Mamma Mia (2008)

This popular film uses the music of Swedish band ABBA

Summary

-Donna is a hotel owner preparing for her daughter's wedding with help from two old friends. While bride to be Sophie invites three men from her mother's past to her wedding to determine which one is her biological father

Cast

-Amanda Seyfried: Sophie

-Stellan Skaarsgard: Bill Anderson

-Pierce Brosnan: Sam Carmichael

-Colin Firth: Harry Bright

-Meryl Streep: Donna

-Julie Walters: Rosie

-Christine Baranski: Tanya

-Ricardo Montez: Stavros

-Norma Atallah: Irini

-Dominic Cooper: Sky

Did You Know?

-Stellan Skarsgard said about this movie "It was absurd to ask me to be in a musical. I can't sing, I can't dance. And I saw it was also Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth, and they can't sing and dance either, so I felt a little safer there."

-Meryl Streep saw the musical in October 2001 with her daugter Louisa. She wrote letters to the producers, praising them for bringing a bit of happiness and light into New York City after the recent 9/11 terrorist attacks

-On an episode of Inside the Actor's Studio, Colin Firth was asked the question "If Heaven exists, what would you like God to say when you arrive at the pearly gates?" He responded with "I personally thought you were very good in Mamma Mia"

-All of the cast members did their own singing

-Stellan Skarsgard explained why he flashed his bare backside. "We decided that I should be cooking on the boat. I thought I should have an apron on. The director (Phyllida Llody) did not know that I would be naked under there, and have those butt tattoos. So when the camera rolled, I turned around right in front of it. The cameraman jumped and screamed, while Phyllida keeled over laughing."

-The boat Bill Anderson captains features the flag of Sweden, the native country of both Stellan Skarsgard and ABBA

-Three of the members of ABBA are from Sweden, just like actor Stellan Skarsgard, who plays Bill Anderson. The other member of ABBA is Anni-Frida Lyngstad, who is Norwegian

-Initially Cher was offered a role in this film, to play Tanya Wilkinson. Because of commitments to concerts, she couldn't do it. She did appear in the 2018 sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, playing Ruby Sheridan

-Colin Firth poked fun at the James Bond series by saying "I'm Bright, Harry Bright" when he was standing next to Pierce Brosnan. Pierce had played the role of James Bond in at least four films of the series. Meanwhile Firth starred in his own series of spy films, Kingsman: The Secret Service in 2014 and Kingsman: The Golden Circle in 2017

-In the original musical on stage, Bill Austin was an Australian character. This was a tribute to ABBA's popularity in Australia. For this movie, Bill's last name was changed to Anderson, to make it Swedish, like Stellan Skarsgard, who plays that character and like the group ABBA

-Actor Bill Nighy was considered for one of the roles of the fathers

-Colin Firth (Harry Bright) actually used to play guitar in a band

-This was the first movie shot on the new 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios after a fire that happened when the 2006 film Casino Royale finished up. The stage was used for the song and dance numbers that could not be filmed in sunny Greece

-The song at the wedding scene, "Knowing Me, Knowing You" was considered inappropriate for a wedding because it's about divorce. "Knowing me, knowing you, there is nothing we can do. Knowing me, knowing you, we just have to face it this time we're through. Breaking up is never easy, I know but I have to go."

-In the film, using the real ages of the actors, when Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) was born, Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep) was 36, Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgard) was 34, Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan) was 32 and Harry Bright (Colin Firth) was 25

-Donny Osmond was considered for the role of Sam Carmichael. This role went to Pierce Brosnan

-This film surpassed the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire as Pierce Brosnan's highest-grossing film in the world. But, domestically, Mrs. Doubtfire is still highly successful