THE ONE WHERE THE CAST FALL OUT
Will diva demands cause these friends to fall apart?
Rarely has any showbiz news caused such instant excitement around the globe. When it was announced last month that all six cast members of Friends had signed on for a reunion show, you could almost hear fans worldwide singing, “I’ll be there for you!”
But now the buzz of the announcement has passed, those working on the highly anticipated special – expected to air in May – have been brought back to earth with a resounding thud.
“There’s been nothing but in-fighting since the day everyone signed up,” a production insider tells Woman’sDay.
Iconic cast members Jennifer, Courteney, 55, Lisa Kudrow, 56, David, Matthew Perry, 50, and Matt LeBlanc, 52 – aka Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler and
Joey – simultaneously shared news of their reunion on social media with the message, “It’s happening.” But despite signing to do the show, it appears the A- listers can’t agree on much else.
“For starters, David was under the assumption he’d be directing and was extremely annoyed to find out later that he wasn’t,” dishes our source. “He stormed out of a meeting after he found out he wasn’t even going to be a co-director.”
And things were plunged even further into chaos when Matthew demanded a total script rewrite because he thought the plot wasn’t strong enough, calling it “desperate” and “tacky”.
“In the old days Matthew loved to sit in on the writing sessions and was an integral part of the script-editing process. But this time around he feels as if the show’s lost its sparkle and he fears it will destroy the magic of Friends and leave a bitter taste in fans’ mouths.”
Adding to the discontent is the revelation that Jennifer was furious when she found out the three male stars had apparently negotiated a better deal without notifying her, Courteney or Lisa.
Says the insider, “Jen felt betrayed the boys had gone behind their backs and she confronted them about it, which has caused even more tension and bitterness. She’s already starting to regret pushing so hard for the reunion and ignoring all the warnings that it could go pear-shaped.”
Courteney, meanwhile, has demanded the filming schedule be changed as it clashes with a trip she has planned to Ireland with her partner Johnny McDaid.
“She’s insisted she won’t put work over her relationship again after almost losing Johnny due to their hectic lifestyles forcing them apart,” says the insider.
Tensions are also running high because of a falling-out between Jennifer and Matt’s Irish girlfriend Aurora Mulligan.
“Aurora’s never liked Jen and she ended up storming out of Jen’s birthday celebrations in February after Jen made a joke about Irish people, which Aurora didn’t take kindly to,” says the insider.
“Everyone is on tenterhooks. There’s a huge amount of pressure riding on this reunion and they want to make sure they get it right.
“Lisa’s called a meeting at her home in a bid to dissolve all the tensions before everything falls apart!”