The final product came after „about 10 drafts of the script. I worked with the writers (Kirsten Smith, Karen McCullah Lutz, who worked on Amanda Brown`s novel) who stayed after filming started,” Luketic explained. „And we would have rethought and rewritten, often in the middle of the night.” [10] An unused idea for the finished film involved an appearance by Judge Judy during Elle`s Harvard video trial in which Elle and her friends were suing the show`s host, but the scene was cut off when Judge Judy Sheindlin was unable to board. Alanna Ubach instead suggested choosing Ryan Phillippe, Witherspoon`s then husband, for the role, which was rewritten as a male character, but Witherspoon didn`t think the idea would work. [13] Producer Marc Platt was fascinated by the character of Elle Woods when he received an unpublished novel manuscript. [8] „What I liked about this story is that it`s hilarious, sexy and challenging,” Platt says. „The world looks at Her and sees someone who is blonde and handsome, but no more. She, on the other hand, does not judge herself or anyone else. She thinks the world is great, she`s great, everyone is great and nothing can change that. She is truly an irrepressible modern heroine.
[8] Former sorority president Elle Woods is happy and in love with her boyfriend. She wants nothing more than to marry and become Mrs. Warner Huntington III. However, Huntington will not suggest pretending that she is „too blonde.” Determined to conquer it and prove to herself that there is more to her than her appearance, she gathers all her resources and applies to study law at Harvard University. [3] Stay up to date with the latest news from Rotten Tomatoes! Tap „Sign Up” at the bottom to receive our weekly newsletter with updates on movies, TV shows, the Rotten Tomatoes podcast and more. A musical Legally Blonde debuted in 2007,[14] with music and lyrics by Laurence O`Keefe and Nell Benjamin and the book by Heather Hach. It was premiered during pre-Broadway trials in San Francisco, California. In April 2007, the show moved to Broadway and opened mixed reviews. Jerry Mitchell directed and choreographed. The film stars Laura Bell Bundy as Elle, Christian Borle as Emmett and Richard H. Blake as Warner. He received seven Tony award nominations and ten Drama Desk nominations, but won none.
Amanda Brown published Legally Blonde in 2001, drawing on her real-life experiences as a blonde who attended Stanford Law School while obsessed with fashion and beauty, reading Elle magazine and frequently bumping into the personalities of her peers. [6] The actors and crew also did a lot of research, with McCullah and Smith attending Stanford Law School for a week during orientation time; A scene of a group of new students walking around in a circle was inspired by law students listening to the writers during their visit. They have also served on criminal law and constitutional law courses; McCullah was particularly bored in second grade, although she found the first one interesting, but it inspired her to write a few scenes during this course. [13] The writers introduced themselves to Luke Wilson when they developed interest in love with Elle, Emmett Richmond. „You auditioned a few other guys and we`re like, `How about auditioning Luke Wilson for the role of Luke Wilson? McCullah Lutz said. Middleton wanted to cast Paul Bettany as Emmett, but the team felt the character should be American, while Bettany is British.[15] [13] A reality television series related to the musical entitled Legally Blonde: The Musical – The Search for Elle Woods debuted on MTV in 2008. [12] The show debuted on June 2, 2008 as a competition show in which the winner was chosen for the lead role. Bailey Hanks eventually won and had not only the lead role, but also the opportunity to record his own single from the first act number of the musical titled „So Much Better”. The show ended on July 21, 2008. Autumn Hurlbert was a finalist.
She served as Hanks` understudy and starred in the entire show. Bundy`s last appearance in the musical was on July 20, 2008. Hanks began his performances on July 23, 2008 and remained with the show until its end on October 19, 2008. [13] The film first ended at the courthouse shortly after Woods won the case, with Elle on the steps of the courthouse sharing a victory kiss with Emmett, and then a year into the future for her and a now blonde Vivian who founded her own Blonde Legal Defense Club at law school. After the test audience revealed that they didn`t like this ending, McCullah Lutz and Smith consulted luketic, Platt, and other members of the production team while they were still in the movie lobby, and they all agreed that a new conclusion was needed. „It was just a weak ending,” explained screenwriter McCullah Lutz. „The kiss didn`t feel good to me because it`s not a rom-com – it wasn`t about their relationship. So the test audience said, „We want to see what happens – we want her to pass.” That`s why we rewrote for the diploma.
[31] Ubach and Jessica Cauffiel claim that the original ending also included Elle and Vivian, who drank margaritas in Hawaii, with the implication that they were either now best friends or romantically involved, although Smith and McCullah never wrote such an ending. Other proposed endings for the film were a musical number in which Elle, the judge, the jury and everyone in the courthouse burst into song and dance. [13] Five months later, Witherspoon had a virtual meeting with the original cast of Legally Blonde to remember her huge success. The first film grossed $141 million at the box office, according to Variety, while the 2003 sequel, which followed Elle to Washington, D.C., as she struggled to get Bruiser`s Bill (named after her beloved Chihuahua), grossed nearly $125 million worldwide. Witherspoon is on board to star and produce the film, but no other official casting announcement has been made. In July 2018, Regina King, who played Grace in Legally Blonde 2, and Matthew Davis, who played Warner in Legally Blonde, both shared interest in a comeback. Elle Woods, blonde president of the University of Southern California and queen of reunion, is deeply in love with her college love Warner Huntington III. When Warner enrolls in Harvard Law School and wants to find a more serious girl than Elle to be his wife, She has a plan to follow him there to win him back. Legally Blonde also had a three-year performance at the Savoy Theatre in London`s West End with Sheridan Smith, Susan McFadden and Carley Stenson as Elle and Duncan James, Richard Fleeshman, Simon Thomas and Ben Freeman as Warner.
[64] [65] The cast also included Alex Gaumond,[66] Denise Van Outen and Lee Mead. [67] The broad outlines of Legally Blonde grew out of Brown`s experiences as a blonde who went to Stanford Law School while obsessed with fashion and beauty, reading Elle magazine and frequently clashing with the personalities of her peers. In 2000, Brown met producer Marc Platt, who helped her develop her manuscript into a novel. Platt enlisted the help of screenwriters McCullah Lutz and Smith to adapt the book into a film. The project caught the attention of director Luketic, an Australian newcomer who came to Hollywood when his first eccentric short titsiana Booberini was a success. „I had been reading scripts for two years and couldn`t find anything to put my personal stamp on until Legally Blonde appeared,” Luketic said. After years of speculation and teasing, Deadline reported in May 2020 that Legally Blonde 3 had received the green light. The media confirmed that Witherspoon would return as a blonde lawyer who is against Catcalls and will not plead for a sister of the sorority to be falsely accused of murdering her husband – after all, „Happy people don`t kill their husbands!” Witherspoon wore 40 different hairstyles in the film.
[22] „Oh my God, it became known as `The Hair That Eat Hollywood,`” Luketiker said. „It was all about the hair. I have this obsession with flyaways. It would annoy Reese a bit because I always had hairdressers on my face. But really most of the time, the research and testing on set was aimed at getting the right color, because „blonde” is subject to interpretation, I thought. Legally Blonde is a 2001 American drama film directed by Robert Luketic. It stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victor Garber and Jennifer Coolidge. The story follows Elle Woods (Witherspoon), a sister who tries to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner Huntington III (Davis) by earning a Juris Doctor at Harvard Law School, overcoming stereotypes against blondes, and triumphing as a successful lawyer. Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Alicia Silverstone, Katherine Heigl, Christina Applegate, Milla Jovovich and Jennifer Love Hewitt were all considered for the lead roles,[12] but Luketic said he „knew on page five of the script that [he] wanted Reese to play Elle.” [10] „I wanted someone with gravity and brain,” he explained. „There had to be more to the face, and Reese just fit into the bill.” [12] Witherspoon was the first person to read the script, and no other actresses were sent; Casting director Joseph Middleton had also previously worked with Witherspoon on The Man in the Moon and A Far Off Place, so he strongly believed in her for the role when Platt mentioned Witherspoon`s name. Applegate turned down the role and Platt suggested casting Britney Spears at one point, but McCullah convinced him not to cast Spears after her Saturday Night Live performance. [13] Despite Luketic`s enthusiasm for casting Witherspoon as the lead actor, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was not convinced.
[14] Witherspoon`s appearance as Tracy Flick in Election put her in danger of being typed by studio executives. [14] „They thought I was a shrew,” Witherspoon told The Hollywood Reporter.