Production
Production
Development
Jon Avnet first read the novel in 1987. He was introduced to it by producer Lisa Lindstrom, with whom he worked on television films Heat Wave and Breaking Point. Although he wanted her to give him a synopsis of the story, she insisted he read the book and like her, he loved it. He decided to turn the story into a film and pitched the idea to Norman Lear's company, Act III Communications, who were interested and gave him a small budget for a screenwriter. He hired Carol Sobieski who had written the screenplay for 1982's Annie. She wrote a draft for it as a musical, which he was unhappy with. Sobieski left the project and he hired Flagg, who had been surprised that anyone would want to turn the novel into a film, to develop the script. Although she had some screenwriting experience, she found the process of turning her own novel into a script a strange one. The job was made somewhat easier by the work done by Sobieski and Avnet in choosing which characters from the book were going to be featured, but she found it difficult and also left the project, after writing 70 pages of the screenplay. With no money left to hire another writer, Avnet took the script over himself and spent the next 2–3 years developing it. Flagg gave her blessing to the final draft.
Part of the film finance came from British production company The Rank Organisation; it would be their most successful film of the 1990s.
Casting
Avnet wrote the film with Jessica Tandy in mind; she expressed excitement about making the film. He had worked with Kathy Bates and Chris O'Donnell on the 1990 film Men Don't Leave before offering them the roles of Evelyn Couch and Buddy Threadgoode respectively. When Bates read the script she loved the characters and was particularly keen to work with Tandy. Mary-Louise Parker was casting director David Rubin's first choice for the role of Ruth Jamison. She read for the part several times, initially unhappy with her own tests. When she read along with Mary Stuart Masterson, they – and the producers – agreed that they had good chemistry.
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Kathy Bates (2006) -
Mary Stuart Masterson (2007) -
Mary-Louise Parker (1999) -
Jessica Tandy (1988)
Location and filming
Avnet hired Barbara Ling as production designer. Scouting for a location, she found Juliette, Georgia, a town that was, according to Avnet, nearly deserted. The building chosen to be the Whistle Stop Café was formerly an antique and hardware store. It was redesigned as a cafe, with a horseshoe-shaped counter to allow for optimal camera angles.
The scene where Idgie goes to collect honey from a tree stump for Ruth was originally intended to be performed by a stunt double. However, after the latter backed out at the last minute, Masterson volunteered to do it herself. The footage of her covered in a swarm of live bees is seen in the final version of the film.
Flagg based the Whistle Stop restaurant on the real-life Irondale Café in Irondale, Alabama. She was a frequent visitor and it was formerly owned by her great-aunt.
Differences between the film and novel
Unlike the novel, the film does not make the lesbian romance between the two central characters explicit, instead leaving the relationship between Idgie and Ruth ambiguous. The DVD contains an audio commentary by Avnet in which he refers to the scene of Idgie and Ruth's food fight as a "love scene".
At the time of the film's debut, it was criticized by reviewers and activists for what was seen as "glossing over" the lesbian relationship. But it won an award in 1992 from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation for best feature film with lesbian content.
Although in the book Idgie and Ninny are two distinctly separate characters, at the end of the film it is largely hinted that they are one and the same. This runs counter to two comments Ninny makes when she first meets Evelyn: "I was practically adopted by the Threadgoodes; I married her [Idgie's] brother, Cleo"; and "I had the biggest crush on him. [Buddy Threadgoode, Idgie's older brother]"
- ^ a b c d Avnet, Jon (director) (1998). Director's Commentary (Fried Green Tomatoes) (DVD). United States: Universal Studios Home Video. OCLC 861743569.
- ^ a b c d e f Kenny, J.M. (director) (1998). 'Fried Green Tomatoes': The Moments of Discovery (DVD). United States: Universal Studios Home Video. OCLC 861743569. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (September 10, 2025). "Forgotten British Film Studios: The Rank Organisation 1982–1997". FilmInk. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
- ^ a b Park, Irby (May 7, 2003). "Fannie Flagg Captivates Audience at City Book Event". The Chattanoogan. Archived from the original on May 9, 2003. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
- ^ Nolan, Michael (October 20, 2002). "Fried Green Tomatoes At The Irondale Cafe". American Profile. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
- ^ a b c Rockler, Naomi R. (2001). "A Wall on the Lesbian Continuum: Polysemy and Fried Green Tomatoes". Women's Studies in Communication. 24 (1): 90–106. doi:10.1080/07491409.2001.10162428. ISSN 0749-1409. S2CID 143987600.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Isaak-EWwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Vickers, Lu (June 1994). "Fried Green Tomatoes Excuse me, did we see the same movie?". Jump Cut. 39: 25–30. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
- ^ a b Colussi, Mary (May 8, 2021). "14 Queer Characters Who Got "Straightwashed" Into Heteronormativity By Hollywood: 3. Idgie and Ruth — Fried Green Tomatoes". BuzzFeed. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ^ Levy, Emanuel (January 6, 2006). "Fried Green Tomatoes". emanuellevy.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ Hollinger, Karen (1998). "5: The Erotic Female Friendship Film: Lesbianism in the Mainstream". In The Company Of Women: Contemporary Female Friendship Films (1st ed.). Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. pp. 158–168, 177. ISBN 978-0816631773.