The Friends Reunion– The One Where They Got Back Together had been in the works for years. Announced just before the pandemic shut Hollywood, and the rest of the world down, director Ben Winston knew he had to get the hotly anticipated special just right.
While there has been much debate about whether Winston and his team delivered, one thing most fans of the original 10 season comedy hit can agree on is that the opening scenes of the reunion created all the feels.
Starting with David Schwimmer (Ross Geller) then Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay), one by one the cast members stepped back onto set, taking in and enveloping themselves in the nostalgia of their old stomping grounds.
Friends Reunion Director Reveals the Lengths He Went To, Getting the Opening Scenes Just Right
Painstakingly recreated down to the apples in the fruit bowl, where it was revealed Courteney Cox (Monica Geller) would hide her lines, Schwimmer and Kudrow were soon joined on set by Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green), Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani) and Cox, all misty-eyed, verklempt by being transported back 20 odd years to when their world’s all changed dramatically.
Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing) was the final famous face to wander on set, and the reunion was complete.
The six stars didn’t miss a beat, pulling out the jokes, the hugs, the tears – how sweet was it when LeBlanc wiped away Cox’s tears?– and the stories. It was, in a word, perfection.
However, this staggered arrival on set and filmed reunion between the stars wasn’t as easy or seamless to pull off as it looked. Though it was Winston’s plan all along, the director was alarmed when all six of the stars trailers were parked side by side on the Warner Bros. lot!
Winston couldn’t bear to have the first time the Friends had all been together in one place in eons to be ruined. Immediately he set his team to work, building tents around each trailer.
Winston then recalls that he texted each of the stars saying he understood how much they all wanted to see each other but beseeched them to stay in their own dressing rooms until called to the stage.
“I really wanted to catch that moment,” Winston explained. “They mocked me for wanting that moment. But they did do what I asked.” He went on to say he got exactly what he wanted on film. “It’s a really beautiful moment. I’ve never seen a bond like these six have.”
Regardless how you felt about the HBO Max special – and there are plenty of opinions out there, especially when it came to the guests involved – you have to admit, the initial reunion on that old Friends set complete with purple walls, foosball table and the gold scroll frame around the peep hole was a picture perfect moment.
For any other soap opera and entertainment news, please visit again Daily Soap Dish. Don’t forget to visit TVRocker for all of the latest exciting news on all of your favorite daytime television soaps.
