“There’s a little witch in all of us,” indeed. “Practical Magic” was released in theaters 25 years ago on October 16, 1998 — and Alice Hoffman can’t believe it either.
The author, who brought the story of the Owens sisters to life in the 1995 novel of the same name, says it “feels like it was yesterday” that the film was being made.
“I think the reason why is because it’s more popular every year,” she tells the Post. “It’s kind of become a cult movie. And I think it’s a movie that really matters to people.”
“Practical Magic” was directed by Griffin Dunne, starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as witch sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, respectively. As they’re raised by their eccentric aunts Frances (Stockard Channing) and Jet (Dianne Wiest), a curse threatens them from finding lasting love.
“When that book came out and the film came out, really, there wasn’t such an openness to magic, especially women in their respective roles. So it wasn’t considered literature. People heard that and weren’t as welcoming as they might be,” Hoffman, 71, says.
“I think that has really changed now, and I think magic is everywhere. And I think you read more and see more about women who are friends and sisterhood and sisters. It wasn’t a time when that was very kind of current and popular,” she adds. “And I think that’s one of the reasons when the film came out, it didn’t do that well because the critics were not very kind to it. And I think that was basically the reason. They weren’t interested in anything a lot of women are interested in.”
The magical drama has since taken on a life of its own, with audiences rewatching or finding it for the first time during the Halloween season.
“It was kind of a slow build up,” Hoffman tells the Post. “I’m so glad, especially for Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, because feel like they took a chance with it and and I feel like it paid off.”
Hoffman has since published two prequel novels, The Rules of Magic (2017) and Magic Lessons (2020), as well as one sequel, The Book of Magic (2021).
And although she hasn’t crossed paths with the two Oscar winners since the film’s debut, she hopes that they all reunite on set one day.
“I would certainly be up for it. I think it would be a great idea and I would love it if it was the original cast,” she says. “I know that the readers and the fans and the people who love them are dying for that to happen. And I would do anything to have it happen.”
“Practical Magic” also starred Goran Visnjic (Jimmy Angelov), Aidan Quinn (Gary Ballet), Mark Feuerstein (Michael), Evan Rachel Wood (Kylie) and Caprice Benedetti (Maria Owens), Alexandra Artrip (Antonia), Margo Martindale (Linda Bennett), Lora Anne Criswell (young Gillian) and Camilla Belle (young Sally).
Read on for more of Hoffman’s exclusive interview with The Post.
What was your initial reaction to Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman being cast?
I just thought that you couldn’t get any more lucky than that. And then Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing. Unbelievable. And just everyone who was in it. And I’m still friends with Camilla Belle, who played the little girl. The women — I think that’s one of the things about that movie to this day, I don’t think there’s been a movie with that many women who are strong women who have relationships with other women. And that it’s about sisterhood and power and friendship. I just don’t think there’s anything else like it, really.
Nicole Kidman reportedly did multiple takes for some of her scenes. What was your experience when you were on set?
It was [a scene when] she was on the phone … and I just couldn’t believe how many times. … I think she did do it like 30 times. It was really kind of a shock to me to see that. But, you know, I really wasn’t on set very much, unfortunately. But, they they sent me messages and they let me know what was happening. I just felt like the people who were in the film had a great time together. I feel like you can feel that.
What did Sandra and Nicole bring to Sally and Gillian that really stood out to you from what you wrote in your book?
I always think, a book is one thing and the movie is something completely different. And when you hand your book over, you’re giving to someone else for them to make it theirs. And I feel like that’s what they did. And I think they’re similar, but they’re very different also. And I feel like I didn’t really picture anybody in the role of Sally or Gillian or Frances or Jet. I had known Dianne from before and she was so perfect and I just felt like it was the perfect casting. Sometimes you just get really lucky.
It’s my baby. But, it was a little different for me because I had been a screenwriter for a long time. So I understood that they were two separate things and that it was now going to belong to the screenwriters and the director and actors and it was going to become theirs. … I remember I wrote the book in a little shed on the marsh, and then suddenly there are hundreds of people involved and they’re all really important to making it happen. It’s so collaborative. …It’s great to watch it happen. It’s a whole different art form. And it’s a beautiful thing when when they get it right. And I feel like they got it right.
When’s the last time you watched ‘Practical Magic’?
Once I write a book, I don’t read it again. And I feel like ‘Practical Magic’ would be really hard for me to watch because it’s so personal. So I don’t watch it with all my friends. No. A lot of mother-daughter friends do watch it together. And I love that about it, that it’s shared between generations.
Why is it difficult for you to revisit your work?
I’m not sure. But when you’re involved with the project, you’re so in that moment. But it is kind of sad because you’re no longer in that time. When you’re an artist, you have to kind of keep moving forward. And ‘Practical Magic’ has had a life after that. And the reason I wrote a prequel, two prequels and a sequel is because my readers asked me to, because they felt like it wasn’t enough. So I feel like the same is true with film. It’s really not enough. It’s just the beginning.
What was your writing process like for the book?
‘Practical Magic’ is different than any other book. Because I had the title before I had the book, I didn’t know what the book was about. I just had the title ‘Magic.’ And I was a big fan as a kid of magic books. … It’s usually a struggle and I have to make outlines and plot it out, but it’s just kind of like the characters walked in after me [with this]. … They just came in and they just kind of presented themselves and I followed them. So I hope it happens again someday.
How many rounds of outlines and copy edits did the book go through?
It really came more easily than usual. And the person that I was working with wanted to change everything. And they especially wanted to cut the last sentence that’s always quoted. ‘[There are some things, after all, that Sally Owens knows for certain: Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes.] Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can.’
They wanted to cut that. And I left. So for me, the fact that that has been really important for people, sometimes you have to kind of stick to doing what you think is the right thing.
For a possible film sequel or prequel, have you thought of any actors you’d like to join the cast?
It’s funny. I just never think about who the actor would be, because I think of the characters kind of from the inside out. So I don’t really think that way. I have some ideas, but I don’t really want to say what they are. But you never know what will happen.
What genre of books do you like to read when not writing your own?
I don’t have enough time to read! I was like a crazed reader [in the past]. I never went out without carrying a book with me. And because I’m working all the time and I’m writing all the time, I don’t get the time to read as much as I used to. So it’s hard for me.
Did you ever have a different plan on how you wanted Jimmy to die or be buried somewhere besides the garden?
He was always going to be buried there!
Was there a film wrap gift that you received?
Yes. They had a beautiful bag. It had Jimmy’s ring and it had a mug in it. I don’t remember everything that it had, but it was great. It was really nice.
Did you have a gut feeling that readers would be able to relate to your story?
I really did. Love is so complicated. And as sisters, Gillian and Sally are so different. They’re opposites, but they really kind of want the same thing, which is the same thing that everybody wants. They want to be able to find love. … Love is scary and difficult for a lot of people.
Your story has been introduced to new readers over the last 25 years. Can you put into words what that’s meant to you?
I actually feel like it’s magic. Sometimes these things just happen. It’s really rare and just all the stars were aligned and it just turned out the way it did.
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