They are the most famous women in the world. They seem to have it all - movie star partners, more money than they can spend, a great apartment. In their first cover story, Kate Thornton hangs out on the set of Friends with the girls.
Driving through the huge iron gates of the Warner Bros studios on a warm, smoggy morning, you are greeted bythe ultimate Hollywood scenario. Within the heavily guarded walls of this sprawling industrial estate, peoplewielding clipboards and walkie-talkies hurry down its artificial streets in golf buggies, weaving their way aroundthe numerous Winnebagos that double as luxury, temporary accommodation for some of the biggest names in film and television.
Laid out in numerical order are rows of self contained studios the size of aircraft hangars and outside each, teams of caterers are preparing for lunch alfresco while celebrities, extras, production workers smoke and gossip,breaking off only to take calls on their cellphones.
Outside studio 20, several sweaty, bronzed men are playing basketball, among them is George Clooney, cladonly in shorts, stubble and a damp vest. A few blocks away, his old ER colleagues are surrounded by bloodied extras, but it is the activities of studio 24 that have brought the Marie Claire team across the Atlantic. For nine months of the year, this is the home of Friends, the television phenomenon of the 1990s; the most watched sitcom in the world, starring six of the most famous and most loved stars America has ever produced.
For the last 5 years, people in all four corners of the globe have been under the spell of the beautifully crafted comedy, which depicts the life and times of six twentysomethings � played by Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc � living in New York. The entrance to the set is manned by 2 large security guards, who�s faces transform from scowls to beaminggrins as we approach. �If you need anything while you�re here, you just let us know and we�ll do what we can,� theyoffer.
David Schwimmer's rehearsal double lights up a cigarette on the studio steps and assures us that we won�t be disappointed by the real thing. �The nicest people you�ll ever meet. All of them,� he says emphatically. And he's not wrong. As we are ushered into the studio to silently witness a rehearsal, its apparent that the castand crew are a close knit bunch who together create an environment similar to that of the scenes we see playedout in the Central Perk coffee house. Courteney Cox Arquette rests her head on Jennifer Aniston�s shoulder as they chat with Lisa Kudrow on the sofa in Central Perk, while Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry giggle off set.
Dressed casually in jeans and T-shirts, the cast and crew appear to be relaxed as they run through a scene. On the edge of a set, the gang of around 20 people, comprised of writers, producers and studio executives, laugh out loud as the lines start to flow, and scribbled changes are made on scripts that will be revised again into the small hours and redrawn for the following days rehearsal. When everyone breaks for lunch, Lisa Kudrow makes a dash for the cr�che to collect her toddler and returns intime to see David Schwimmer presented with a cake and a rousing chorus of happy birthday.
With an hours lunch break, the members of the cast head for their dressing rooms. Without them, the set looks alarmingly small. Both the girls� apartment and Central Perk are cramped. But the Friends treasured hallmarksare all there: the grubby hallway; the leather easychairs at Joey and Chandler's place; Monica's sloping roof window; the oversized coffee cups.
However, there will be no lunchbreak today for the shows three leading ladies. While the boys retire to David Schwimmer's dressing table to battle it out on their Playstation, the girls are due to shoot their first magazine cover together for Marie Claire. Our base for the shoot is studio 21, right next door to the one George Clooney ismaking his new movie in. Having completed their hair, make-up and nail routine (the manicurist has hotfooted itacross town having just tended to Jennifer Lopez), Courteney, 35, and Lisa, 36 are hanging out while 30 year old Jennifer poses solo.
Up close, the girls are nowhere near as aloof or painfully thin as the media has painted them, and at 5ft 9in, LisaKudrow is surprisingly tall. Each woman is refreshingly approachable and naturally pretty and they are all welltoned, although Lisa later claims that she hasn�t had time for the gym since she became a mother 15 months ago. �It's too hard at the moment. I will start again though,� she says, through gritted teeth. �You feel the pressure. The industry watches you so carefully and, of course they get mad at you when you�re too thin and hate you when you gain weight. But I�m kinda in the middle so I�m OK for now.�
The food is laid out in the corner of the studio, which the girls tuck into, and while Courteney gets to grips with thecheeseboard and makes sure everyone knows to help themselves (very Monica), Lisa smokes with the hair and make-up people and politely introduces herself to those who don�t know her.
All three girls are tired � they�ve been on the set for hours � though they try hard not to let it show and go out of their way to put their "guests" at ease. I tell Jennifer that my luggage hasn�t made it from London to LA, and that the clothes I am wearing now are almost 2 days old � although I assure her my underwear was ditched after day one. �So you have no underwear?� Jennifer exclaims. �We�ve got loads, come with me, let me lend you some of my underwear.�
She has also just flown in from London after visiting her boyfriend Brad Pitt, who is currently shooting Guy Ritchie's new movie. We swap jet lag tips. Lisa and her husband of four years, Michael Stern, have been up all night with their son, Julian.
But the girls lack of sleep doesn�t get in the way of their conversation, and they are happy to pose for a closing shot with the Marie Claire team before making arrangements to meet for lunch the following day. Friends is the brainchild of three creatives: writers and producers Marta Kauffman and David Crane, and executive producer and director Kevin S Bright, who originally pitched the idea in 1994. Kauffman and Crane wrote the pilot episode themselves and Bright directed it, although the show now uses other directors � including recently- David Schwimmer- and a team of over 20 writers, twelve of whom are assigned to each episode.
The trio converse with affectionate familiarity. �We set out to do an ensemble show, as opposed to a vehicle for just one star, because it offered us limitless stories,� says Crane, a talkative 42 year old New Yorker who spends most of his time locked away in the writers room from Monday to Thursday, before the show is recorded over 8 hours on a Friday afternoon. �That was a relatively new thing for sitcoms, as the fact that we went to air with an unknown cast. The idea was to deal with people in their late twenties who are still making choices in life. It seemed to be an exciting time- it certainly was for us.� Kauffman and Crane have lived and worked together in New York in their twenties, and were part of a six stronggroup of friends.
They were even friends with a lesbian couple, no whom they later based Ross� ex wife, Carol, and her lesbian lover, Susan. When word got out that a pilot was in the making, there were more than 1000 applicants for each role. �You just keep seeing people until you get close to what you are looking for,� says Kauffman, a warm, likeable working mother who is now a multimillionaire, thanks to Friends. ��Certainly out of the first batch of actors we took to the network, it was like that. We said to ourselves, �Nah, we can do better"� At the time of casting, both Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry were top of their wish list, but initially both wereunavailable. Courteney Cox had to convince them to let her read for Monica after they asked her to read for Rachel. Both David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow were quickly cast, having delivered strong auditions. �Lisa is someone who really stood out, because so many people had tried out for Phoebe, but she just nailed it.� Remembers Kauffman. �She did it exactly as it was in my head, only much better.� The last part to be cast was Joey, and it was a close call between Matt LeBlanc and another actor. �Matt made the part funny in a specific way,� says Kauffman. �He brought a sweetness to the role that we never imagined.�
By the time it came to shooting the pilot, both Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston had become available, but there was still a chance that the cast would fail to create any chemistry on screen. �God, the day I saw the first runthrough I had chills down my spine,� says Kauffman. �It looked like they�d been together forever. You know, in many ways they are the same people who started out on the show, except they�ve grown a little.� At 1.30pm sharp the next day, all three women arrive together at the plush Warner Bros. canteen.
Jennifer and Lisa come together armed with cigarettes. As we prepare to order, they recommend the house salad with ranchdressing and iced tea, followed by frozen chocolate yoghurt, which Jennifer apologises for when it arrives. �I�m sorry, it looks like poo,� she says, disappointed. Throughout lunch, we are constantly interrupted by a succession of film executives who stop by to plug scripts and pass on their best wishes. Brooke Shields drops by to congratulate Courteney on her recent marriage to actor David Arquette.
MC: Can you remember your audition for Friends?
L: I remember they made me come back three times, but that�s OK, that�s how it works. Actually, I couldn�t believe I was getting call-backs, because I didn�t think I was anything spectacular. It was a quick, simple monologue. You went in and read for 2 minutes, then they said [in a Phoebe voice] �Thankyou OK all right bye-bye'.
J: Although I was unavailable for the show, I went in anyway and remember being torn between reading forMonica or Rachel - but Rachel felt right. Two hours after my audition, they called me at my wonderful [sarcastic] rental home I was at to say it was a done deal and I was beyond thrilled. Then I remember they told me Courteney Cox was playing Monica, and I was with my friend Michael at the time, and you [points to Courteney] were taking yoga classes with him. C: That�s right. J: And he was like �She's so beautiful, I can�t believe you�re working with her. Oh my God�.
C: You never told me this.
J: I know, but I was so nervous to meet you at first, and I didn�t want you to feel embarrassed when you saw Michael. Anyway, he loved you and when I got the job he almost had a coronary.
MC: When did you all meet for the first time?
C: I met Jennifer down at the network and she was so sweet.
J: Yeah, we were checking out Matt LeBlanc.
L: I met everyone at the first table reading and was very nervous, because I hadn�t heard of any of them, except for Courteney, who I�d seen in Ace Ventura. I couldn�t even tell you the rest of their first names. Was it Aniston or Anderson? Which were the 2 Matthew�s? I was totally confused, but Chandler was the biggest eye opener for me.
MC: In what respect?
L: Well I imagined a fast talking, very funny gay man. But Matthew wasn�t doing him like that, and it was like �Oh, that�s how these lines come out of a straight man's mouth. That�s good�.
MC: How do you get along with the boys?
C: [Laughing] I hate them.
J: It�s like having three brothers, and we hate them like brothers and we love them like brothers. They�re your typical "boys". If you were to look up the term "boys" in the dictionary, you�d see their three smiling faces looking back at you. But we are all very close, because the six of us have been there at crossroads in each other�s lives. We�ve been there at each other�s weddings, or when we met our life partners. Important times like when Lisa had Julian and Matt got engaged.
MC: Lisa, you are the first of the 6 to become a parent. How has that changed your life?
L: [Smiling] In every way possible. It�s the best thing that ever happened to me and I love Julian more than anything, but being a mum is the hardest thing I�ve ever done.
MC: Did the six of you ever worry that the fame and success the show has brought you might have a negativeaffect on your lives?
L: I�m lucky. I have a phenomenally supportive husband. I don�t know what would have happened if he hadn�t been around. I probably would�ve gotten into trouble either romantically or emotionally. You see, I get nervous when I�m surrounded by crowds in public, I don�t even like going to concerts because there are too many people there.
J: You know, there should be some sort of class on fame, because there is so much to learn so fast. It looks veryglamorous from the outside, but the truth is its very hard work, and the glamorous moments are few and far inbetween. The really weird bits are having people talk about you and reading things about yourself that are justnot true. That happens all the time. Losing your privacy is very surreal- you can�t go through any kind of tragedy inyour life without it being ridiculed and degraded.
C: And there's some magazines that put you on the covers and build you up, that insult you and tear you apart. Why do they do that?
MC: So what are the perks of fame?
J: For starters, it�s a truly amazing luxury not having to worry about where the next pay cheque is coming from.
L: That is amazing.
J: That was one of the reasons I was so happy to get the pilot for Friends. Pilots pay really well, about $40, 000 [about �25, 000] and every year since I�ve been in LA I�ve done a failed pilot. So I was like OK, its time for my failed annual TV show. It will see me through the year financially. That�s how life was before fame, so we don�tcomplain too much.
MC: Your appearances have changed a lot since you started Friends and with that has come enormous mediascrutiny. How does that affect you?
J: It's infuriating, because first and foremost my weight is nobodies business but my own. Secondly, there is an actual issue at play here- the issue of anorexia and bulimia- and the media are pointing fingers at people about whom they have no facts. I never wanted to be a spokesperson for weight loss, but we get accused of having an illness, a disease and we are told we are influencing young girls and that�s bullshit. The truth is I�m the healthiest I�ve ever been. I eat well and I work out more than I used to - about 3 times a week - because it makes me feel good.
C: You can�t win. For me, if I want my lower body to look the way I like it then my face can look gaunt, but if my face is full, I don�t like the way my lower body looks. But, you know, who cares? It�s my own mini battle, it�s my concern.
MC: What were your first impressions of each other?
L: I was pleasantly surprised, because I had already decided after being a guest on other TV shows that you don�t go to work to make friends, you go to do your job. I wasn�t thinking about anything other than the fact it wasa good TV show, it was a weeks work and I needed the money.
J: You�re right. It�s an absolute bonus to make friends out of colleagues, but we genuinely are friends and our relationships get stronger and stronger. We rely on each other for strength because we�ve been through a lottogether.
C: We all went out for dinner last night after the Marie Claire photo shoot and I felt like I�ve had an injection of lifeput back into me, we yapped for hours. We�re lucky that we have five other people, we keep each other grounded, and so far, none of us have got big headed. L: The three of us are very close- we talk a lot on the phone, and the guys are just as close - they�re really cute. I tried to hang out with them last year, but they play video games and stuff. I learned one game, but I got bored and went back to the girls [laughs].
MC: Had you known the flip side of fame, do you think you would still have pursued it?
C: Yes, because it enables you to act. And there are a lot of other good points to fame - we have a lot of other freedom in our lives because of it.
J: Friends and its success has opened up a world of movies to us. And people are prepared to take the chances on us now because we are on a hit TV show.
MC: Have you ever worried about over exposure?
L: Oh God yes. By the third series you would have thought we were the only actors in America. We were everywhere; even we got sick of the sight of us.
J: That was around the time we did a Coke commercial in the states, and I think that really put us over the edge. We didn�t want to do it, we really didn�t.
C: Did you really feel like that?
J: Yeah, I thought it was cheesy.
C: You did? I liked the cash, I thought, �Why not, I�ll drink some Coke�.
MC: Friends is on its sixth series now, which is a lifetime in TV terms. Do you think about the end of Friends?
C: I�d like to think we�ll go out on top, but the material is still good, and as long as that remains, so will we.
J: I was thinking about that only this morning, what it will be like on our last ever episode. It really choked me up.
L: We all talk about how said its going to be when its over. It will be horrible because we love each other and the whole thing has been so good, but we�ve promised ourselves that we won�t run the show into the ground, so we are just going to have to be brave and face up to that when it happens.
It's time for the girls to return to the set and press on with their afternoon activities. For Jennifer, that means a fewhours off and the chance to sleep off her jet lag. Lisa is due in for a make-up check with John Travolta for her next movie, and Courteney is needed back in Central Perk to rehearse with Matthew Perry. They won�t finish until 11pm that night. As I stroll back to base with them, we chat about Jennifer�s run ins with the paparazzi. "In London the only thing that was hard was the photographers. They�re pretty rude". As we reach the parking lot and go our separate ways, the girls shout "See you tomorrow" to each other, and I can�t help but feel disappointed that that won�t be the case for me too.