The 2001 film â Legally Blonde â starred Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods, a woman who initially applies to Harvard Law School to win back her college boyfriend, Warner, who broke up with her for not being serious enough.
From the famous actress almost cast in the lead role to behind-the-scenes crushes, here are some fun facts about the 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon. What, like itâs hard? For years, fans have been quoting Legally Blonde and its very relatable main character, glamour girl turned Harvard law student, Elle Woods.
Professor Callahan is one of the two main antagonists (alongside Chutney Windham) of the 2001 comedy film Legally Blonde and its 2007 Broadway musical adaptation. He works at Harvard University and is the former teacher of Elle Woods.
Years later, Elle remains influential for women entering the legal profession and women lawyers alike. Reese Witherspoon, the actress who played Elle, told the Wall Street Journal Magazine in a 2017 article, âAt least once a week I have a woman come up to me and say, âI went to law school because of Legally Blonde ,â â she said.
Callahan is eventually fired from his firm and the School.
Victor GarberLegally Blonde (2001) - Victor Garber as Professor Callahan - IMDb.
She expects Warner to propose, but he breaks up with her instead. He intends to go to Harvard Law School and become a successful politician and believes that Elle is not "serious" enough for that kind of life. Elle believes she can win Warner back if she shows herself capable of achieving the same things.
Fitness sensation and mega-influencer Brooke Wyndham, who is in her early 20s, is facing trial for the alleged murder of her wealthy, virile husband, who was tragically shot and killed at the young age of 60. As a former Delta Nu sorority legend, Ms.
$15 millionAnd we haven't even discussed her TV career (more on that in a second). According to Parade, Reese made $250,000 for her role in Cruel Intentions in 1999. But a few years later, she was making about 60 times as much (that's $15 million, if you're also bad at math) for Legally Blonde 2.
However, despite the fact that the 2001 film was set at Harvard University, campus scenes for "Legally Blonde" were filmed at the University of Southern California, the University of California, Los Angeles, California Institute of Technology, and Rose City High School, according to "The Worldwide Guide to Movie ...
Warner Is The Stupidest Man Alive & Probably Cheated On Elle (Though there's a woman who says, âI won't be having the saladâ at the end of the breakup scene and that's funny.)
Warner Huntington IIIWe have McCullah and Smith to thank for Legally Blonde's iconic breakup scene, where Elle Woods' (Reese Witherspoon) then-boyfriend, Warner Huntington III, blindsides her by breaking up with her in a crowded restaurant as she anticipates a marriage proposal.
First things first, Elle does not end up with Warner. Even though he starts to see her more appealing when she excels above and beyond expectations in their law classes, Elle doesn't even entertain going back to the man who broke up with her because of his own insecurities.
Elle Woods (Stage Age 22-25) This leading lady is the head of her UCLA sorority Delta Nu and has a love of fashion and style.
Bruiser Woods, the darling Chihuahua that Elle Woods toted around thoughout the Legally Blonde movies, died Thursday. Reese Witherspoon shared a photo to Instagram Friday in remembrance of the adorable dog.
Tracy Jai EdwardsTracy Jai Edwards: Serena. Jump to: Quotes (4)
Reese Witherspoon starred in "Legally Blonde" as Elle Woods. MGM. "Legally Blonde" came out 20 years ago, but even die-hard fans may not know these secrets. The film is based on a true story, and Reese Witherspoon almost didn't get the role of Elle Woods. Matthew Davis said he had crushes on Witherspoon and Selma Blair.
Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods. MGM. Per Marie Claire, at the 2015 Vulture Festival, McCullah shared that the film originally ended at the courthouse right after Elle won the case, with her and Luke Wilson's character, Emmett, sharing a grand kiss on the steps.
All the pink was purposeful. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) In a 2012 interview with Elle, costume designer Sophie de Rakoff shared how they picked Elle Wood's signature color. "Reese and I actually went to visit a sorority house in the early prep, and it was just obvious that pink should be her signature color," she said.
Ariana Grande recreated a scene from "Legally Blonde.". Ariana Grande's 2018 "The U, Next" music video is filled with movie references, including a recreation of Elle's sunbathing scene. The video also pays tribute to other iconic films from the 2000s, including "13 Going on 30" (2004) and "Mean Girls" (2004).
Elle Woods attended Harvard Law School in the film. Brooks Craft/Corbis via Getty Images. In an interview on the "Today" show in 2018, Witherspoon said the character of Elle will always hold a special place in her heart.
ChloĂŤ Sevigny said she turned down the part of Vivian. Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images. The role of Vivian was originally offered to actress ChloĂŤ Sevigny. Sevigny told The Daily Beast in 2014 that she turned down the part to do the thriller "Demonlover" (2002), which was shooting at the same time.
Elle Woods made it into a dissertation. When reporter Lucy Ford interviewed Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, and Oprah Winfrey for "A Wrinkle in Time" (2018), she gave Witherspoon a copy of the 15,000-word dissertation she wrote on "Legally Blonde.". "Thank you, that really touches my heart," Witherspoon said.
The project caught the attention of director Luketic, an Australian newcomer who came to Hollywood on the success of his quirky debut short film Titsiana Booberini. "I had been reading scripts for two years, not finding anything I could put my own personal mark on, until Legally Blonde came around," Luketic said.
The Legally Blonde soundtrack includes music from Vanessa Carlton, Samantha Mumba, Superchick, and Hoku, who sings the opening song, "Perfect Day.". "No one really knew that Legally Blonde was going to be what it was, Literally, [my label heads] were like, 'This movie's not going to become anything.'.
Box office. $141.8 million. Legally Blonde is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his feature-length directorial debut. Written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith from Amanda Brown 's 2001 novel of the same name, it stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victor Garber, and Jennifer Coolidge.
After months of studying, Elle scores a 179 on the Law School Admission Test and, combined with her 4.0 GPA , is accepted to Harvard Law School . Upon arriving at Harvard, Elle's SoCal personality is a complete contrast to her East Coast classmates, who frequently distrust her.
Additionally, Legally Blonde: The Musical premiered on January 23, 2007, in San Francisco and opened in New York City at the Palace Theatre on Broadway on April 29, 2007, starring Laura Bell Bundy . In May 2020, it was announced that Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor were signed to write a third film.
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 70% based reviews from 145 critics, with an average rating of 6.23/10. The site's consensus reads, "Though the material is predictable and formulaic, Reese Witherspoon's funny, nuanced performance makes this movie better than it would have been otherwise." On Metacritic the film has a score of 59 out of 100, based on 32 reviews, indicating âmixed or average reviewsâ. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A-" on scale of A to F.
Legally Blonde was released on July 13, 2001 in North America. Its opening weekend gross of $20 million made it a sleeper hit for the struggling MGM studio, and it went on to gross $96.5 million in North America and $45.2 million elsewhere, for a worldwide total of $141.7 million.
ELLE WAS NAMED AFTER THE MAGAZINE. The film was based on the book of the same name by Amanda Brown, who spent her time at Stanford Law School reading copies of Elle and writing a bunch of letters back home, detailing the classmates to whom she didnât relate.
Selma Blair played Warner Huntington IIIâs law school girlfriend after Sevigny opted to take a part in a movie that filmed in Paris instead. 5. THE ACTRESS WHO PLAYED MARGOT HELPED THE ACTRESS WHO PLAYED SERENA GET THE PART.
He got the job thanks to his short film Titsiana Booberini, which was about a mustached check-out girl who discovers hair remover.
Her son was involved in the game âGrease Frosh,â where two teams have a race to determine who can carry a freshman from one end of a field to another faster, while covered in grease. On that specific filmed contest, the team that wore absorbent pirate and clown costumes won.
Elleâs sorority group voting against the switch from Charmin to generic came from co-screenwriter Karen McCullah Lutzâ s time as a sorority sister at James Madison University. Lutz offered her sisters activity points for stealing TP from the administration building. 4. CHLOĂ SEVIGNY TURNED DOWN THE ROLE OF VIVIAN.
In Amanda Brownâs book, Elle attended USC before going to Stanford Law. Though neither USC nor Stanford would allow for their university to be associated with the movie, USC did allow shooting to take place on campus. UCLA declined the chance to replace USC as Elle's undergrad college, but also allowed filming on campus. (Elle went to the fictitious CULA in the movie.) Harvard has the opposite policies of Stanford, allowing usage of their name, but cited their long-standing rule of not permitting any commercial filming there to producers.
Alanna Ubach stressed to Jessica Cauffielâwho was already cast as Margotâthat she really needed the part, so Cauffiel told her to copy her movements during their screen test together and pretend that they hadnât planned it together beforehand.
The 2001 film â Legally Blonde â starred Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods, a woman who initially applies to Harvard Law School to win back her college boyfriend, Warner, who broke up with her for not being serious enough. When Elle realizes that Warner will never think sheâs good enough, she decides to become a lawyer herself ...
The harassment derails Elleâs confidence in herself and almost causes her to drop out of law school because she becomes convinced Callahan gave her the internship only because he saw her as a âpiece of ass.â.
Itâs a textbook case of quid pro quo sexual harassment, in which opportunities for advancement are conditioned on submission to unwelcome sexual advances.
Her quest to become a lawyer despite snobby fellow students and skeptical friends, family and law professors became a media franchise that includes a movie sequel, Broadway musical and a future third film. Elle Woods has been referenced in an Ariana Grande video and became a career inspiration to women.
Shocked and awed at the sight of Elle, the all-white male Harvard admissions board comes to quick agreement to take a chance on Elle, pointing out that she has been in a Ricky Martin video and is a faux fur panty designer.
In 2004, when the movie is supposed to take place, the real Harvard Law School wasnât as white as the one âLegally Blondeâ depicted. As writer Ella Ceron points out, that year Harvard Law was about 52% students of color. The incoming class of 2023 is 47% students of color and 17% LGBTQ students.
But left unspoken in the film is that Elle and Warner, who attended the same California university and likely did a lot of the same extracurriculars as other wealthy white college students, also share a similar pedigree that helped them get into an elite law school.
Callahan first appears to be impressed with Elle Woods because of her surprising intelligence in deducing that Enrique Salvatore (who lied when testifying that he had an affair with Brooke) was gay and exposing the fact to the courts and weakening the case against Windham.
After Elle Woods was dumped by her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III, she decides to attend Harvard Law School to prove him wrong. However, Elle is having trouble fitting in, as the students and environment at Harvard were different to her. She is given an internship in Professor Callahan's class, where she gets to aid Professor Callahan on a recent murder case regarding the murder of Brooke Windham's husband, who was shot and killed.