10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Making Of Heathers

Michael Lehmann’s controversial, dark crime-comedy Heathers is largely recognized as one of the most honest depictions of teenagers in a high-school movie. The story of a ruthless female clique willing to stop at nothing to maintain their popularity explores peer pressure, bullying, teenage suicide, and the potentially lethal consequences therein.

In 2006, Heathers was ranked #5 on Entertainment Weekly’s list of 50 Best High School Movies. The film stars Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Kim Walker, Lisanne Falk, and Renee Estevez.

10 Inspiration

According to the American Film Institute, screenwriter Daniel Waters drew inspiration for Heathers from the nasty high-school experiences of his sister and her friends. He also based his screenplay in part on Simon de Beauvoir’s 1949 tome The Sex Act, particularly a passage about the formulation of female identity.

Additionally, the 1976 movie Massacre at Central High shares many similarities with Heathers. Waters claims to have never seen the film, but knew of its description and may have subconsciously channeled the subject matter. In the end, Waters wanted to show an honest depiction of teenage suicide rather than the romanticized Hollywood versions.

9 Brad Pitt As J.D.

Several actors were up for the role of bad-boy J.D. before Christian Slater was cast. While Jim Carey, Judd Nelson, Johnny Depp, and Jason Bateman were considered, the closest to be cast was Brad Pitt. Despite being six years older than Slater, who modeled his performance after Jack Nicholson, producers deemed Pitt too nice for the role.

However, an initial table read of the script had Pitt in the role of J.D. Ironically, two years later Pitt beat Slater out for a role also named J.D. in Thelma and Louise.

8 Casting Veronica

Due to a classmate committing suicide the week she received the script, Winona Ryder was deadset on landing the role of Veronica Sawyer in the film. Her agent warned that her career would be over if she took the role.

Prior to Ryder’s casting, the role of Veronica was offered to Jennifer Connelly but she turned it down. Justine Bateman was also considered, while Drew Barrymore also auditioned for an unspecified role. Ryder has publicly stated that Heathers is her favorite movie.

7 Lisanne Falk’s Secret

Before Lisanne Falk was cast as Heather McNamara in the film, the role was offered to the 17-year-old Heather Graham. When Graham’s parents objected to the dark subject matter of the film, they withdrew her name from consideration.

When Lisanne Falk auditioned for the role, she lied to producers by claiming that she would be 18 years old by the time principal photography began. However, she was really 23 at the time, making her the oldest of the main cast members.

6 On-Set Romances

Several romantic relationships among cast and crew members took place on the set of Heathers. As production began, Christian Slater was dating Kim Walker, who played the clique-leader Heather Chandler. Slater later broke up with Chandler in order to date Winona Ryder, which continues up through the promotion of the movie.

Also during production, Shannen Doherty discovered a married crew member having an affair with an underage female extra. Doherty confronted the person in public, leading to the first time her persona was described as a “b*tch.”

5 Teenage Suicide Song

One of the major themes of Heathers is the way in which teenage suicide is made a popular trend in school by the main characters. The song “Teenage Suicide (Don’t Do It)” featured prominently in the film by the fictional band Big Fun is a direct parody of a famous rock band.

In specific, the song is a satirical jab at Queen’s “Don’t Try Suicide,” a track off of their 1980 album The Game. Another musical connection from the film includes Aussie pop-punk band The Veronicas, who named their band after Ryder’s character in the film.

4 Salinger Connection

When J.D. and Veronica murder classmates and make it look like suicide, they leave behind underlined passages in books as a meaningful suicide note. The original book that the students pull from was going to be J.D. Salinger’s The Cather in the Rye.

When producers could not secure the rights to the book, they picked Moby Dick instead. The change was made due to Hermann Melville’s work being in the public domain, meaning it was free for the production to use in the film.

3 90210 Connection

After the release of Heathers, Fox considered adapting the movie as a TV series. When the material was deemed too dark to pursue, the series was reimagined to what would ultimately become the hit sitcom Beverly Hills, 90210.

In addition, it was Tori Spelling who saw Shannen Doherty in Heathers and suggested to her father and showrunner Aaron Spelling that she be cast in 90210. Although Doherty plays a ruthless character as Heather Duke, her most iconic role of Brenda Walsh in 90210 is the exact opposite.

2 Original Ending

In the original script, Heathers ended with Veronica shooting J.D. to death and strapping a giant bomb to her body and blowing herself to smithereens. An elaborate prom sequence in Heaven would ensue, where several of the characters in high-school who did not get along dance and commingle in harmony with one another.

In addition, Martha “Dump Truck” (Carrie Lynn) performs the entertainment at the prom while the blue pipe cleaner that killed Heather Chandler is served in the punch bowl. The idea was set to be shot but was scrapped when deemed too dark by producers.

1 Planned Sequel

Following the success of the film, writer Daniel Waters conceived of a sequel idea that Winona Ryder showed interest in making for decades. The plot would have revealed J.D. to be a secret CIA agent, leading Veronica to take an assistant position to a powerful Senator played by Meryl Streep.

The ending of the film would have featured Veronica being blackmailed by the CIA to assassinate the President of the United States for the greater good of the country.