13 facts about '13 Going on 30'

Jennifer Garner apparently wasn’t looking for much time off. She was starring in Alias when she was given the chance to also star in 13 Going on 30. Garner filmed the movie while she was on a break from shooting her TV show.

Before going with Garner, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hilary Swank, and Renee Zellweger were reportedly considered as well and wanted for the role. In time, the film landed on Garner for Jenna Rink.

When the movie begins Jenna is, of course, 13. For that part of the film, Christa B. Allen played Jenna. Apparently a few people think Allen looks like a young Garner. The actress also played the younger version of Garner’s character in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.

The antagonistic “Six Chicks” had some astute casting in the mix. Ashley Benson, who would go on to star in Pretty Little Liars, plays one of them. So does Brie Larson, who would go on to win an Oscar and also play Captain Marvel.

Does the apartment Jenna lives in when she awakens in the future as a 30-year-old look familiar? It should. When Jenna is 13 and reading the Poise Magazine article about being 30, the apartment featured in the article is the one she eventually lives in as an adult.

Greer is a staple of comedic films and of playing “the friend” in romantic comedies. Over the years, she’s earned her comedy chops. Evidently on set, some members of the cast would run the comedy by Greer to see if she thought it was funny enough and use her as a soundboard for comedy ideas.

Ruffalo has dramatic acting chops, and he’s a Marvel superhero to boot, but he’s adept with some light comedy as well. Not that he’s undaunted about some acting experiences. The first scene he shot for 13 Going on 30 was the big “Thriller” dance number that’s something of the film’s centerpiece. He was reportedly nervous about it but was buoyed by Garner’s enthusiasm.

Gary Winick was not a fan of the slumber party section of the film, as revealed in DVD commentary and relayed by Bustle. He thought it took away from the romantic storyline between Matt and Jenna. However, the studio insisted on keeping it. In time, Winick would come around on that thinking. In the DVD commentary, he said he thought it was one of the best parts of the finished movie.

Perhaps worried that the phrase “13 Going on 30” wouldn’t resonate in other countries, the film was released with another title in other parts of the globe. In some places, it got the similar — but distinctly different — title of Suddenly 30.

Winik wanted to end 13 Going on 30 with the wedding between Jenna and Matt, but the studio wanted another scene featuring the two living happily ever after, which they got. Another idea that was bandied about was that we’d see Jenna and Matt as older teens in a bouncy castle.

Garner was not a movie star when 13 Going on 30 was released, and the movie was made for a budget of $35 million. The film opened at No. 2 in the domestic box office and proved to have legs. It would last in the top 10 for six weeks. All in all, it made $60 million domestically, and $96.5 million worldwide.

Garner and the film crushed it with the younger crowd. The actor was nominated for both an MTV Movie Award and a Teen Choice Award, though she did not win on either front.

For whatever reason, it seems that every successful movie gets turned into a stage musical these days. 13 Going on 30 was supposed to join the mix. Plans for an adaptation for Broadway were announced in 2016, but as of yet, it has never come to fruition and doesn’t seem likely to at this point.