Believe It or Not, Clueless Was Almost Never Made
The thought of someone rejecting Clueless makes us reply simply with, "As if!" However, as the seminal 1995 high school movie/Jane Austen adaptation about Los Angeles teens turns 25 years old, new information continues to surface regarding the film's development.
In a recent interview with Variety, writer and director Amy Heckerling described the constant and repeated rejection she faced when pitching the film to Hollywood executives.
“Everybody in Hollywood passed on it, and my agent Ken Stovitz was just driving himself insane trying to think of places and things and people that he could get it to and who would read it,” Heckerling said. “And, you know, it was pretty much, ‘No no no no.’ It’s kind of like when you read it, I don’t think people understood the humor.”
It's hard to believe that anyone could pass up the now time-honored classic. Heckerling's hit revolved around a teenage Beverly Hills-native named Cher Horowitz (played by Alicia Silverstone). Based on Jane Austen's novel, Emma, Cher has a penchant for matchmaking, makeovers, and twirling fluffy pens against her lips. The movie's irony, fashion, and searing sense of humor have made it translate across decades and generations.
Speaking of the fashion, another near-miss related to Clueless involved Cher's famed plaid, yellow Dolce & Gabbana suit. Heckerling notes that she almost rejected the outfit, which has since become no less than iconic.
“I go, ‘Really? A yellow suit?’” Heckerling said, recalling her conversation with costume designer Mona May. “I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got to trust you on this because it’s gonna pop.’”
In the end, of course, Clueless was made, eventually ending up at Paramount with Oscar-winning producer Scott Rudin. And, indeed, it was Heckerling and Paramount who had the last laugh—the movie earned $56.6 million on just a $12 million budget, not to mention that, years later, Clueless continues to be beloved by audiences around the world.
As for all of those people that turned down the movie? Well, they were totally clueless.
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