doesaxlhaveajack t1_iugoaqr wrote on October 31, 2022 at 4:33 AM

Reply to comment by Requiem45 in ‘Halloweentown’ star Kimberly J. Brown shares movie’s alternative ending by MarielaGorman

What kind of marketing stupidity convinced Disney to go with a conventionally pretty blond newbie over the actress we already loved, especially in a property with a cult following?

blackrose4242 t1_iugovf4 wrote on October 31, 2022 at 4:40 AM

I’m not sure if your being sarcastic or not, but I’m pretty that’s exactly why they dropped Kim. They wanted a “conventionally pretty blond”. Sara Paxton wasn’t a newbie, either, doing pretty well as the lead in Aquamarine. Disney did a dumb thing to sell a final movie and in their eyes, “it paid off”.

doesaxlhaveajack t1_iugpdff wrote on October 31, 2022 at 4:46 AM

I wasn’t being sarcastic. Kim was an appealing normal looking kid and I was surprised to see how naturally pretty she is as an adult, simply because I hadn’t seen her in anything since she was in the awkward phase we all go through. But even if she were a hag…she’s Marnie.

PEPESILVIAisNIGHTMAN t1_iuh20dr wrote on October 31, 2022 at 7:45 AM

That is not the reason why Kimberly was dropped. Disney agreed to give her a producer credit and it went to her head. She was fired after demanding the script be rewritten. (This is information I learned from one of the Halloweentown producers that I know)

locelot t1_iuh9mv4 wrote on October 31, 2022 at 9:44 AM

The creator of HalloweenTowen Sheri Singer and KJB sat down and did an interview together and reading through the lines it seems like they always wanted a blonde actress and jumped at the chance of a recast:

Singer: She came in and she wasn't who we had visually pictured, but she was the role. She blew everyone else away. She was great.

Brown: It was so exciting when I found out I got it because I remember loving the script and loving the idea of playing a teenage witch. And then hearing Debbie Reynolds was signed onto it, it was like, oh my gosh, I'm going to play Debbie Reynolds' granddaughter!

Singer: Debbie was coming in with the blonde look and Judith [Hoag] was reddish blonde, so I thought it would maybe be a lighter girl. Of course, this is so politically incorrect today, but they were all related…I had just envisioned a Blondie. But she came in and she was it.

—

About the recast:

Singer: It was not something we wanted to do. We could not come to terms that we felt were fair. We just weren't able to. We couldn't make the deal work. That was why and we didn't want to not do it. I know people didn't like it, but it's not like people haven't been recast before. I always was sorry. That's how it went.

—

enews interview source

PEPESILVIAisNIGHTMAN t1_iuhcknf wrote on October 31, 2022 at 10:25 AM

I hadn’t read that interview before, but it’s bizarre to think the producer I know would lie in such a slanderous way about what happened. They were my mentor for a few years and always wonderful about answering my questions about their days at Disney.

Bobby_Marks2 t1_iugpasw wrote on October 31, 2022 at 4:45 AM

Disney doesn't cast adults in shows to target an adult audience. They cast kids, and recast constantly because their target market isn't old enough to love an IP for the casting history. It's the same reason they crank out massively successful Disney Channel shows like Wizards of Waverly Place or Hanna Montana, and yet they still end shows after 3-4 seasons instead of running them 10-12 seasons like general audience sitcoms.

Prudent-Pay-8389 t1_iugxvm6 wrote on October 31, 2022 at 6:41 AM

Sorry that's just stupid.

IMDB lists Brown as born in November 1984, Halloweentown High released in October 2004. She was already around 19 while filming. The next film was set in college and released two years later. Hardly a difference makeup wouldn't overcome if at all necessary.

And the target demographic was clearly the young adults that grew up with the movies. Hence the logical continuation from high school to college. I doubt the casting cared for the actual age of the actress so far she could pass as student.

Way more likely is that the now grown up child stars are more self assured and learned from their older support cast that wages go up with subsequent entries.

Bobby_Marks2 t1_iuj12r4 wrote on October 31, 2022 at 6:20 PM

I'm not saying it makes sense in every case. It's probably a hard policy Disney has to keep their productions from stagnating.