t he Heathers phenomenon
  
The ULTIMATE 80's Cult Classic...

Heathers

Is "Heathers" one of your favorites?
If so, then you might want to hear some clips from the movie!

Greetings and Salutations

seven schools...

San Quentin or Stanford?

fly with the eagles

kissing aerobicized ass

Prom or Hell?

praise jesus, you heard my prayers!

lick it up, baby

Killing Heather

megabitch

how very

bulimia is so 87

chainsaw

reindeer

what's your damage?

Gotta Motor

pulling

dead gay son

breaking up

killed my best friend

rabbits and guinea pigs

not dead

"Greetings and Salutations. You a Heather?"

"Dear Diary: I want to kill, and you have to believe it's for more than just selfish reasons..."

"Do I look like Mother Teresa?"

"Jealous Much?"

God Veronica, drool much?

I'm giving Veronica her shot. Her first Remington party. You blow it tonight girl, and it's keggers with kids all next year

 

"Heather says real life sucks losers dry. If you want to fuck with the eagles, you have to learn to fly."

"I say we just grow up, be adults, and die "

"It's just like - they're people I work with, and our job is being popular"

"You're such a pillowcase!"

"Dear Diary, last entry. No-one can stop JD. Not the FBI, the CIA or the PTA."

 
Veronica Sawyer, Heather Chandler,

Heather McNamara, Heather Duke


The History of Heathers

March 31, 1989...
A day that should live in infamy! It's the day "Heathers" was released in the United States. It has grown from just another teenage movie, to 80's Cult Classic. In fact, says Desson Howe in his review of the movie for the Washington Post, ""Heathers" may be the nastiest, cruelest fun you can have without actually having to study law or gird leather products. If movies were food, "Heathers" would be a cynic's chocolate binge."

Cast:
Winona Ryder .... Veronica Sawyer
Christian Slater .... Jason 'J.D.' Dean
Shannen Doherty .... Heather Duke
Lisanne Falk .... Heather McNamara the Cheerleader
Kim Walker.... Heather '#1' Chandler
Penelope Milford .... Pauline Fleming
Glenn Shadix .... Father Ripper
Lance Fenton .... Kurt Kelly
Patrick Labyorteaux .... Ram Sweeney
Jeremy Applegate .... Peter Dawson
Jon Shear .... Rodney
Carrie Lynn (I) .... Martha 'Dumptruck' Dunnstock
Phill Lewis .... Dennis, Westerburg Year Book Editor
Renée Estevez .... Betty Finn


Film Also Known As:
Fatal Game (1989) (USA: working title)
Lethal Attraction (1989) (USA and France: working title)
Westerberg High (1989) (USA: working title)

The title refers to a clique of four girls in an Ohio high school, three of them named Heather and the fourth (the good one) named Veronica. The girls form their own sadistic pecking order, make fun of socially unacceptable students and carry out a reign of psychic terror. Veronica (Winona Ryder) is appalled by the behavior of her clique, but keeps her opinion to herself - until she falls in love with a rebel named J. D. (Christian Slater). (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times).

The movie is definitely dark, definitely sarcastic, and definitely ironic. It is, however, also definitely a classic.

Did You Know???

The police officers in the chasing scene named Milner and McCord were named after Ken McCord and Martin Milner who played police officers in "Adam 12" (1968)

In the opening scene where the Heathers are playing croquet, Heather McNamara is wearing a wig because the scene was shot after filming and she had cut her hair for another role.

Remember the geek that had milk come out of his nose when Heather #1 looked right at him? Well the the producer said that the geek gave a very "De-niro-like" performance because he put gelatin capsules of milk in each nostril, and they had to wait to shoot the scene until the capsules had melted a little and were ready to burst.

Friends Veronica Sawyer and Betty Finn are named after other fictional friends Veronica and Betty from the comic strip "Archie", and Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

The high school is named Westerberg High; Winona Ryder's favorite band at the time was The Replacements, whose lead singer is named Paul Westerberg.

J.D. tricks Veronica into killing the jocks by claiming to use "ich luge" bullets which he claims only pierce the skin. Ich luge is German for I'm lying.

Veronica's bedroom set was built in the gym of the high school used on the film.

When Veronica barfs at the Remington Frat Party, it is baby food she has on her face, applied by a makeup person who was out of the shot.

A line was cut from the scene when Veronica and J.D. are talking after having a little game of stip croquet in her backyard. J.D. says, "See those condoms in the grass over there? (sarcastic) We killed our child tonight!!" The writer said it alluded to the later acutal murders.

Another line cut from the movie is Veronica saying, "It's God versus my boyfriend..and God's losing."

When J.D.'s father is telling his son about his day at work, he refers to blowing up a "Norweigan in the boiler room" of a building. This DOES NOT refer to a person from Norway!! It was the type of explosives he used!.

Brad Pitt did a read through for the part of J.D. He was not chosen because he was considered "too nice" for the part.

The movie was shot in 32 days.

The original script for the movie was 400 hundred pages long and screenwriter Daniel Waters wanted the movie to be directed by Stanely Kubrick.

The book at the bottom of Heather Chandler's locker is "The Castrated Family"(one of those how-to books about dysfunctional families and ways of dealing with them) by Harold M. Voth.

On the inside of the c.d. David Newman, the film's composer, talks about why he used the harmonica for the film's score: "I didn't think it was necessary to follow the specific action, as much as give the viewer the feeling of being in this smart-alec, intelligent and anguish-filled world. We felt that electronic music should be used in combination with an acoustic instrument (in this case, the harmonica) as a leit-motif for J.D., the film's central character."

Episode 61 of The X-Files titled "Syzgy" about a pair of high school girls who eliminate their high school foes one by one is rumored to be based on Heathers.

Heathers was filmed at Verdugo Hills High School in Tujunga, California, John Adams Junior High School in Santa Monica, California and Corvales High School in Laurel Canyon, California.

Did anybody know that the same kitchen that was used in Heather Chandler's house was also used in the dream sequence with Veronica and JD in Heather Dukes house?.

Worthington, Ohio is known as a very conservative and preppy but altogether a nice surburbian town. It was always rumored that Heathers was based on that town and that something like it might have happened at Thomas Worthington High School.

The November issue of Cosmo in Heather Chandler's locker is a reference to the mass suicide in Guyana, however, this really does not make sense because the Mass Suicide took place in November 78 not 79... but, then why would Heather Chandler, the most in fashion, trendy girl at school have a Cosmo from 1979 in her locker?

Remember Principal Gowan? (John Ingle's). Before he became an actor, John Ingle's was a high school drama teacher for 30 years. He started the drama programs at Hollywood High School and Beverly Hills High School and went into acting after he reitred!. It was a coincidence that he came back to Verdugo Hills High to play the role of Principal Gowan.

Christian Slater likes to play the field. While shooting Heathers, Christian went out with costars Kim Walker and Winona Ryder (although not at the same time). Of their fling, Winona later said that it lasted "for two weeks, and he broke my heart."

Lisanne Falk played Heather McNamara, the cheerleader who just goes along with whatever the other Heathers are doing. Heather Graham, then 17, wanted to play the role, but her mother wouldn't let her participate in the movie.

Shannen Doherty, Heather Duke, also thought that Christian was totally hot. "His voice, his eyes and his eyebrows...make women melt," she has said.

Patrick Labyorteaux was Doherty's co-star on 'Little House on the Prairie' before reuniting with the actress in 'Heathers' as Ram Sweeney, a bullying football player.

Christian Slater's a really sound sleeper. He once slept through an entire day, missing a Heathers wardrobe fitting and barely showing up in time for his scenes in LA Law.

The Snappy Snack Shack scene was originally supposed to be in a 7-11. They had the rights to use the name and everything - but at the last minute the 7-11 people said NO!. They had like a day to come up with a convenience store name that had NEVER been used -AND THEN they had to come up with titles for the food that JD talks about because they could no longer use "slurpie" and "big wheel". Luckily "Snappy Snack Shack" "slushie" and "Turbo-Dog" were available

"Moby Dick" (Heather Duke's favorite book) was originally supposed to be "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. The writer was rather upset over this change (it was due to the fact that they couldn't get clearance to use it in the film.) He said that "The Catcher in the Rye fits in a lot better with the themes of being a teenager and J.D.'s being a psychopath."

The part of Veronica Sawyer was originally offered to Justine Bateman, of "Family Ties" fame.

When Aaron Spelling was casting characters for his show 'Beverly Hills 90210', he hadn't cast anyone for the part of Brenda Walsh. Luckily Tori Spelling saw Heathers a few days back and made her dad get a copy of it. Aaron liked what he saw and had Shannen on the set the next day!.

The movie 'Killing Mrs. Tingle' was a Heathers-inspired dark comedy.

Many people have told me this (and I thank all of you), that Heather Graham was offered a part in the film Heathers but had to turn it down because her parents thought the language was too "risque.

It's rumored that the actress that portrayed Martha Dunstock/Dumptruck (Carrie Lynn) is on the cover of the 'Holy Bible' by the Manic Street Preachers.

Renee Estevez played Veronica's nerdy former BFF Betty Finn. Estevez is the daughter of Martin Sheen and the sister of Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen.

Kim Walker (Heather Chandler) went on to appear in the films 'Say Anything,' 'The Outsiders' and 'A Reason to Believe'. She tragically died of brain cancer in 2001, at the age of 32.

I KNEW THAT LOOKED WEIRD!
GoOfS aNd bLUndErS

Right before the students at the pep rally "hear" the explosion, the flash of light that cues them to turn around can be seen.

In the scene where J.D. and Veronica are preparing a poison to kill Heather, the poison bottle is seen from far away with its cap off, then has the cap on when filmed close up.

JD was very careful to make sure the gun was in Kurt's left hand, but he failed to check WHICH gun. Kurt and Ram were each holding the guns that they were shot WITH (Kurt with the small silver one, and Ram with the large black one), implying that they shot themselves in the chest/neck, rather than shot each other.

When they come out of the bathroom, Heather Chandler has the red clipboard. When Veronica walks towards JD she has it. Also, when she is asking JD the lunchtime poll, the position of the clipboard changes. An editing error.

A police officer drops his baton, but has it back without stopping while chasing JD and Veronica.

When Martha Dumptruck is alone in the gym drinking her soda through a straw, we see through the bottom that she finishes it all. She then spills the finished soda on the front of her shirt.

When Heather is in the coffin her head moves slightly from one frame to the next. It is most obvious half way throught that scene because the angle of her head in the coffin is greatly different from the previous frame. You can actually see her breathe!

Veronica and Heather's positions change as they separate at the end of the film. The camera is over Veronica's shoulder as she is on the right of the screen. When it changes to Heather Duke, Veronica is still on the right when she should be on the left.

At the Remington party, Veronica throws a burning beer out the window and into a trash can. But when Heather Chandler and Veronica are outside in the exact same spot, the window isn't there!. Are they upstairs?

A great fuss is made over the fact that Heather Duke's copy of "Moby Dick" had the word Eskimo underlined. Moby Dick does not contain the word Eskimo in it.

Watch when Veronica and Heather Chandler are walking in the cafeteria and she's staring at J.D. and she's about to bump into Betty Finn. They show the same shot twice, or rather they interrupt it to get a reaction shot from J.D. and then they play it back so there's sufficient time before she bumps into Betty Finn. You can only tell if you watch really closely, but it's there.

In the scene where JD's dad is showing him and Veronica the clip of the exploding building, first Veronica is standing next to the couch, a good six feet at least, away from JD, then it cuts to the film of the building crashing down, then it cuts back to JD, and Veronica is standing right beside him.

The ash smudge on Heather Duke's cheek changes three times. There's the smudge when Veronica first kisses her, and then when Veronica walks past her and Heather turns to watch, it changes. When Heather 'scoffs' off, it is different again.

During the croquet match ( Heather Chandler's turn ), the camera shows their feet. The other two Heathers are standing right behind her. When the camera goes to a different angle, the Heathers are standing several yards away.