'Fargo' Cast Members Reflect As Iconic Minnesota Movie Turns 25: 'How Could You Ever Be In A Better Film?'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The classic film "Fargo" celebrates 25 years this week, so we decided to look back on the movie that made Minnesota famous.
Of course, the accents are one of the first things that come to mind.
"[Writers and directors Joel and Ethan Coen] turned it up to 11," said Tony Denman, who played Scotty Lundegaard.
Larissa Kokernot, who starred in one scene, agreed.
"They went just past," she said. "They wanted to kind of highlight it."
Michelle Hutchison, who played an escort, said she tried to downplay the accent in her scenes, and wishes she didn't.
Hutchison grew up in Minnesota and "Fargo" was her first film role.
She joined Denman and Kokernot to talk about the movie atop the downtown Minneapolis Club parking garage, where a Steve Buscemi shootout scene was filmed.
The Coen brothers are from St. Louis Park and used several Twin Cities locations in the movie, like a shot of the Lakeside Club in Mahtomedi.
An attendant in the movie is killed in a booth at the Centre Village parking ramp in downtown Minneapolis.
The Hitching Post Motel in Forest Lake is where William H. Macy's character gets arrested near the end. The motel's still open today.
Wayzata, Chaska, White Bear Lake, Stillwater, Edina and Eden Prairie are all mentioned in the movie.
Todd Melby, a Minneapolis author, has written a book about Fargo called "A Lot Can Happen in the Middle of Nowhere: The Untold Story of the Making of Fargo."
"It held up a mirror to us, like this is the way we are, and it also showed the rest of the world how we are," Melby said. "Lots of Minnesotans didn't like that, but it's pretty much true as far as the puffy hats and the funny accents go."
"Fargo" has followed the actors around for 25 years and will continue to do so. It's a point of pride for them.
"Even as a 40-year-old man, I'm still the kid from Fargo," Denman said. "I'm happy to embrace it because, we were just kind of saying, how could you ever be in a better film?"
Melby's book is now available to buy.
Click here to watch an extended version of our interviews with Denman, Kokernot, Hutchison and Melby.
