Here are some excerpts from an interview Follows gave after the filming of the movie.
After the completion of Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel, Megan admits that she purposely tried to keep Anne out of her mind. “I left her where she was. I deliberately had not done any of the (Road to Avonlea) series. I stayed away from it because I had wanted to leave the Anne story where it had been left…”
Follows says that having lived in Los Angeles enabled her to avoid type-casting. She explains that in the United States, you’re not so much identified with the roles you’ve played as whether or not you’ve been successful.
“…I took a long hiatus from her and explored a lot of other things in my life and through my work that I needed to do. It was only after I had tasted from other experiences that I was ready to revisit her.”
Megan felt a “tremendous responsibility” when approaching the third movie. “I certainly felt trepidation about it; I felt nervous. I think that’s why it’s taken a long time to consider following in those footsteps. The first two series were very strong. Also, it’s a departure [from the original series] because most of the material from the books was used in the TV series, which I had nothing to do with. So there was hesitancy for me to explore Anne again.”
But ultimately, she felt too close to the character not to breathe new life into her. “I’ve always loved Anne. There’s always great potential for her. She’s a character that absolutely anything can happen to, and that’s really a wonderful gift for a performer to be able to play… And it has its own host of challenges, trying to get through it.”
One of Megan’s challenges was filming the third movie without Colleen Dewhurst, who passed away in 1991. “It was definitely strange to go back to some of those locations and think of her. She’s so associated in my memories with those places…There was a melancholy to it.” Megan was brought to tears when she heard Colleen’s voice put into the film during the editing stage. “It made me very sad just to hear her voice.”
Another challenge was trying to act in a new environment. While most of the movie was filmed in southern Ontario, like before, many scenes were shot within an hour of Sullivan’s studio in Toronto. Megan says that most of the locations from the first two films “were more in the country...Some of those places are not as idyllic now because the city has expanded. It was hard to get back to the sounds of the past.”
This is just the first of several blogs we’ll be posting about Megan’s experience making the third film! Stay tuned for her recollection of what it was like working with Jonathan Crombie again, how she sees the character of Anne, and what it was like reading Anne of Green Gables with her own two children.
Megan's Thoughts on The Continuing Story
“The attempt had to be, on my part, something I could believe in at least because of how important the character was to me, how important she was to other people.” ~ Megan Follows
When approaching the role of Anne Shirley for the third installment of Kevin Sullivan’s miniseries, The Continuing Story, Megan Follows felt a little trepidation. The significance of continuing Anne’s story and portraying her in a way that was very true to the character was not lost on her.
Clare
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view itLatest from Clare
6 comments
-
Comment Link
Tuesday, 14 June 2011 04:31
posted by Grace
Always Love Anne of Green Gables and love all the scenes from the whole series! Thanks to today technology, as I'm living in Singapore, Anne's newsletter certainly able to update me all things about Anne. This is really great.Just Love it!
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
-
Comment Link
Sunday, 12 June 2011 17:44
posted by Judy Amos
Thank you for this delightful update coming from Megan herself. My daughters and I have watched and re-watched the entire sequel my daughers, their friends. I have a granddaughter with whom I look forward to sitting down and introducing her to Anne of Green Gables. The story really came to life for me when I had the opportunity to visit Prince Edward Island in 2002 for a week. Sincerely, Judy
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
-
Comment Link
Monday, 06 June 2011 10:11
posted by Carolien
Thank you Clare!! :)
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
-
Comment Link
Thursday, 02 June 2011 17:38
posted by
Clare
Thanks for your comments, Renae and Carolien! There are a lot more quotes from Megan about her time working on the film. We'll keep you updated!
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
-
Comment Link
Thursday, 02 June 2011 14:25
posted by renae
I love anne green gables. I have the whole series& so romantic..great & beautiful story.
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
-
Comment Link
Thursday, 02 June 2011 12:55
posted by Carolien Fornasari
Oh, I'm so glad you posted this! I'm Megan's nr 1 fan from Italy and I love Anne of Green Gables!! I'll certainly stay tuned for the next posts!! with love, Carolien
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
