Legally Blonde Elle Quits

For more information, see www.legallyblondethemusical.com. 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 degree from Harvard Law School, overcoming stereotypes against blondes, and triumphing as a successful lawyer. One night, Callahan tries to seduce Elle, who now believes that this is the reason she got the internship. Devastated, she resigns and almost returns to California to tell Emmett what happened. When he tells Brooke, she fires Callahan and replaces him with Elle under Emmett`s direction, since she is only a law student, citing a Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that law students can represent clients if they do so under the supervision of a licensed attorney. Witherspoon wore 40 different hairstyles in the film. [22] «Oh my God, it became known as `The hair that ate Hollywood,`» Luketic said. It was all about hair. I have this obsession with flyaways.

It annoyed Reese a bit because I always had hairdressers on my face. But most of the time, the research and testing on set went in the right color, because `blonde` is open to interpretation, I thought. Amanda Brown published Legally Blonde in 2001, based on her real-life experiences as a blonde who attended Stanford Law School while obsessed with fashion and beauty, reading Elle magazine and frequently colliding with the personalities of her peers.[12] [6] Producer Marc Platt was fascinated by the character of Elle Woods when he received a manuscript of an unpublished novel. [8] «What I liked about this story is that it`s hilarious, sexy and challenging at the same time,» says Platt. «The world looks at Her and sees someone who is blond 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 truly is an irrepressible modern heroine. [8] Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Alicia Silverstone, Katherine Heigl, Christina Applegate, Milla Jovovich and Jennifer Love Hewitt were all considered for the lead role,[12] but Luketic stated that he «knew on page five of the script that [he] wanted Reese to play Elle.» [10] «I wanted someone with gravity and brains,» he said. «It had to be more behind the face, and Reese fit in perfectly.» Witherspoon was the first person to read the script, and it was not sent to other actresses.[12] Casting director Joseph Middleton had also previously worked with Witherspoon in 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, but McCullah convinced him not to cast Britney Spears after her appearance on Saturday Night Live. Despite Luketic`s enthusiasm for Witherspoon as a lead actor, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was not convinced.[13] [14] Witherspoon`s performance 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. Witherspoon had been sidelined for several other post-election roles.

«My manager ended up calling me and saying, `You have to meet with the studio head because he`s not going to approve you. He thinks you`re really your Election character and you`re disgusting. And then I was told to dress sexy. Witherspoon went through several rounds of auditions for the role and even met executives with Southern California accents.[14] «I remember a room full of men asking me if I was mixed and if I was a sorority,» Witherspoon recalls. «Even though I had dropped out of university four years earlier and had never been to the nurses.» [14] Luketic recalls meeting with her to discuss how she would approach the role. «We met at a hotel on Sunset Boulevard and discussed the film. We were both concerned about certain aspects, such as, how can the public feel sorry for a rich girl driving a Porsche; And she had to dress in a very special way that wasn`t distracting or off-putting. And every decision came from a certain innocence [of character]. [10] The outline 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 colliding with the personalities of her peers. In 2000, Brown met producer Marc Platt, who helped her develop her manuscript into a novel. Platt hired 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 after the success of his first offbeat short film Titsiana Booberini. «I had been reading scripts for two years and couldn`t find anything to put my own personal imprint until Legally Blonde came along,» Luketic said.

The film originally ended at the courthouse, just after Woods won the case, with Elle on the steps of the courthouse sharing a victory kiss with Emmett, then cutting a year into the future to see her with a now-blonde Vivian form their own blonde legal defense club at law school. After the test audience revealed that they didn`t like the ending, McCullah Lutz and Smith consulted Luketic, Platt and other members of the production team while they were still in the lobby of the theater, and they agreed that a new conclusion was needed. «It was just a weak ending,» said screenwriter McCullah Lutz. «The kiss didn`t feel right to me because it`s not a romantic comedy – it wasn`t about their relationship. So the test viewers said, «We want to see what happens – we want her to succeed. That`s why we rewrote for graduation. Ubach and Jessica Cauffiel claim that the original ending also included Elle and Vivian drinking margaritas in Hawaii, implying that they were either best friends now or in love, although Smith and McCullah never wrote such an ending.[31] Other suggested endings for the film included a musical number in which She, the judge, the jury and everyone in the courthouse sang and danced. [13] Brooke is a famous fitness trainer accused of murdering her 60-year-old husband, Hayworth Windham. She is being defended in court by Dr.

Callahan, Esq and her junior lawyer Emmet Richmond. Elle Woods, Vivian Kensington and Warner Huntington III are also present in the courtroom as part of Callahan`s internship program. Legal Blonde has received mixed reviews among legal scholars for its representation of the law school and the accuracy of its application of the law. «. It was a number completely choreographed by Toni Basil, and it was great,» Witherspoon recalls. «She did all the dancing.» [30] «I remember reading it and thinking it was the most hysterical thing ever,» she added.