PRACTICALLY PERFECT!
THE ACTRESS GETS DAME JULIE’S STAMP OF APPROVAL
Emily takes on Mary Poppins
Talk about high praise indeed! Dame Julie Andrews has declared that Emily Blunt will be “practically perfect” as Mary Poppins in a sequel to the classic film.
Mary Poppins Returns is currently being filmed in London with Emily in the lead role made famous by Julie back in 1964.
Julie, who won a Best Actress Oscar for Mary Poppins, her first-ever movie, told a TV interviewer, “I have no issue with it. It’s not a recreation of the original film, it’s a brand new one. I think [Emily] will be practically perfect.”
Meanwhile, Emily was relieved to hear before her casting was officially announced that she already had the blessing of the original Mary. Director Rob Marshall told Emily that he’d run into Julie (81) by chance and let the cat out of the bag about the movie, which is due to be released at Christmas next year.
Emily (34) explains, “Rob said [to Julie], ‘It’s top secret, but Emily Blunt’s playing Mary Poppins.’ And she went, ‘Oh, wonderful!’ I felt like I wanted to cry. It was lovely to get her stamp of approval. That took the edge off it, for sure.”
She says the Mary she plays in the new film, which is based on some of the books by P.L. Travers, varies a little from the original one. “We’re delving into the books a lot more, which is a different version of the character. I’ll say that much… she’s a little meaner.”
Mary Poppins Returns is set in 1935, 25 years after the original. Mary revisits the Banks family in London to find a grown-up Jane and Michael Banks are going through tough times. The adult children are being played by Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw, and Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Angela Lansbury and Julie Walters have also been cast in the film.
Original cast member Dick Van Dyke (91) won’t be back as cheeky chimney sweep Bert, but he is making a cameo as the son of the first film’s villain Mr Dawes, who he also played. Back then, he was virtually unrecognisable due to the make-up that transformed him into an old man.
“This time there’s no four hours in the make-up chair – I grew into the part!” he says. “I don’t have to wear make-up at all!”