as if! the oral history of clueless as told by amy heckerling, the cast, and the crew. jen chaney

if you know me, you know i love clueless.  so when i discovered that a book about the making of clueless was coming out, i added it to my goodreads to be read list.  and i hit the jackpot when i entered a los angeles magazine for a copy of the book and i won!  totally cool, right?  i was so excited!

so i absolutely loved the book and though i didn't think it was possible, the book made me love the movie even more!  the work is an oral history, some parts taken from previous interviews for television and magazines, as well as interviews that the author, jen chaney conducted.  and it seemed that as much as i love it, everyone loved working on it.  i mean it did hit some bumps along the road, but for the most part, the cast and crew loved working on the film, which is probably, why it is so great.

my favorite parts of the book were:
-slang dictionary
-the casting process
-the fashion
-the breakdown of all of the scenes
-the soundtrack

i have to admit that i did get bored with the last part of the book.  i mean i get the cultural influence of the movie, so that part started to get a little redundant.

so here are some of the fun facts that i learned:

-first, in the "virgin who can't drive" scene, tai doesn't say "i'm outtie", but "i'm audi" like the car!
-heckerling was a genuis when it came to creating slang for the film, she had all of these references

-i need to read emma (also wow gwenyth paltrow hating on clueless!)

-the real mr. hall was in the film as the principal.  also he was a real teacher at beverly hills high.  i texted my friend danny, who went to bhhs and he had a class with the real mr. hall!
-i would have LOVED jerry orbach as cher's dad, damn law and order for not allowing that to happen!
-it was crazy to see all the people that were considered for roles, and as much as i love sarah michelle geller, i can't imagine her as amber, also could not see lauryn hill as dionne, though i love the fugees
-learned that donald faison and terrance howard were cousins
-its shocking to think that some of the scenes went on with it raining outside
-mona may, the designer, was a genius when it came to all of the fashion!
-they were so meticulous that they even dressed the extras, which is why there are so many great fashion moments in the background when you watch
-paul rudd wore his own shirts!
-alicia silverstone didn't know how to pronounce haitians!
-heckerling was spot on when she showed up cellphones would take over ie cher and dionne talking on their cells right next to each other
-elisa donovan aka amber didn't get the balls joke initially
-the mugging actor's sotry was really cool
-the party scene with mighty mighty bosstones was filmed at the moca's geffen!!!! i think i know which stairs, tai fell down, get ready for a pic in the future!
-i thought the freeway scene was done in long beach
-i had no idea that "all by myself" was actually a jewel cover
-i didn't realize all of the music that was in the movie
-also no doubt's people really fucked up by not letting them on the soundtrack
-they got lucky cos the beastie boys actually licensed a song to them which they said they never do, which is odd considering all the unlicensed music on "paul's boutique" lol
-also oasis was mean for not giving them the last song

seriously so much good stuff.  if you love the movie, you really need to pick up this book, it is a great and informative read!