00:00How Diane Keaton drew a star-studded cast to this beloved holiday classic, The Late Actress, was the secret ingredient to an all-star ensemble.
00:10Diane Keaton was known for her roles in some of the biggest films of the past 50 years, including The Godfather, Annie Hall.
00:18Looking for Mr. Goodbar and The First Wives Club?
00:21In 2005, the Oscar-winning actress also had a rare role in a holiday movie, The Family Stone.
00:28Keaton played family matriarch Sylvia Stone in the Thomas Bazuha film about a New England family's not-so-jolly holiday.
00:34With Keaton on board, the cast featured some of the most popular stars of the day.
00:38In an oral history for the film curated by Entertainment Weekly, Bazuha revealed that while casting the film, producer Michael London asked him point-blank,
00:46Who is your perfect Sybil? said Diane Keaton, Bazuha recalled.
00:51You should always lead with Diane Keaton.
00:53No matter what the question is, Diane's the answer.
00:55Here, co-star Luke Wilson added,
00:58I'd have probably done it without reading the script to work with Diane.
01:02In addition to Keaton and Wilson, the ensemble cast for The Family Stone included Craig T. Nelson, Dermot Mulroney,
01:09Sarah Jessica Parker, Claire Danes, Tyrone Giordano, and a fresh-off of Mean Girls, Rachel McAdams.
01:16But it may never have come together without Keaton.
01:18The filmmakers banked on the fact that Keaton's attachment to the film would attract other popular stars of the era to join an all-star ensemble.
01:27Our thinking at the time was that if Diane Keaton played Sybil, we would have an anchor for our story and a magnet for other strong actors, London admitted in an interview.
01:39Keaton acknowledged her influence on the casting in an interview with the Australian publication Girl when I signed on.
01:45Then they gathered together everybody, because then they pretended like they had a movie.
01:49But they didn't until they got everybody else, the actress said.
01:53My belief about that whole thing is that when people hand you scripts and go,
01:57Oh, so-and-so is attached, then that means that you're an actor.
02:01Oh yeah, so-and-so is attached, so I better read it.
02:04While she was the biggest movie star in the film, Keaton admitted she was a bit starstruck by McAdams.
02:09She was riding on the success of her breakout role as Regina George in the hit film Mean Girls.
02:15Watching her was humiliating, because she's so fast and quick and beautiful and sharp and filled with ideas.
02:21Keaton told backstage in 2019,
02:23It's just like you're going.
02:24Shh, wait for me.
02:26I was sort of sitting there like the person with the tongue hanging out, you know?
02:30Oh yeah, my turn for a line.
02:32I just couldn't take my eyes off of her.
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