When it came to deciding whether A Prairie Home Companion was the right project to make the transition with, Lohan said it was pretty much a no-brainer. Lohan joked, “Would you turn down a movie that Robert Altman was directing and Meryl Streep was playing your mother in? I wouldn't recommend it if you wouldn't say ‘yes.’” Lindsay added, “Even while I was finishing Just My Luck we had started talking about A Prairie Home Companion.
Lohan admits she wasn’t familiar with Keillor’s radio show before signing on to the film. “I wasn't aware of exactly what it was. I spoke to my grandmother about it and she kind of informed me what it was about. The movie was coming together, and then I heard Meryl Streep's name, then I heard Michelle Pfeiffer at one point, and then it finally just came together one day. They said, ‘Okay, we're making the movie, and they want you to be Meryl Streep's daughter in it.’”
The young actress/pop singer’s role grew over the course of production. “My role kind of got bigger as we went along because I became friends with Garrison Keillor,” explained Lohan. “It was amazing. I would look at the call sheet and I would just see these actors that I didn't believe were coming onto the set every day. It was a wonderful experience and good experience for me as my first independent film. It was nice to be able to sing live, and it's just one of those movies where it's always nice to have to look back on. It's an amazing, monumental film - and cast - in its own way.”
Lohan pulls off a terrific rendition of the song Frankie and Johnny in the movie despite the fact she was nervous about singing it. “I was definitely nervous. Everybody was that day on set. On that day, they just happened to have to be there on the side of the stage. I only rehearsed that song I think three times and they kept changing it. I was nervous.”
Lohan continued. “We don’t really have musicals that are done like this movie. And Robert Altman obviously has a way of kind of incorporating comedy and the darker side in films. It's kind of a creepy movie in its own way, but still it's really funny.”
Playing Meryl Streep’s daughter afforded Lohan the opportunity to talk to the critically acclaimed veteran actress about lots of different topics, but Lohan says they didn't spend much time chatting about work or relationships. “It was more of a ‘friends’ relationship. Her daughters were there all the time and one is my age, one is older and one’s younger. They’re really sweet. The whole cast went to dinner every single night. We had nothing else really to do so everyone really got close with each other. It was like a big family, which is really amazing.”
