama. Despite these challenges and a long road to its release, the movie did reach its end goal and can now be watched by Disney+ subscribers. What exactly happened though?
Before 20th Century Fox was bought by Disney, they were planning several productions, one of which was an adaptation of Cheaper By The Dozen, according to Deadline. However, the movie's delay and the acquisition meant that it would eventually become a Disney production.
One of the things that people might not know about Kenya Barris was that in 2016, he and his production company, Khalabo Society Ink, signed on to produce several movies for 20th Century Fox (now known as 20th Century Studio). Despite the Black-ish creator's commitments with ABC, Barris intended to produce several movies, alongside Cheaper By The Dozen.
Back in April 2020, the movie was in pre-production just as the coronavirus pandemic was taking its hold on the world. But while this may have slowed down productions, it didn't stop movies from being planned and casting to take place.
For the role of the mother and wife of the family, the casting for Zoey Baker could have ended up with different results. Before Gabrielle Union would eventually be cast in the role, The Disinsider reported that Regina Hall was in talks to appear in the movie. And having appeared in multiple comedy movies and television shows over the years, it's easy to see why Hall would have been an ideal cast member.
It's not surprising to know that there were many movies that were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. While some of them were eventually able to resume filming as usual with safety protocols, some took a bit longer due to a number of reasons.
There were multiple sources that give insight into an idea of how long filming took for Cheaper By The Dozen filming took, including What's On Disney Plus and People. The filming for Cheaper By The Dozen was planned for the 13th of July in 2020, and in November of that year, Disney announced they would resume or complete filming for all of their productions. The movie was being filmed in April of 2021, making it a lengthy and challenging process for everyone involved to get it completed, and one of many Hollywood movies that were filmed during the pandemic.
Cheaper By The Dozen was filmed in Los Angeles, California, and while some of the locations haven't been officially confirmed, some sources, like The Cinemaholic, believe that some of the shots were filmed in a very famous studio. And with Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, they now have access to it.
Based in Century City, the Fox Studio Lot has produced some of the most iconic movies in Hollywood. As well as hosting such films as Fight Club and The Sound of Music, Bruce Willis' debut as John McClane in the iconic Die Hard movie was also filmed here.
For her theatrical directing debut, Gail Lerner had a lot of elements to contend with. As well as being responsible for a brand new movie for Disney+, she also had to work alongside a lot of child actors, as well as dogs, who played as the family pets.
Lerner may be new to directing movies, but she is no stranger behind the camera, as mentioned when she was interviewed by Collider. She previously directed multiple episodes for various television shows, with her more recognized work coming from the directing chair of Black-ish. But Lerner also directed episodes for other television shows too, including Mixed-ish, Call Your Mother, and Grace and Frankie.
Kenya Barris' success as a comedic writer knows no bounds, especially after the success of his hit television series, Black-ish. He has written many theatrical comedies alongside his credits in television, including Shaft, The Witches, and Coming 2 America.
But despite his talents for humor, not all of his jokes were used in the movie. In an interview with director Gail Lerner, "If a line on a page just wasn't working for them, even if it was a Kenya Barris killer joke, that joke was gone and replaced with a joke that was organic for that kid."
Some may have fond memories of the previous Cheaper By The Dozen in 2003 and Cheaper By The Dozen 2 in 2005 starring Steve Martin as the father of a large and eccentric family. Those same fans might even have reasons why one Cheaper By The Dozen movie is better than the other. While the comedic actor was known for such hits as The Jerk, Little Shop of Horrors, and Father of the Bride, these family-friendly movies from the early 2000s not also introduced him to younger audiences, but made people more aware of the book that inspired it too.
However, when Zach Braff took on the role of the father and husband of the remake, it was revealed in an interview with Forbes that he didn't read the book that the movies were based on. Some may also be surprised that he didn't watch the Steve Martin predecessors too, going into the production with a fresh perspective.
With over 10 kids to act with, Zach Braff and Gabrielle Union certainly had a lot to deal with on their plate. From chaotic indoor bike races to tackling multiple themes in one story, the actors had a lot to juggle as they discussed the process in an interview for Ashley & Company.
But probably one of the biggest was when filming commenced, as the parents and guardians of the child cast had to leave them with Braff, Union, and the rest of the crew. While there must be a lot of chaotic behind-the-scenes fun yet to be revealed, this was one tall order for any movie production and the two actors had a lot of attitudes to handle. With Gabrielle Union starring in many challenging roles and being a mother herself, Braff certainly had the best acting partner for this situation.
Black-ish has easily become of the most celebrated television comedies in recent years, tackling serious racial and social issues while also giving the audience plenty of laughter. And if it wasn't for this show, there would never be a working relationship between two writers, who would eventually go on to work together on a Disney+ movie.
Gail Lerner and Kenya Barris worked within the writers' room to create multiple episodes for the show before she started to direct some of the episodes too. In an interview, Lerner said, "Kenya came to me and said, 'I want you to direct the movie,' and trusted me with the movie and saw me as someone who could live a bigger job than the one he had specifically seen me do."