25 Secrets About Practical Magic Revealed

1. Sandra Bullock was already a large unit successful Hollywood erstwhile she signed connected to play Sally Owens successful Practical Magic, based connected the 1995 caller of the aforesaid sanction by Alice Hoffman. And the While You Were Sleeping histrion revealed successful the DVD commentary that she suggested Nicole Kidman to prima other her arsenic the chaotic sister, Gilly, contempt the 2 women having ne'er met before.

"I was like, 'Nicole Kidman seems similar the cleanable person,'" Bullock said. "Our energies are truthful other that we needed what the different idiosyncratic had. I cognize I needed what she had. I don't cognize wherefore I thought of her oregon wherefore that worked, it's conscionable 1 of those things, those magical things."

2. Kidman was arsenic arsenic excited astir moving with Bullock.

"I've chiefly lone got to enactment with men successful my career," she explained, "so the thought of moving with Sandy connected thing similar this, I thought, 'Wow, that sounds amusive and I privation to enactment with a girl!'"

3. Although they had nary anterior connection, the movie's manager Griffin Dunne revealed that Bullock and Kidman acted precisely similar sisters connected set.

"They conscionable had this large chemistry," Dunne said. "They fight, they laughter astatine the aforesaid jokes, they're acquainted with each different successful that humanities way."

4. Aiming for authenticity, Dunne hired a practicing witch to service arsenic a consultant. But aft she became unhappy with her contract, demanding $250,000 and a percent of Practical Magic's theatrical gross, the filmmaker said she sued Warner Bros. She besides near Dunne a "chilling" voicemail threatening to curse him and the movie portion speaking successful tongues.

"I took the small mini cassette [recording] and gave it to the ineligible department," helium told Vanity Fair. "They didn’t get halfway done it earlier they said, 'F--k this,' and wrote her a check."

5. As a precaution, Dunne staged an exorcism to support accumulation from immoderate lingering hexes. 

"It was a precise simple, New Age-y ceremonial that was astir arsenic silly arsenic the thought that idiosyncratic would curse you implicit the phone," helium told Vulture. "It was mostly chants and fume and s--t similar that. I conscionable did it to screen my bases."

6. The acquisition with the witch did effect successful 1 bully thing:  It inspired the line, "Curses lone person powerfulness erstwhile you judge them."

7. Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest marque memorable turns arsenic Sally and Gilly's aunts Frances and Jet, with Channing recalling astir of their conversations centered connected the looks of their elder witches.

"I retrieve a constitution and hairsbreadth trial that didn’t enactment retired due to the fact that I wasn’t wearing overmuch makeup," Channing told Vulture. "We came up with the thought together: ballet makeup." This meant achromatic lipstick and long, curly wigs, due to the fact that "the much eccentric it was," Channing explained, "the much it worked."

8. When it came to France and Jet's "timeless" wardrobe, Channing said the costume designers took inspiration from Steve Nicks.

"We conscionable went mode retired connected a limb with the brainsick fabrics and clothing," she recalled. "That precise female, feminine thing, tons of beads and jewelry."

9. Channing lied astir speaking French successful bid to unafraid a escaped travel to Paris to dub the movie for its merchandise successful France. 

In hindsight, it was "one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done successful my full life," Channing admitted to Vulture. "I’m definite the infinitesimal I left, they hired idiosyncratic other to bash it right. But I made a existent horse’s ass of myself."

10. Bullock revealed during her commentary connected the DVD that Kidman brought her ain tequila to the iconic midnight margaritas scene, starring the 4 actors to really drink. And they weren't the lone ones to imbibe. 

11. During the past take, Dunne made the fateful determination to adhd the Harry Nilsson opus “Lime successful a Coconut” to the sequence, resulting successful an impromptu unit party.

"So we did the dancing," helium told Vanity Fair. "Yes, I decidedly joined successful connected the tequila. I was rather s--tfaced by the clip we finished shooting, arsenic was everyone. It conscionable took off. I deliberation determination are outtakes of maine joining successful the dancing and each of america prancing around. Yeah, it’s true: everybody got s--tfaced for that."

12. While composer Michael Nyman primitively scored the film, Alan Silvestri was brought successful to re-do the euphony conscionable earlier its the theatrical release. This abrupt alteration resulted successful the movie concisely having 2 soundtracks disposable for purchase.

13. Filmed partially connected determination successful San Juan Island successful Washington, the Owens' infamous Victorian location really wasn't real: It was an architectural ammunition built for the filming of the exterior scenes and was torn down the time aft accumulation ended. 

14. After seeing the movie, Barbra Streisand called the producers to inquire if she could bargain the Owens' house. 

15. Production decorator Robin Standerfer created each the interiors for the home, which resulted successful a caller vocation arsenic an in-demand interior decorator. Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor asked Standerfer to remodel their location aft watching Practical Magic.

16. The last country successful the movie was filmed successful the municipality of Coupeville connected Whidbey Island successful Washington, with locals being invited to play townspeople watching the Owens women’s yearly Halloween performance. 

17. Picturing a Gary Cooper type for serviceman Gary Hallett, the filmmaker "wanted idiosyncratic who had that vibration of being bully and honorable and decent," shaper Denise Di Novi said, which are the qualities Aiden Quinn exuded. So overmuch so, successful fact, that adjacent Bullock's ma noted it. 

"My ma said thing astir Aiden, which is perfectly spot on," Bullock recalled. "'You look astatine Aidan and the antheral comes with an unthinkable magnitude of integrity.' He does and you spot that successful his eyes."

18. But 1 of Dunne's biggest concerns was making definite viewers would basal for Sally and Hallett to get together.

"It’s precise hard to propulsion disconnected being the feline who shows up halfway done the movie who is going to beryllium the emotion interest," Dunne explained. "It was ever thing that disquieted us. But he’s the enactment of caller aerial that walks done the door."

19. In 1 of her archetypal large roles, Evan Rachel Wood plays Sally's girl Kylie, while Camilla Belle appears arsenic a younger mentation of Bullock. 

20. Jimmy Angelov was "originally written for a feline from Texas," Dunne revealed, but erstwhile ER star Goran Višnjić was cast, the quality became Croatian. 

21. The archetypal mentation of the movie was overmuch much "terrifying," with much of a absorption connected "the fearfulness of home violence," Dunne told Vanity Fair, but the workplace felt it was "too intense."

Additionally, screenwriter Akiva Goldsman told Collider that the archetypal chopped was divided much evenly betwixt Bullock and Kidman's characters, specifically the haunting of Gillian which lent much "darkness" to the film.

"It was much of a shade story," Goldsman said, "It was truly beauteous and it was weird."

22. Dunne's archetypal ending featured a longer, "beautiful" series of the 4 Owens witches jumping disconnected the roof, which the workplace didn't understand.

"They said, 'Why would they leap disconnected the roof?'" Dunne told Vanity Fair. "So we had to chopped it down. But I had a real, choreographed to music, floating around—I thought—quite a beauteous ending that I deliberation would play amended now."

23. Though it was announced successful June 2024 that Practical Magic 2 is officially successful development, this isn't the archetypal effort astatine a follow-up. A failed 2004 TV pilot that starred Kim Delaney arsenic Sally and Jeri Ryan arsenic Gilly was executive-produced by Bullock.

24. ABC Family besides tried to conjure a remake successful 2010, portion HBO ordered a aviator of Rules of Magic, a 1960s-set communicative centering connected aunts Franny and Jet, successful 2019, but it has yet to beryllium made. 

25. Dunne was ne'er approached astir immoderate of the imaginable projects, but told Vanity Fair helium would beryllium absorbing successful returning to the worldly if asked.

"I would similar to bring the position of a filmmaker 25 years aboriginal successful the satellite that we unrecorded successful now, to spot however we could retell the communicative successful a much modern way," helium said. "I’d beryllium truly funny to cognize however to beryllium successful that satellite again."