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Clueless
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==Production== ===Development=== The idea for ''Clueless'' first originated as a television pilot in 1993.<ref name="Creative">{{Cite web |title=Clueless ''Creative Writing'' |date=June 20, 2019 |url=https://vimeo.com/343465997 |access-date=March 26, 2022 |publisher=[[Paramount Home Entertainment]] |via=[[Vimeo]]}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{cite magazine |last=Nashawaty |first=Chris |date=October 5, 2012 |title=Clueless {1995} |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2012/10/05/clueless-1995 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311185703/http://www.ew.com/article/2012/10/05/clueless-1995 |archive-date=March 11, 2015 |access-date=March 26, 2022 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]}}</ref><ref name="vanityfair.com" /> Writer and director [[Amy Heckerling]] said: "[[20th Century Studios|Twentieth Century Fox]] said they wanted a show about teenagers—but not the nerds. They wanted it to be about the cool kids. The most successful character in anything I'd ever done was Jeff Spicoli in ''[[Fast Times at Ridgemont High|Fast Times]]''. People think that's because he was stoned and a surfer. But that's not it. It's because he's positive. So I thought, 'I'm going to write a character who's positive and happy.' And that was Cher."<ref name=":4" /> Heckerling, having read the [[Jane Austen]] novel ''[[Emma (novel)|Emma]]'' in college and loving the [[Emma Woodhouse|title character]]'s positivity, decided to write the script around an Emma-like character, saying, "I started to think, 'What's the larger context for that kind of a 'nothing can go wrong' 'always looks through rose colored glasses' kind of girl? So I tried to take all the things that were in this sort of pretty 1800s world and see what would that be like if it was in Beverly Hills."<ref name="Creative"/> {{Quote box | quote = "I remembered reading ''[[Emma (novel)|Emma]]'' in college and being struck at how much it reminded me of old TV shows like ''[[Gidget (TV series)|Gidget]]''. There's something so basic about it. I knew ''[Clueless]'' would be set in Beverly Hills because it's a hyper-pastel fantasy place." | source = —writer and director [[Amy Heckerling]] in 2012<ref name=":4"/> | width = 30% }} As research for the script, Heckerling sat in on classes at [[Beverly Hills High School]] to get a feel for the student culture,<ref name="mentalfloss.com">{{Cite web |last=Puchko |first=Kristy |date=2015-12-01 |title=22 Facts About Clueless On Its 25th Anniversary |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/56217/22-fun-facts-about-clueless |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108174707/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/56217/22-fun-facts-about-clueless |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |access-date=March 26, 2022 |website=[[Mental Floss]]}}</ref> commenting, "...one thing I observed was these girls in a constant state of grooming."<ref name=":4" /> Ken Stovitz had become Heckerling's agent at the time and told her the script had the potential to be a feature film after he read it.<ref name="vanityfair.com" /> The finished script, which was titled "No Worries", contained the main characters that would end up in the ''Clueless'' film.<ref name="vanityfair.com" /> [[Twink Caplan]], Heckerling's friend who had worked with her on past projects, said film executives at Fox were wary of the story being too female-oriented to appeal to a large enough audience. "It was obvious they didn't get it. They thought the script needed more boys in it. They were afraid that if they focused on girls, we wouldn't get any guys to see it. So it went into [[Turnaround (filmmaking)|turnaround]]. It was dead", said Caplan.<ref name=":4" /> Six months later, the script found its way to producer [[Scott Rudin]], who gave it his stamp of approval.<ref name="Creative" /><ref name=":4" /> Rudin's support led to increased interest in the script, and it became the subject of a bidding war between studios which was eventually won by [[Paramount Pictures]].<ref name="Creative" /> Heckerling was excited, as [[Viacom (1952–2005)|Viacom]] (Paramount's parent company) owned several major youth-centered television channels, such as [[MTV]] and [[Nickelodeon]], which were suited to the film's target demographic.<ref name="Creative" /> ===Casting=== Heckerling first saw [[Alicia Silverstone]] in the [[Aerosmith]] music video for "[[Cryin']]" and kept her in the back of her mind for the role of Cher.<ref name="vanityfair.com" /> When the film was still in development at Fox, executives suggested [[Alicia Witt]], [[Keri Russell]], [[Tiffani Thiessen]], [[Gwyneth Paltrow]], and [[Angelina Jolie]] for the part.<ref name="vanityfair.com" /> Heckerling met with [[Reese Witherspoon]], who already had a few film roles to her credit.<ref name="vanityfair.com" /> Though Silverstone only had the thriller ''[[The Crush (1993 film)|The Crush]]'' as her previous film, the studio did not pressure Heckerling to cast big stars, and Silverstone ultimately won the role of Cher.<ref name="mentalfloss.com" /> [[Ben Affleck]] and [[Zach Braff]] auditioned for the role of Josh.<ref name="vanityfair.com" /> [[Sarah Michelle Gellar]] was offered the role of Amber Mariens but turned it down due to her commitments to ''[[All My Children]]'', while [[Zooey Deschanel]] auditioned for the role of Amber as well.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Jones |first=Eleanor |url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a33973/clueless-film-trivia-facts/ |title=14 things you never knew about Clueless |magazine=[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]] |location=UK |date=March 6, 2015 |access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref> [[Lauryn Hill]] auditioned for the role of Dionne, which eventually went to Stacey Dash.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://time.com/3944547/clueless-20th-anniversary/ | title=20 Things You Never Knew About 'Clueless' | date=July 6, 2015 }}</ref> [[Seth Green]] auditioned for the role of Travis and [[Alanna Ubach]] was considered for the role of Tai.<ref name="vanityfair.com" /> [[Terrence Howard]] and [[Dave Chappelle]] were considered for the role of Murray.<ref name="vanityfair.com">{{Cite magazine |last=Chaney |first=Jen |date=June 9, 2015 |title=The Definitive Oral History of How Clueless Became an Iconic 90s Classic |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/06/clueless-oral-history-20-anniversary |access-date=March 26, 2022 |magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]}}</ref> [[Jeremy Renner]] and [[Jamie Walters]] auditioned for the role of Christian, and [[Jerry Orbach]] and [[Harvey Keitel]] were considered for the role of Cher's father, Melvin Horowitz.<ref name="vanityfair.com" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/clueless-trivia_n_7208320?ir=Entertainment|title=5 Things You Didn't Know About 'Clueless,' According To The Casting Director|last=Van Lulind|first=Todd|access-date=June 4, 2022|date=May 7, 2015|website=[[HuffPost]]}}</ref> The character of Wendell Hall, played by [[Wallace Shawn]], was inspired by a real-life debate teacher at Beverly Hills High School and a friend of Heckerling's. Prior to full-time acting, Shawn had been a teacher and drew on his experience for his portrayal of Mr. Hall.<ref name="mentalfloss.com" /> ===Filming=== [[File:Westfield Fashion Square.JPG|thumb|The [[Westfield Fashion Square]] in Los Angeles was used for some interior mall scenes.]] Principal photography for the film began on November 21, 1994,<ref>{{cite press release |date=December 14, 1994 |title=Alicia Silverstone Stars in 'Clueless,' A Romantic Comedy Written and Directed by Amy Heckerling |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/ALICIA+SILVERSTONE+STARS+IN+'CLUELESS,'+A+ROMANTIC+COMEDY+WRITTEN+AND...-a015982332 |publisher=[[Paramount Pictures]] |agency=[[PR Newswire]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423112259/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/ALICIA+SILVERSTONE+STARS+IN+%27CLUELESS%2c%27+A+ROMANTIC+COMEDY+WRITTEN+AND...-a015982332 |archive-date=April 23, 2016 |access-date=March 26, 2022 |via=[[The Free Library]]}}</ref> and consisted of a 40-day filming schedule.<ref>{{cite web |last=Grossbart |first=Sarah |date=July 19, 2020 |title=We're Totally Buggin' Over These Secrets About How ''Clueless'' Was Made |url=https://www.eonline.com/news/1170683/were-totally-buggin-over-these-secrets-about-how-clueless-was-made |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111093603/https://www.eonline.com/news/1170683/were-totally-buggin-over-these-secrets-about-how-clueless-was-made |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |access-date=March 26, 2022 |website=[[E! Online]]}}</ref> [[Brittany Murphy]], who was 17 at the time, required a parent or guardian present during filming.<ref name="screenrant.com">{{Cite web |last=McGranaghan |first=Mike |date=2018-03-10 |title=16 Secrets Behind the Making of Clueless |url=https://screenrant.com/clueless-behind-scenes-trivia-facts/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190516204634/https://screenrant.com/clueless-behind-scenes-trivia-facts/ |archive-date=May 16, 2019 |access-date=2020-11-05 |website=[[Screen Rant]]}}</ref> Scenes depicting the fictional Bronson Alcott High School campus including the tennis courts, outdoor cafeteria, and the quad were filmed at [[Occidental College]] in Los Angeles.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bonar |first=Samantha B. |date=July 20, 2015 |title=A 'Clueless' Walk Down Memory Lane |url=https://www.oxy.edu/news/clueless-walk-down-memory-lane |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509224431/https://www.oxy.edu/news/clueless-walk-down-memory-lane |archive-date=May 9, 2019 |access-date=2020-11-05 |publisher=[[Occidental College]]}}</ref> Ulysses S. Grant High School in [[Valley Glen, Los Angeles|Valley Glen]] provided filming locations for the school's interior sets.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Clueless (1995) {{!}} Film Locations|url=http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/c/Clueless.php|access-date=2020-11-05|website=The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations|archive-date=October 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022185338/http://movie-locations.com/movies/c/Clueless.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Other notable filming locations include the former [[Westside Pavilion]] [[shopping mall]], Circus Liquor in [[North Hollywood, Los Angeles|North Hollywood]], where Cher is mugged in her designer dress, and [[Rodeo Drive]], featured in Cher's "crisis" scene as she dejectedly wanders around after a failed driver's test and a confrontation with Tai.<ref name=":1" /> The [[The Mighty Mighty Bosstones|Mighty Mighty Bosstones]] performance, originally an outdoor event, had to be moved inside due to rain.<ref name="screenrant.com"/> [[Paul Rudd]] bought everyone gifts after filming wrapped.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Begley |first=Sarah |date=July 6, 2015 |title=20 Things You Never Knew About ''Clueless'' |url=https://time.com/3944547/clueless-20th-anniversary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828124837/https://time.com/3944547/clueless-20th-anniversary/ |archive-date=August 28, 2020 |access-date=March 26, 2022 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> ===Costumes=== [[Mona May]] did the costume designing for the film. The iconic plaid set worn by Cher Horowitz in the film was "a nod to a Catholic schoolgirl uniform, but taken to another level and, turned designer."<ref>{{cite web |last=London |first=Lela |date=March 15, 2021 |title=Clueless Designer Mona May Proves Iconic Costume Design Pays off in Hollywood |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/lelalondon/2021/03/15/clueless-mona-may-proves-iconic-costume-design-pays-off-in-hollywood/?sh=16c68254e44e |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=[[Forbes]]}}</ref> Cher wore several designer clothes ranging from [[Azzedine Alaïa]] to [[Anna Sui]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Spellings |first=Sarah |date=2020-07-17 |title=Creating ''Clueless's'' Iconic Wardrobe |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/clueless-costumes-mona-may-interview |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The "underwear" [[Calvin Klein]] dress worn by Cher was actually designed by Sui who, at the time, was an emerging designer.<ref name=":0" /> Calvin Klein was credited due to more brand recognition during the time.
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