The Rules of Attraction
Short description
The Rules of Attraction follows students at the fictional Camden College, a privileged liberal arts school where parties, drugs and casual sex shape most of campus life. At the center of the story is a tangled set of relationships: Sean Bateman, a dealer who drifts between women; Lauren Hynde, who is navigating her own romantic and sexual expectations; and Paul Denton, who is open about his attraction to men but struggles to find reciprocal interest. Their paths cross at parties and dorm rooms over the course of a semester.
Roger Avary directed the film and wrote the screenplay, adapting Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name. It was his second feature as director, following Killing Zoe (1993), made nearly a decade earlier. The cast includes James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Ian Somerhalder, Jessica Biel, Kate Bosworth and Jay Baruchel, with 44 credited actors in total. The film was produced by Greg Shapiro for Lionsgate, Kingsgate Films and Roger Avary Filmproduktion GmbH.
Made for about 4 million USD, the film took roughly 12 million USD worldwide. On IMDb it holds a 6.6/10 from around 56,000 votes, and on TMDB a 6.2/10 from roughly 632 votes. A critics' score of 5.5/10 from 142 reviews places it below both audience measures.
What's left behind the scenes
- The end credits roll in reverse order.
- In the hospital, Dr. Shapiro is paged over the intercom. Greg Shapiro is one of the film's producers.
- The radio station Sean listens to is called "WTNA". The film's composers are Tom Hajdu and Andy Milburn. The names of the radio DJs are Tom and Andy.
- When Lauren goes to Victor's, a message can be seen on the memo board on his door: 'Victor, you tested positive. Be careful.'
- Christina Ricci was considered for the role of Lauren.
- At the "End of the World" party, Candace is wearing a "Tomandandy" t-shirt. The names of the film's composers are Tom and Andy.
- At the hospital, Dr. Shapiro is paged over the intercom. Greg Shapiro is one of the film's producers.
- To reduce post-production costs, the film was edited using relatively inexpensive "Final Cut Pro" software on Macintosh computers.
- In style, the film's trailer is very similar to the promotional video for Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" (1971). Both videos intermix scenes from the film with adjectives describing it (large white words on a dark background), while classical music plays in the background.
- Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek) is the younger brother of Patrick Bateman, the main character of “American Psycho” (2000), a film also based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis.
- After Christian Bale refused to reprise the role of Patrick Bateman, Roger Avery offered the part to the book's author, Bret Easton Ellis, but he also declined. Eventually, Casper Van Dien was cast as Patrick Bateman, but scenes with his participation were cut from the film.
- At the 'End of the World' party, Candace is wearing a 'Tomandandy' t-shirt. The film's composers are Tom and Andy.
- The film is based on Bret Easton Ellis’s novel “The Rules of Attraction” (1987).
- The 'End of the World' party scene was filmed on September 11, 2001.
- The radio station Sean listens to is called "WTNA." The film's composers are Tom Hajdu and Andy Milburn. The names of the radio DJs are Tom and Andy.
- The film mentioned by one of the students at the very beginning of the movie is "Killing Zoe" (1994), also directed by Roger Avery. Eric Stoltz, who played Mr. Lawson in "The Rules of Attraction," starred in "Killing Zoe."
- The film mentioned by one of the students at the very beginning of the movie is "Killing Zoe" (1994), also directed by Roger Avery. Eric Stoltz, who played Mr. Lawson in "The Rules of Attraction", starred in "Killing Zoe".
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
