Reese Witherspoon has been an accomplished actress since the time she was a young girl. But there’s one film above all others that firmly established her status as a movie star — Legally Blonde .
In a truly unexpected turn of events, Legally Blonde not only captured the hearts and minds of fans and critics alike but has also managed to withstand the test of time .
Now, as a way of celebrating this truly inspired piece of movie-making, here are some facts about Legally Blonde that fans didn’t know.
Selma Blair wasn’t the first choice to play Vivian.
In the early stages of production, actress Chloe Sevigny was tapped to play the part. However, she declined in order to appear in the film Demon Lover , which was filming in Paris at the exact same time.
The film almost had a very different ending.
In the original script, the film was supposed to end on the courthouse steps, right after Reese won her big case. Then, she was going to go forward and co-found a “Legally Blonde” law firm with Vivian .
Filming began shortly after Reese had given birth to her first child.
You’d certainly never know that Reese had just given birth by how her body looked in the film. Reportedly, MGM hired a personal trainer to help her lose the 42 pounds she’d gained during pregnancy.
The character of Warner was inspired by the sitting POTUS at the time.
In the special edition DVD (how old am I?), Matthew Davis confessed that he modeled the character after none other than George W. Bush . When you stop and compare the two, the similarities are striking.
Matthew Davis had a hard time working with Reese Witherspoon.
This was mainly due to the fact that Matthew had been harboring a huge crush on Reese since the time he was fifteen years old! Ever since Matthew saw Reese in A Far Off Place , he was positively twitter-pated.
The film was adapted from a book that bears the same name.
The book, written by author Amanda Brown, is a semi-autobiographical account that recalls the author’s own experiences studying law at Stanford University. ” I wrote it all on pink paper , with my pink furry pen,” Brown told SFGate.
After filming had concluded, Reese walked away with a whole new wardrobe.
In case you hadn’t noticed, Elle Woods is quite the fashionista. Over the course of the movie, she dons 60 different outfits — and Reese got to keep them all .
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Reese Witherspoon really did her research.
In order to better embody the mind and spirit of a sorority girl, Reese spent time studying real-life sororities. ” It’s sort of like an anthropological study ,” Reese explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
There’s one memorable scene in the film that Reese Witherspoon wasn’t included in.
During the opening credits, the camera cuts to a shot of Elle combing her long luxurious blonde hair. Reese wasn’t actually on set at the time, so a body double had to stand in.
Reese was incredibly sleep-deprived for the majority of filming.
This was due to the fact that her infant daughter, Ava, was incredibly sick at the time . Most days, Reese wasn’t even sure that she’d be able to stay awake for filming.
Reese Witherspoon wasn’t the first choice to play Elle Woods.
Initially, Christina Applegate was offered to lead role. However, after years of playing Kelly Bundy on Married…With Children, she declined the part over fears about being typecast as a “dumb blonde.”
The decision to make pink Elle’s signature color came up organically.
“Reese and I actually went to visit a sorority house in the early prep,” costume designer Sophie de Rakoff explained. “And it was just obvious that pink should be her signature color.”
There’s a pretty hilarious story behind the creation of Elle’s signature “Bend and Snap” move.
“It was a spontaneous invention,” co-writer Karen McCullah explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly . It was a completely drunken moment in a bar .”
Reese’s accent is very Shi, Shi, Shi — Beverly Hills!
If Elle Woods seemed like she was in training for The Real housewives of Beverly Hills , there’s a good reason for that. In order to nail the character’s accent, Reese spent time hanging out in the posh California city.
The film has gone on to inspire a new generation of female lawyers.
“I’ve had more young women come up to me and say, ‘ I went to law school because of Elle Woods ,'” Witherspoon explained on the TODAY show. “It’s very incredible to see how long movies can last and how important they can be to young people, generation after generation.”
