FILM · 1995 · USA
It Takes Two
34 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (34)
- #001
Mara Wilson was considered for the roles of Amanda Lemmon and Alyssa Callaway after director Andy Tennant saw her in both Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and Miracle on 34th Street (1994). She was unavailable, however, because she was making Matilda (1996). Christina Ricci was also considered, but she too was unavailable because she was appearing in Casper (1995).
- #002
In the horse chase scene between Kirstie Alley and Steve Guttenberg, it is clearly visible in almost every clip of the scene that they are in fact performing their own riding stunts.
- #003
Rysher Entertainment tried to sell the film to various studios, among them Paramount Pictures, New Line Cinema, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and TriStar Pictures, but all four studios turned the offer down. Warner Bros. acquired the film's theatrical and home video rights because they had a deal with Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen's production company, Dualstar Productions. Coincidentally, Paramount Pictures is the current owner of Rysher Entertainment's film library (including this film), and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer theatrically distributed Rysher Entertainment's films for a time.
- #004
The real address of the Callaway Mansion used in the film is 68 The Bridle Path, North York, Ontario M3B 2B1, Canada.
- #005
Winona Ryder was director Andy Tennant's first choice for the role of Diane Burrows. Rysher Entertainment rejected her because they thought Ryder was too young for the role and wanted Julia Louis-Dreyfus instead. However, the producers of Seinfeld (1989) would not let her out of her contract. Lori Loughlin, Geena Davis, Kim Cattrall, Mary-Louise Parker, Sandra Bullock, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laura Dern, Joan Cusack, Kelly Preston, Lea Thompson, Meg Ryan, Melanie Griffith, Sigourney Weaver, Susan Sarandon, Elizabeth Perkins, Goldie Hawn, Tatum O'Neal, Andie MacDowell, Brooke Shields, Nicole Kidman, Karen Allen, Linda Hamilton, Helen Hunt, Julia Roberts, Catherine O'Hara, Julianne Moore, Heather Locklear, Reba McEntire, Demi Moore, Madonna, Sharon Stone and Rene Russo were also considered for the role.
- #006
John Candy was initially considered for the role of Vincenzo, but he died before the producers could offer him the part. Dom DeLuise, Danny DeVito, Joe Pesci, Bob Hoskins, Harvey Keitel, Rowan Atkinson, Lawrence Tierney, Charles Grodin, Christopher Walken, Rik Mayall, Patrick Stewart, Gérard Depardieu, Paul Reubens, Dick Miller, Robert Davi, Gene Wilder, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Rod Steiger, Phil Collins, Jack Nicholson, Bob Newhart and Christopher Lloyd were also considered.
- #007
Ernie Grunwald, who plays Harry Butkis, went on to work with the Olsen twins on the television series Two of a Kind.
- #008
Penelope Spheeris, the film's director, who had directed the Olsen twins in a small role in The Little Rascals (1994), was asked to direct this film, but Lorne Michaels, the producer of her hit film Wayne's World (1992), wanted her to direct Black Sheep (1996) with Chris Farley and David Spade at the same time, and because of her desire to work with Farley she chose to direct the second film instead.
- #009
Harvey Fierstein was suggested for the role of Vincenzo by Kirstie Alley, because the two had shot an episode of Cheers (1982) together, but he was busy with Independence Day (1996) and had to pass.
- #010
Jodie Foster was briefly considered for the role of Diane but had to turn it down because she was busy directing Home for the Holidays (1995), which also starred Steve Guttenberg and was released in theaters two weeks before this film.
- #011
Richard Gere was offered the role of Roger Callaway, but his agents advised him to turn it down in order to shoot Primal Fear (1996) instead.
- #012
Tim Robbins was offered the role of Roger Callaway but declined because he was also directing Dead Man Walking (1995) at the time.
- #013
When Amanda is first mistaken for Alyssa at the Callaway house, she refers to Vincenzo as "Lurch." This is a reference to The Addams Family (1964), in which Lurch is the name of the tall, frightening butler.
- #014
The first draft of the screenplay, written by Deborah Dean Davis, was never read by director Andy Tennant. The draft was first taken to PolyGram and Living Title Films by producers James Orr and Jim Cruickshank. Working Title executive Tim Bevan liked the screenplay but wanted to hire Richard Curtis to rewrite it, since Curtis had written both The Tall Guy (1989) and Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). Tim Bevan also wanted to hire Paul Webster as a producer, as he had produced Drop Dead Fred (1991) and Bob Roberts (1992). Davis, Orr and Cruickshank rejected this idea and took it away from them, and the screenplay was soon shelved. Later, writer Jeff Schechter came across a copy of the screenplay and began writing his own draft. His draft turned this into an official "go" with Rysher Entertainment. Director Andy Tennant was hired shortly afterward and offered to help with the film's problems. He and his writing partner Rick Parks rewrote Schechter's draft. Tennant and Parks were rewritten by producer Jim Cruickshank. The studio preferred Tennant and Parks' draft with notes, so Tennant and Parks did another pass. The WGA ruled against crediting the other writers because of a biased bylaw that does not allow directors, or their partners, to receive credit on feature films unless there are extenuating circumstances. None of Davis's dialogue was used.
- #015
The role of Roger Calloway was actually written for Bob Saget, the father on Full House (1987) with the Olsen twins; he reluctantly turned it down in order to focus on his hosting duties on America's Funniest Home Videos (1989) and to spend more time with his family after Full House ended. Saget's friend David Graf, known for the role of Tackleberry in the Police Academy (1984) series, had recently appeared with him in the TV movie Father and Scout (1994) and suggested that Saget recommend his Police Academy co-star Steve Guttenberg for the role. On Saget and Graf's recommendation, Guttenberg was cast.
- #016
Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Michael Caine were offered the role of Vincenzo but declined.
- #017
Christine Ebersole was also asked to play Clarice Kensington but decided to pass in order to appear as the villain in Black Sheep (1996) instead.
- #018
Producers nearly wanted Rob Reiner to direct, but Warner Bros. refused to approve Reiner as director because his previous film, the children's comedy North (1994), was such a critical and box-office disaster that it nearly ruined his directing career. Reiner instead directed The American President (1995), which briefly revived his career and was a modest critical and box-office success. Ironically, both The American President and this film were released in North America on exactly the same day, November 17, 1995.
- #019
Between takes, Kirstie Alley joked with Jane Sibbett that Shelley Long, who plays Diane in this film, was her (a reference to Alley replacing Long's character Diane Chambers on Cheers (1982)), while Sibbett joked that Alley, who plays Clarice, was her.
- #020
Although it performed poorly at the box office, earning only 19 million dollars on a 14 million dollar budget, largely because of competition from Toy Story (1995), which was released in theaters at roughly the same time, it was actually a big success on home video, with over 75 million dollars in video sales.
- #021
After Steve Guttenberg was cast as Roger, Debra Winger was considered for the role of Diane Barrows, but when producers proposed her to the studio, they refused to cast her because of some box-office failures and her bad reputation. Jennifer Jason Leigh was also seriously considered, but she chose Dolores Claiborne (1995) instead.
- #022
Michael Richards was offered the role of Vincenzo, but the producers of Seinfeld (1989) would not let him out of his contract to make the film.
- #023
Glenn Close was briefly considered to play Clarice Kensington, but producers did not think she was suitable because she is 11 years older than Steve Guttenberg. Bonnie Hunt was also considered, but she chose to make Jumanji (1995) instead.
- #024
Mel Brooks was considered for Vincenzo, but he was busy directing Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995).
- #025
Jane Sibbett is such a good person that she felt disconnected from the other actors who played such a hostile character. To this day she can say great things about the Olsen twins, and she still keeps her wedding dress.
- #026
Miranda Richardson was also considered for the role of Clarice Kensington, but producers thought she was too English for the part, and she was already shooting a film in her home country.
- #027
Because of the modest success of The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), Betty Thomas was considered to direct, but she was not interested and turned it down. She later directed Private Parts (1997) for Howard Stern, partnering with this film's production company, Rysher Entertainment. This film was produced by Ivan Reitman, who was also asked to direct it but declined.
- #028
Faith Ford was asked to play Clarice Kensington but turned it down because of a scheduling conflict with Murphy Brown (1988). She also did not like the idea of playing a villain, since her most famous role on the aforementioned series was Corky Sherwood.
- #029
Ivan Reitman was asked to direct but turned it down because he did not think he was the right choice for the film.
- #030
Barry Sonnenfeld was also asked to direct but turned it down to make Get Shorty (1995) instead.
- #031
Dudley Moore was considered for the role of Vincenzo.
- #032
Annick Obonsawin and Dov Tiefenbach shared the lead role in the little-known children's show Squawk Box.
- #033
Steve Guttenberg had to turn down the role of Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore (1996) because he was busy with this film. Happy Gilmore went on to become a big cult film after a modest box-office success, and he later regretted the Happy Gilmore decision, while this film probably remained relevant only to nostalgic children who watched it.
- #034
Dennis Hopper was offered the role of Vincenzo and nearly accepted it because he was tired of playing villains in films like Speed (1994) and Waterworld (1995) and thought it would be nice to be a hero. However, the latter had a very troubled production that went over schedule and over budget, so he reluctantly had to pass.
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