The film is based on a true story from the Rylstone and District Women's Institute, whose slogan is "Find happiness in achievement." In April 1999, the group published their 2000 calendar in an effort to raise funds for treatment at local hospitals. Not long ago, the husband of group member Angela Baker, John, died at the hospital after treatment for leukemia failed. Angela and her friend Tricia Stewart and other members of the group wanted to give back to the hospital and medical staff. To boost calendar sales, Tricia suggested that the models in the calendar are all middle-aged, nude women doing traditional household chores such as squeezing apple juice, baking cakes and arranging flowers.
Once published, their calendars became a hit, quickly spreading across Yorkshire and on to London and even Hollywood. In the eyes of the British, European and American media, it was a rare breaking story that soon appeared on the front page of The New York Times and hit TV shows CBS' 60 Minutes, NBC's Today Show and In People magazine, everyone wants to know more. By the beginning of 2003, the sales volume of the calendar has reached 300,000 copies, and a total of nearly 600,000 Pounds of leukemia charity fund have been raised. The women on the calendar have also become world celebrities.
"We didn't expect the calendar to be so widespread," says Angela Baker. "We thought it would only appeal to our friends and their families." They were soon approached by Hollywood because their stories contained so much sophistication. Heartbreaking plots and courageous decisions are natural fodder for filming. They were stunned by the film appointments that came pouring in, but they responded cautiously. Angela said: "It's a nerve-wracking idea to make a movie and it would be embarrassing for me and my family to bring our story to the big screen because it's my privacy and I'm not sure I want to share it with others. I Worrying a lot, maybe it all came too soon after John's death."
When producers Suzanne Mackie, Nick Barton and screenwriter Juliette Towhidi visited the calendar's protagonist, their idea quickly caught the latter's attention. "Angela and Tricia put us to the test when we first met," recalls McKee. "We said we thought it was a very interesting story, and a touching human drama, with a depth and meaning that distinguishes it from Unique to other stories. Plus, it's a story of women who are waving the flag: we're all over 40, but that doesn't mean we're no longer beautiful. There's a strong sense of sisterhood in the story, and these women really are Support each other."
After receiving approval from Angela and Tricia, the producers immediately began to meet and negotiate with the other members to obtain the rights to shoot each person's story.
In December 2000, director Nigel Cole officially signed the film. "We had a lot of directors to choose from, but we knew Nigel would give the film the right feel, and he would make the story interesting and poignant," McKee said. Cole made his feature debut in 1999, "Saving Grey" , which premiered at the sundance film festival to rave reviews, was nominated for the British Independent Film Awards in addition to being awarded the Audience Award . Among the many candidates, Cole decided to make this film a sequel to the film industry, saying: "It's a coincidence that both films are women's films, but I do like to work with women. Some directors are good at expressing Violent, and I like a mix of comedy and drama, " Saving Grace ", "Calendar Girls" and the TV series " Cold Feet ." I'm a little soft and sentimental inside, but I'll go with that Feeling uneasy, so I like to use humor to show it.”
Chris and Annie, based on Tricia and Angela, are played by Helen Mirren and Julie Waters, respectively. Mirren said: “I’ve never been in a group movie like this, there are very few movies about middle-aged women, and it’s wonderful to work with these experienced and talented women. So many actresses are undoubtedly difficult for directors to deal with, but Nigel handles it with charm and humour." For Julie Watson, playing Annie faced a different problem. She said: “When I first saw the script, I started to ask myself, who is Annie? Because Chris is so strong in the story, Annie just disappears into the background. Angela Baker, who was Anne's archetype, met not to play her, but to understand her relationship with Tricia. I met all of them and they were all very funny. At first I thought Angela was shy, but with the first An impression is just the opposite, she is actually a strong and sunny person. Later, I found out about the relationship between Chris and Annie, Annie always quietly witnessing Chris' rampage in front of him without thinking, Annie likes that, because Chris The complete opposite of her."
In the whole shooting process, the most difficult thing was shooting the nude calendar scene. Director Cole said: "Some actors have never been exposed in public or on screen, some are very old, and we can't and don't want to use doubles. We didn't start working on the calendar scene until halfway through filming because everyone was Deepened mutual understanding and trust.”
Not only was this scene shot with reference to the calendar of the year, but photographer Ashley Rowe also consulted calendar photographer Terry Logan on lighting methods. “Terry only used a 1000-watt camera light, which looked very natural. For the film, we had to enhance the light, but only improved the natural light source to create a sense of simplicity. We covered the lens with stockings so that Soft and fleshy textures to make these women as beautiful as possible. I've done nude scenes in the past, but this time is different, not only because of the age of the actors, but also because it's for a calendar. These experienced actors Professional and they know how to look their best."
