23 'Heathers' Facts That Will Shock All of Its Biggest Fans
You might know that Heathers is one of the bitchiest, teen movies of all time, but you don't know these facts.
Daniel Waters wanted the legendary Stanley Kubrick to direct Heathers. Although that didn't work out, Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket was the inspiration for how director Michael Lehmann shot the opening scene.
Ryder's agent insisted that a role in Heathers would end Ryder's career. Unfortunately for her, the only thing ending would be their professional relationship.
J.D. claims the "ich lüge" bullets are only meant to scare jocks, not kill them.
Permission was never received from J.D. Salinger, so the book was replaced with Moby Dick.
The film was made for $3 million, but only made $1.1 million at the box office. Thankfully its video release and constant airing on cable made it a cult classic.
In one of her most famous lines Walker asks, "Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?"
Still a sheltered 17 year-old, Doherty was uncomfortable with her character's use of profanity. With her mother on set at the time, she says she was constantly blushing under her makeup.
Slater and Walker broke up after filming and Slater and Ryder got together.
According to Slater, he was doing an impression of Jack Nicholson to create the character of J.D.
Pitt auditioned for the role of J.D., but was ultimately passed over for Christian Slater, who producers felt had the right look for a murderer.
Heathers' producer Denise De Novi was the daughter of a session musician for Day, who claimed that Day would make people add money into a swear jar when they cursed.
The studio did not allow the original ending where J.D. successfully blows up Westerberg High and the film ends with the students attending prom in Heaven.
Heathers was the first script ever written by Waters, and originally 200 pages, it would have meant a 3 hour film. This script also had quite the body count, even the editor gets killed off.
While living in Los Angeles in the 1980s, Daniel Waters was working in a video store when he wrote the script for Heathers.
In an attempt to exploit the popularity of other films at the time, Heathers was titled Lethal Attraction in Europe.
Waters chose Ohio's village of Sherwood because his favorite book was written by Sherwood Anderson, he grew up on Sherwood Street in Cleveland, and because Robin Hood was vigilante of Sherwood Forrest.
Heathers: the musical ran Off-Broadway in 2013. The initial reading in 2010 starred Kristen Bell as Veronica.
Paul Westerberg was the lead singer from Ryder's favorite band, The Replacements. His last name was used for the school and voilá, Heathers' Westerberg High was born.
Graham's parents felt that Heathers was not the right fit for her at the tender age of 17. This opened the door for Christian Slater's girlfriend at the time, Kim Walker, to play Heather Chandler instead.
While Falk claimed to be 18 at the time of filming, she was actually 23, but needed to convince producers she was younger for the role.
Attempts in 1990, 2009, and 2012 all went unsuccessful in creating a TV adaptation of Heathers. The reasons for each decision to not push forward are unclear.
Waters stole lines such as "what's your damage?" and "fuck me gently" from people he had met in his past.
Jennifer Connelly and Justine Bateman turned down the role. Although Waters initially didn't think Winona Ryder was pretty enough for the part, she had a makeover and eventually won the role.