Movie reviews, production notes, and more! - "Legally Blonde"

Movie Production Notes: Legally Blonde

Notes provided by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Production Information How many blondes does it take to change Harvard Law School? Only one, if she's as fabulous as Elle Woods. Reese Witherspoon stars as the golden-haired heroine of MGM Pictures' summer comedy LEGALLY BLONDE. Elie Woods is naturally blonde (an important distinction). She's also super-popular, an honor student, president of her sorority, a runner-up for Miss Hawaiian Tropic, and Miss June in the CULA campus calendar - and her signature color is pink. She's led a wonderful life (she was in a Ricky Martin video!), but she's not a clueless, spoiled brat - Elie, like her hair, has a heart of gold, and it belongs to her totally cute boyfriend, Warner. When Warner asks her to dinner at their special place, she assumes he's going to pop the question and finally place The Rock (a six-karat Harry Winston) on her freshly manicured finger. Instead, he dumps her saying she's "too blonde" and not "serious" enough for his future political career, and Elie is devastated. Determined not to give up, she decides to prove she can be what he wants - she'll attend Harvard Law School herself. She's accepted (a Coppola directs her admissions video), but Elie finds it hard to be fabulous on the East Coast - a charming personality and pink Prada bag won't get you far in the navy blue blazer world of law school, and Elie sticks out like a sore cuticle. She resolves to succeed, though, and is soon one of the best in her class, to everyone's surprise. When a professor picks students for four coveted intern spots at his firm, Elie makes the cut and is soon assisting the defense in a sensational murder trial. One by one, she wins the respect of her peers, then ends up defending the client by herself in the ultimate exhibition of girl power. With clever, light-hearted digs at blondes and brunettes, men and women, and the silliness of labels of any sort, Elie overcomes the "dumb blonde" stereotype to ultimately declare herself proudly Legally Blonde. Reese Witherspoon (Election) stars in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures' comedy Legally Blonde. Directed by Robert Luketic from a screenplay by Karen McCullah Lutz & Kirsten Smith, the cast includes talented co-stars Luke Wilson (Blue Streak), Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions), Matthew Davis (Pearl Harbor), Victor Garber (TV's Life with Judy Garland), and Jennifer Coolidge (Best in Show). The film also features Ali Larter (Final Destination), Holland Taylor (TV's The Practice), Oz Perkins, Jessica Cauffiel (Urban Legends: The Final Cut), Meredith Scott Lynn (I Love You, Don't Touch Me!), Alanna Ubach (Clockwatchers), and Linda Cardellini (TV's Freaks & Geeks), with a cameo appearance by Raquel Welch. Produced by Marc Platt and Ric Kidney, Legally Blonde is based on the book by Amanda Brown. The accomplished team of creators includes Director of Photography Anthony B. Richmond, Production Designer Melissa Stewart, and editing by Anita Brandt Burgoyne and Garth Craven, with costumes by Sophie de Rakoff Carbonell and music by composer Rolfe Kent. ABOUT THE PRODUCTION I grew up in Bel Air across the street from Aaron Spelling. I think most people would agree that's a lot better than some stinky old Vanderbilt. Elle Woods Producer Marc Platt first fell madly in love with the character of Elle Woods when an unpublished novel manuscript by Amanda Brown crossed his desk. Amanda Brown, a blonde lawyer herself, attended Stanford Law School and found it was the perfect place to make an anthropological study of the "law student species." The resulting novel was Legally Blonde, featuring a funny, charming, innocent young heroine whose head was crammed with pop trivialities but whose heart could take her anywhere - even to the halls of Harvard Law School and a headline-making murder trial. Platt immediately saw this clever blonde-out-of-water comedy as an inspirational tale about transcending the limits of expectations. "What I loved about this story is that it's hilarious, it's sexy and, at the same time, it's empowering," says Platt. "The world looks at Elle and sees someone who is blonde and beautiful but nothing more. Elle, on the other hand, doesn't judge herself or anybody else. She thinks the world's great, she's great, everyone's great and nothing can change that. She's truly an irrepressible modern heroine." Platt has a history of being drawn to unique female characters, having previously worked with Jessica Lange in Blue Sky and Julia Roberts in her Academy Award®-winning Erin Brockovich role. But Elle's tale, he knew, would require something special: a wicked sense of humor. He brought in screenwriters Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith to adapt the novel into a sparkling screen comedy; they'd just adapted Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew into the tongue-in-cheek teen hit 10 Things I Hate About You. Bringing their trademark mix of sunny attitude and satirical bite to Elle's story, Lutz and Smith peppered it with pop culture references, trendy current-speak and moments of comic revelation. "Karen and Kirsten have a way of looking at the world through the eyes of twenty-something girls that is outrageously funny, yet stunningly real," notes Platt. "Their script is filled with the brightness and power of a pop song." Upon their first introduction, Lutz and Smith were also taken with the character of Elle Woods. "She's such a pure and vibrant character," observes Kirsten Smith. "She's outgoing and hilarious, and she's the ultimate in girl power."' Adds Karen McCullah Lutz: "Elle is someone who finds out she can accomplish a lot more in life than she ever imagined. She breaks the mold, and that's pretty exciting. She learns she can be herself and victorious at the same time." With the screenplay in place, Legally Blonde needed a director, someone who could bring a fresh point of view to this sassy satire on labels and stereotypes. Who better than an outsider new to these shores himself? Young Australian director Robert Luketic, who made waves with his debut short film Titsiana Booberini, was immediately drawn to the sweet and spicy Americana of Elle's story. He was also intrigued by how the heroine navigates the territory from perky sorority girl to a woman acutely aware of her own serious power. "I'm really attracted to stories about people remaining true to who they really are," says Luketic, "and Legally Blonde gets to that in a really fun and different way. It's fresh. It's young. It's extremely vibrant. And it's about a girl who decides to be who she really is, no matter what. That's extremely appealing: a comedy about believing in yourself." ALL ABOUT ELLE Sweetheart, you don't need law school. Law school is for people who are boring and ugly and serious, and you, button, are none of those things. Elle's Father The heart, soul and hair-color of Legally Blonde ail rest on its guileless lead heroine: Elle Woods. Casting Elle was a breeze, because the filmmakers were convinced from the beginning that there was only one choice: Reese Witherspoon, perhaps Hollywood's most complex and comedic young actress today. "Reese has all the beauty, intelligence, comedic brilliance and, of course, the natural blonde-ness to get to the heart and pathos of this character," says Marc Platt. Adds Robert Luketic: "She is just incredibly talented, and it was very impressive how she threw herself into the role. She hung out in Beverly Hills watching girls eat lobster salad and having spa days, and she just nailed it in a way that captures the uncanny ability of this character to charm." Like everyone who came in contact with the character, Witherspoon quickly developed a soft spot for Elle Woods and her buoyant battle to be taken seriously. "What I love about this story is that it really questions your perceptions," says the actress. "It's so easy to jump to conclusions about people in life, and I was really interested in exploring the difference between how a person looks externally and who they really are inside." Elle Woods also represented something else to Witherspoon: empowerment. "I think this is really an empowering movie," she says. "Everybody has a moment in their life when they stop believing in themselves, but Elle proves with her own special spirit that anyone can overcome their fears and succeed on their own terms, whatever those might be. Some people might succeed because they know about Plato and Socrates and other people succeed because they know about Porsches and Clinique. The point is to use what you have and believe in yourself." Witherspoon had a blast playing the perpetually perky Elle, but she also learned something interesting. "Actually, maintaining that sort of bubbly energy all the time is hard work. Elle never takes a break from staying up!" For Witherspoon, this unstoppable optimism became an essential part of the larger-than-life character she was creating. "We decided to create Elle as a person who has a real, unbreakable innocence," she explains. "She basically believes people are good and the world is good, and that never changes throughout the movie. I really like that and I wanted to impart it in a big, colorful way." Also colorful is Elle's of-the-moment designer wardrobe, which Witherspoon got a major kick out of. "Of course, no normal person would wear these clothes in public, but it all makes sense in the context of Elle's character. It's always about flaunting who you are." ABOUT THE CAST She could use some mascara and some serious highlights, but she's not completely unfortunate-looking. Elle on Vivian Kensington Elle's nemesis in the film is Vivian Kensington, the all-business brunette newly engaged to Warner, played by the talented and funny young actress Selma Blair. "Selma is perfect for Vivian because she can capture the essence of the perfect, wicked bitch, and yet underneath you can see there is an incredibly funny and nice person waiting to get out," says Robert Luketic. Blair was thrilled to have a chance to play Vivian's nuclear nastiness to the hilt and then to reveal her transformation. "Vivian is all kinds of awful to begin with," she explains. "She's this Town-&-Country-style girl, the type who is never without her pearls and who looks down on anyone different. I've encountered plenty of Vivian Kensingtons in my life. She doesn't want to believe Elle is worthy - no matter how incredibly adorable she is - and she convinces herself it's true by being an over-the-top bitch. But when Vivian begins to see Elle as a person and not just her fiancé's blonde ex-girlfriend, everything begins to change." If I'm gonna be a Senator by the time I'm 30, I need to stop dicking around. Warner Huntington There's no doubt that Elle Woods has a dramatic effect on men, including causing the one man she hoped to marry to run in the other direction. It's not that Warner Huntington III doesn't really, really like Elle. It's just that his family thinks she looks like a Spice Girl, and that isn't going to cut it for a guy with Clinton-esque ambitions of law school and politics. Warner is played by Matthew Davis, who emerged from the ranks of a mass casting call a to nab the role. "He just brought the character to life," says Robert Luketic. "He had everything a girl like Elle might want - and he was able to show how Warner throws it all away in a very funny yet poignant way." Davis sees Warner as "the great gutless wonder," he says, a guy who refuses to deviate from the path to perfection carved out for him by his family. "Warner's the kind of guy whose father can make one call and get him into Harvard," he explains. "But he's actually way in over his head. He's had it all, but that doesn't mean he knows how to stand up for himself. Elle really blows him away because she does what he could never do." Actor Luke Wilson plays the quiet, unassuming Emmett, a foil to Warner's tentative snobbery and the first Harvard legalite to give Elle the benefit of the. doubt. The screenwriters wrote the role specifically for Luke. "We wanted a shy, cute, earthy guy, and it was just obvious," notes McCullah Lutz. Wilson immediately understood Emmett's interest in Elle. "Elle is one of those people that Emmett gets a kick out of. She stands out and he likes that. He likes that she's willing to be different," he explains, "and he helps her to be more than anybody imagined." Professor Callahan is also trying to "help" Elle. Played by veteran stage and screen actor Victor Garber, the powerful male professor invites her to be part of his firm's internship program, only to later reveal more self-serving intentions. Garber was drawn to the screenplay because he found it "funny, touching and intoxicating." And like everyone else, he fell in love with Elle. Summarizing her appeal, he says, "She's just unique. She's funny, authentic, innocent and inspirational. And she's so much more than Professor Callahan thinks she is!" The English language is all about subliminal domination. Take the word "semester" -a perfect example of this school's discriminatory preference of semen to ovaries. Enid, Elle's Harvard Classmate Elle Woods is surrounded by all manner of women: her ultimate sorority girlfriends Margot and Serena, her manicurist/therapist Paulette, steel-fisted Professor Stromwell, her frothing-at-the-mouth feminist classmate Enid, and her first defendant, a famed California fitness guru on trial for murdering her husband. The filmmakers assembled an exciting cast of diverse actresses to bring this array of personalities to light, from the up-and-coming to the already there. In the hostile Harvard environment, Elle finds solace in the one place where she is truly understood: at the Beauty Oasis, where Paulette, the maladroit manicurist, is always ready with an open ear. Paulette is played by actress and comedienne Jennifer Coolidge, who sees Elle as "a modern day Shane who comes into this town and changes everyone's life in unexpected ways." "Elle really helps Paulette," Coolidge continues. "She helps her to get her self-esteem and power back. Other people may look down on Elle, but Paulette sees her as this smart, amazing person who is incredibly kind." Paulette herself may not be the most together gal in the world, and her life is often an amusing mess, but she's got a heart of gold. Marc Platt says, "Jennifer Coolidge is able to be hilarious and touching at the same time. She gives you someone to really root for." Rising stars Jessica Cauffiel and Alanna Ubach play Elle's perky sorority sisters. Both actresses became fascinated with the sorority lifestyle, hanging out incognito at various college campus hot-spots. "Sorority girls are very educated and very eloquent, but they still drop in a `totally' every now and then," observes Ubach. But no matter how boisterously bubbly and hilariously trivial their characters might sometimes seem, something else attracted the young actresses. "This is a comedy about the idea that a person's worth can't be judged one way or the other by what they look like, how they dress, what their vocabulary is, whatever, and that's really interesting," says Cauffiel. "It's about how a person should be judged by their kindness, humanity and spirit." In sharp contrast to Margot and Serena is Enid, Elle's fiercely feminist Harvard classmate, played by Meredith Scott Lynn. "Enid's intense," Scott Lynn admits. "And when she first meets Elle she thinks she's a woman who represents everything she despises, who flaunts her femininity with fabulous clothes and make-up and whatever. But what's so interesting about Enid is that, for her all feminist rhetoric, she's pretty dam catty!" A role model for Elle is her one female teacher, Professor Stromwell, played by Holland Taylor in a funny female take on John Houseman's imperious professor in the law school classic The Paper Chase. The role gave Taylor a chance to do a light-hearted take on lawyering, a switch from her role as a serious judge on the hit dramatic television series The Practice. "Professor Stromwell takes no prisoners," Taylor explains. "She's every bit as tough as the John Houseman character, but since this is a comedy, she even takes it a step further. It's been just a blast to play." I know you. :You took my class in LA. You had the best high kick I've ever seen. Brooke Taylor, to Elle Brooke Taylor, the infomercial fitness queen and accused murderer whose freedom may literally rest on Elle's head, is played by Ali Larter. Admits Larter: "It's fun to play someone everyone thinks is guilty as hell." Larter was also drawn by the wit and verve of the script. "The zinger lines just keep coming," she says. "It's kind of like Clueless at law school, with all these fabulous clothes and hilarious one-liners. It's a very fun project, but it's also about women getting what they want using what they've been given. That's what Brooke is about and that's what Elle comes to discover about herself." One of the prosecution's most damaging witnesses, Mrs. Windham Vandermark (Brooke's murdered husband's ex-wife), is played by world-renowned bombshell Raquel Welch. Welch was attracted by the chance to work with Reese Witherspoon, whom she admired for a long time. "I wanted to work with Reese, but then I read the script and found myself just laughing out loud," she recalls. "It's one of those wonderful stories that winks at the audience the whole way through." "I wanted somebody grand and beautiful for the role of Mrs. Vandermark," says Robert Luketic, "someone who walks in the room and commands attention. Having Raquel Welch in the role was an absolute dream come true." Rounding out the cast is one of film's biggest new stars - and the only that can be carried in a purse: Moonie the Chihuahua, who plays Elle's constant companion Bruiser. "Initially he was just going to be a Chihuahua," says Luketic, "but he's become an actual character in the film. He's such a charismatic little pooch - a scene-stealer. I wanted him to do everything that Elle does, right down to sitting under the dryer with her - and this little guy was more than willing." Whoever said orange was the "new pink" was seriously disturbed. -- Elle Woods The look of Legally Blonde echoes Elle Wood's hypercolored, sweetly saturated take on life, including a portrait of California in constant bloom. Explains Luketic: "I wanted it to feel as if you're moving through a technicolor California dream. Everything has this perfect sheen to it, everything is bright and colorful, and then Elle gets to Harvard and the palette begins to fade, until the final, ultra-pink climax." Marc Platt continues: "The film presents a slightly heightened world created by production designer Missy Stewart, who did such a great job on Gus Van Sant's To Die For. Missy really translated the comedy of Elle's over-the-top style into the overall design concept; the ultimate result is that Elle's world is incredibly fun and contrasts starkly with the cold, gray world of the Ivy League law school." Stewart really enjoyed bringing her vision of Southern California to life, creating what she describes as a "lush tropical garden in which rare exotic flowers bloom." She envisioned Elle and her sorority sisters as vivid, graceful flowers themselves in the middle of it all. "The flower theme is everywhere in the first part of the film, with a Matisse-like effect," she says. The production, in fact, was shot entirely in Southern California. Interestingly enough, USC stood in for Harvard Law School; while Cal Tech in Pasadena substituted for the fictional CULA (California University at Los Angeles). But Stewart, who also designed Good Will Hunting, had no trouble using judicious ivy to recreate a facsimile of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Equally key to the eye-popping design scheme is costume designer Sophie de Rakoff Carbonell's ostentatious outfits. "Robert basically wanted Elle's clothes to be another character in the movie," she notes. "We wanted her to pop out no matter where she is, always combining classic style with a dash of avant-garde." The rules of haircare are simple and finite. Any Cosmo girl would've known -- Elle Woods Elle's outfits are complimented by an equally astounding array of hair coifs. Hair stylist Joy Zapata found herself creating some 40 entirely unique hairstyles for the film's main character, from big, bubbly Barbie curls to silky, pin-straight cascades of blonde. Zapata jokingly renamed Legally Blonde, "The Hair That Ate Hollywood." "Elle's hair has a life of its own in this movie," says Zapata. "Luckily, Reese has the most amazing, heavy, thick, beautiful blonde, hair. The more I worked with it, the more I loved it. I could try anything with it, and I did!" Zapata was pleased to play such a pivotal role in a film that turns on hair-styling tips. "The hair plays a major role," she says. "Reese would come into the trailer as Reese, and I would give her this very bouncy, Pamela Anderson, Gianni Versace, Beverly Hills-style hair, and she would leave as Elle. It snapped her right into the character." Throughout Legally Blonde, hair, costume and set design combine with high spirits and snappy wit to capture the joie de vivre of Elle Woods. But nowhere does it all come together more uniquely than in the film's surprising musical number - an ode to the great blonde bombshell musical numbers of years gone by, albeit with a modern twist. The action takes places in the Beauty Oasis, as Elle teaches Paulette her time-honored tradition for getting a man's attention: the "Bend and Snap." Director Luketic has always had a secret passion for musical numbers, but knew they weren't always accepted by modern audiences. He threw caution to the wind, though. "I knew it would be risky," he says. "But I also knew there was a way to make the number completely organic to the story; to blend it into the whole spirit of the film." Luketic brought in legendary choreographer Toni Basil to stage the number, and she transformed a romp through the beauty salon into a celebration of seductive power. "It's a great number because it's got all different types of women of all different ages, body shapes, sizes, color, et cetera," says Basil. "The whole spectrum of women you'd find in a beauty salon is represented, from Elle to Paulette and beyond." Basil had her work cut out for her. "In Busby Berkeley days, he would takes months to make up a routine and weeks to shoot it," she says. "Now we have a day to shoot what is a very complex scene." Basil pulled it off, though, to the great excitement of cast and crew, most of whom had never experienced anything like it. "It was an incredibly exciting experience to do a dance number," says Reese Witherspoon. "There were people flying all over the place and it was great. It gave the film a wonderful, colorful, fresh energy - and that's what Elle is all about." Official Web Site: http://www.legallyblonde.com/ Back to main movie page Showing Today at: Click here for other showings