Cruel Intentions
Short description
Cruel Intentions is a drama set among wealthy high school students in Manhattan. Kathryn and Sebastian are step-siblings who pass the time by manipulating the people around them. Kathryn, who has grown tired of easy conquests, proposes a wager to Sebastian, who is used to getting whatever he wants. He must seduce Annette, the headmaster's daughter, who has publicly declared her intention to remain a virgin until marriage. If he succeeds, he wins Kathryn; if he fails, she takes his prized Jaguar. Sebastian accepts, but his pursuit of Annette does not go as planned, and his feelings for her begin to complicate the arrangement, drawing a jealous reaction from Kathryn. The story draws on the novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, transposed to a modern prep-school setting.
The film was written and directed by Roger Kumble and marks his first feature as director, ahead of the sequel Cruel Intentions 2 and the later comedies The Sweetest Thing and Just Friends. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe play the scheming step-siblings, with Reese Witherspoon as Annette, Selma Blair as Cecile Caldwell, Louise Fletcher as Helen Rosemond and Joshua Jackson as Blaine Tuttle. Neal H. Moritz produced. Made for about 11 million dollars, it took in roughly 76 million worldwide.
On IMDb the film holds a rating of 6.8 from around 219,000 votes, and on TMDB it also sits at 6.8 from a much smaller base of about 3,700 votes. A critics' rating of 5.7 from 119 reviews places it somewhat below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Actress Swoosie Kurtz also starred in an earlier adaptation of the novel – "Dangerous Liaisons" (1988).
- The film is based on Choderlos de Laclos' novel "Dangerous Liaisons" (Les Liaisons dangereuses, 1782), but with the action moved to the present day.
- Christine Baranski, who filmed for only 3 days, agreed to the role only because her daughters were fans of the series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997-2003), in which Sarah Michelle Gellar played the main role.
- During the filming of the slapping scene, Reese Witherspoon got so into her role that she actually hit Ryan Phillippe – the actor's reaction was genuine. This very scene made it into the film.
- The film was shot in 36 days.
- During the kissing scene between Katrin and Cecil, you can notice that Sarah Michelle Gellar is wearing Calvin Klein glasses.
- Roger Campbell wrote the screenplay in 12 days.
- According to the script, Catherine is older than Cecile, but in real life, actress Selma Blair is 5 years older than Sarah Michelle Gellar.
- John Ottman's music was featured in the film's trailer, but it was rejected shortly before the film's release and replaced with music by Ed Shearmur.
- The film's producer, Neil Moritz, officially agreed that the film would be rated "R", but no lower.
- Sebastian, sitting in a wheelchair and listening to Beethoven's 9th Symphony, is a reference to Stanley Kubrick's film "A Clockwork Orange" (1971).
- The water temperature in the pool scene was only about 4.5 degrees Celsius.
- Towards the end of the film, Katrin tells Roland that Sebastian hit her. Such a scene was indeed filmed, but it was removed after test screenings to leave the audience wondering whether he actually hit her or Katrin made it up.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
