15 Things You Definitely Didn't Know About 'Mean Girls'
Mean Girls may have been released over a decade ago, but that doesn't mean we love this iconic movie any less than when we first saw it in theaters! We might even love it more. Mean Girls paved the way for tons of modern teen classics. The movie follows Cady Heron, and her journey going to high school after being homeschooled. She quickly becomes introduced to The Plastics, the school's popular clique of beautiful and mean girls, led by the infamous Regina George. Cady and her friends plot to destroy The Plastics and decide that Cady will pretend to be their friend, but Cady gets more swept up in their world than she realized. Aside from its insanely quotable lines and all-star cast, we love Mean Girls for its positive, empowering message. It taught us that being popular isn't all it's cracked up to be. To celebrate how much we adore this movie, here are some secrets you probably didn't know about the film. These 15 secrets will definitely change the way you watch it next time!
15 Amy Poehler And Rachel McAdams Were Close In Age
Okay, we know this sounds weird, but it's the truth! Amy Poehler played Regina's “cool” mom in the flick, but it turns out she's actually only seven years older than Rachel McAdams, who played Regina. Rachel was playing a teenager in her mid-teens during Mean Girls, but she was actually in her late twenties in real life. Amy, on the other hand, was only in her mid-thirties and would have barely been old enough to have a teenage daughter in real life. A lot of movies have actors portray characters who are several years older or younger than them, but getting them to play characters that are decades apart in age is a bit unbelievable. We guess we're supposed to believe that Regina's mom just had a really good plastic surgeon and that you look older for your age if you belong to The Plastics.
14 Lindsay Liked Jonathan Bennett
We bet that Lindsay Lohan has gotten to work with a ton of attractive male actors over the course of her career, but we're sure that working with Jonathan Bennett was extra special. The actor who played Aaron Samuels is undeniably gorgeous, and his co-stars have only had good things to say about his personality as well. It turns out that Lohan may have even been into him while they were shooting Mean Girls. During an interview commemorating the film's ten-year anniversary, Bennett admitted he knew he could make Lohan blush if he wanted to. He said, “I was a recast. What had happened was I went to the screen test with Lindsay and I remember Mark commenting on how I was able to make Lindsay blush on camera, like actually blush on cue. And I felt like, “Oh, okay, this is my job.” And then I got a phone call saying it wasn't, that they were going with someone else, and then [this other actor] went to the table read and apparently wasn't that great. I got a phone call saying, “Hey, you leave tomorrow, pack your bag. You're going to Toronto, you got the job.” You can imagine how ecstatic I was when I heard that.”
13 Damian Actually Auditioned For 'American Idol'
All of us can remember when Damian sang his cover of Christina Aguilera's “Beautiful” at the high school talent show. People severely underestimated his talent, and it definitely wasn't one of his proudest moments. But, in a deleted scene that never made the final cut, Damian was supposed to audition for American Idol. During an interview with Cosmopolitan, Daniel Franzese, who played Damian, shared, "There's actually a deleted scene from Mean Girls - the original ending shows what happened to Damian after [junior year], and he was going to audition for American Idol. Simon Cowell was going to call him chubby and then he was going to run up on the stage and punch him.” That deleted scene is one we wish we could see! While it may have been funny seeing high schoolers boo Damian off the stage, imagine what it would've been like seeing Simon Cowell offering his feedback.
12 Glen Coco Is Named After Tina Fey's Friend
Yes, you read that right: Glen Coco is a real person! The iconic name makes an appearance once in the Mean Girls film, when Damian is handing out candy cane grams and gives four to a student named Glen Coco. For some reason, the name has resonated with fans of the film and its become one of the most recognizable lines from the movie. Since the movie's release, Tina Fey has revealed that Glen Coco is actually the name of a friend of hers from her hometown. The actress is known for making personal shout-outs, and this is one of her finest. We're not sure what role Coco played in Fey's life, or just how close the two are, but we're itching for answers. Perhaps the comedian will someday reveal the face behind the name and post an Instagram selfie of the two of them hanging out. Fingers crossed! A girl can dream!
11 Ashley Tisdale Almost Landed The Role Of Karen
Karen Smith is the third plastic in the group and is known for being ditzy but super sweet. She was portrayed by Amanda Seyfried. A Disney star almost played Karen: it turns out that Ashley Tisdale was almost cast in the movie. After the film was released, it came out that the High School Musical actress had auditioned for the role. The producers ended up going with Amanda Seyfried instead, of course. But it all worked out for Ashley because she eventually landed a role in the HSM series and that ended up making her a household name. Her character was also a mean, pink-loving popular girl who ruled the high school that she attended… and that's pretty much what her role as Karen would have looked like. Such a fun fact. It definitely seems like Tisdale was always destined to play a blonde Queen Bee.
10 They Used Old Yearbooks to Make the Costumes
Costume designers need to do research before designing the looks for a movie so that they can ensure they look accurate and authentic. The main costume designer on set, Mary Jane Fort, has revealed she traveled to small towns and looked at high school yearbooks to see what the students in the film should be wearing. She explained that she wanted to see what regular students outside of New York and Los Angeles wore so that the costumes would be relatable and realistic. Pretty cool, right? The fashion in Mean Girls is one of the greatest parts of the movie, even if it did take place in the early 2000s. Back then, whatever The Plastics wore would be exactly what we wanted to rock at that time, so we'd say that the costume designers were definitely on point. It's safe to say that this movie has some pretty stylish fashion.
9 Rachel McAdams Was Originally Going To Play Cady
One of the best things about Mean Girls is its talented cast, and we can't imagine anyone else playing the lead characters. However, it turns out Rachel McAdams, who plays Queen Bee Regina George, was originally set on playing Cady. We can't imagine what the movie would have been like if these key characters had been played by other actors. In an interview with Elle, McAdams revealed, "I originally auditioned for the part that Lindsay Lohan played. I wouldn't have seen myself playing Regina at all. But when I read the script, I thought, 'Oh, this part is way more fun; I wonder who will play that.'" We're so glad that McAdams eventually opted to play Regina- we can't imagine anyone else portraying the iconic mean girl! Of the film's success, McAdams added, “It's funny because so many people said to me, 'It's the kind of film you don't see anymore, done in a way that isn't done anymore.' I thought that was a really positive thing.”
8 One Actor Had His First Kiss On Camera
Remember the couple ferociously making out when Cady first walks into the classroom? We wouldn't think those two were newbies to kissing, but it turns out it was one of the actor's first kisses! They were actually not credited in the film. The movie's director revealed this super juicy on-set secret and even added that they had to do multiple takes of the scene. They actually might have done multiple takes just to give the guy a bit more time to get used to kissing. If you were an actor, it would definitely be memorable to have your first kiss while the cameras are rolling, and that seems like it happens pretty often in Hollywood. Now every time someone watches Mean Girls, they'll be witnessing this guy having his first experience locking lips. We wonder how he got sucked into this role in the first place?
7 Tina Fey And Amy Poehler Taught Kevin G. How To Rap
Kevin G. was the high school's aspiring rapper, competitive mathlete, and resident nerd. He had mad skills on stage, but it turns out that actor portraying him, Rajiv Surendra, had to learn how to rap for the role. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler helped him out, which is super awesome.Director Mark Waters shared this interesting tidbit with Vulture.com: "Amy definitely coached him [Surendra] on how to do the rap, and she actually gave him some of the moves and choreography for it." Of Surendra's character, Waters also added, “It's funny, the part was actually supposed to be 'Kevin Ngor,' a Korean math nerd, but we couldn't find an Asian actor in Toronto who was good enough to play him. And then this Sri Lankan kid comes in and does it, and we were like, 'Okay, we're gonna rewrite it. He's Kevin Gnapoor now!' The character's great because a small guy acting big is always.”
6 James Franco Was Originally Going To Play Aaron Samuels
Jonathan Bennett is an absolute dreamboat, but a Mean Girls with James Franco also doesn't sound like such a bad idea. The famous Hollywood hottie was once considered for the position of the lead male role in the film. In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Daniel Franzeseexplained that Bennett wasn't the first choice to play Samuels. He shared, “Lindsey [Lohan] recently told me that James Franco was considered for the role of Aaron Samuels. I thought that was so cool. Bennett was great, but that would've been cool.” He also added that a second actor was tried to replace Franco before they finally cast Bennett, meaning that he was far from a second-choice option. As cool as Franco playing Samuels would be, that role doesn't belong to anyone other than Bennett, and it's hard to picture Bennett not being that guy.
5 Lohan Didn't Want To Play Cady At First
It's hard to imagine Lindsey Lohan playing any other role than the lead in this film. During the high point of her career, she was a charming redhead who starred in a handful of Disney films and other successful movies. We all thought she would have a long, bright career in the movie industry, but we all know how that turned out. Mean Girls director Mark Walters shared in the same interview with Vulture that Lohan initially didn't want to play the lead role of Cady. Waters said he knew he wanted Lohan to play Cady from the start, but she tried pushing to secure the role of Regina, instead. He explained, “"When I gave it [the part] to her [Lohan], she was like, 'I f---ing love Regina George! This is exactly the part I want to play.' So we did a read-through, and we were trying to look for somebody to play the role of Cady, but frankly, we didn't find anyone we liked who felt strong enough to go up against Lindsay."
4 The Principal's Hand Really Was Broken
Remember the principal in Mean Girls who had a cast? Tim Meadows played the well-meaning yet dimwitted principal in this popular teen movie. When we're first introduced to his character, Meadows was sporting a cast on his hand. There isn't a scene that really explains this injury, leaving viewers to wonder what the heck that was all about. It turns out that Meadows had actually broken his hand during filming, which is why he needed to wear a cast. Tina Fey revealed Meadows' hand injury and said that they had no choice but to write the cast into the script, which explains the horrible carpal tunnel excuse. So the cast was actually real and not a prop used for filming. Luckily the actor's hand healed quickly and they were able to remove the cast after several weeks. The more you know, right?
3 Tina Fey's Mom Inspired A Scene
One of our favorite moments from Mean Girls is when Regina compliments a girl on her vintage skirt… and then just a few minutes later, she tells Cady that it's the ugliest skirt she has ever seen. This scene was actually inspired by Tina Fey's mom, which is pretty cool, right? Apparently, her mom used to say something similar when she saw her daughter wearing something she didn't like. Fey explained, “My mom has this habit that if she sees a lady in a really ugly hat or a glittery sweatshirt, she'll go, 'I love your shirt' and I'll say, 'Mom, that's really mean.' And she'll say, 'clearly she wanted someone to notice that shirt'. She picked it out. It has a huge teddy bear on it.'” It's always fun finding out behind the scenes things about your favorite movies and television shows, right? And since this is your all-time fave film, this is the most fun of all.
2 In The Original Ending, Kevin G. Was An Addict
We all remember how Ms. Norbury, played by Tina Fey, was investigated for possibly selling drugs after pages from the Burn Book started circulating around school. Cady had written in the book that Ms. Norbury dealt drugs on the side, which led to the inquisition. But this storyline was supposed to play out differently. Kevin G. was supposed to get busted for doing drugs, which would have gotten Ms. Norbury in a lot more trouble. Daniel Franzese explained in his interview with Cosmopolitan, “In the original script that I read, Kevin G. gets busted by Miss Norbury for selling x -- so when they call her a drug pusher she actually has drugs in her desk, [because] she took them away from Kevin G. Janis and Damian convince Kevin G. to go to the school board when they discuss her punishment to confess that it was him, but Kevin G. never shows up. So Damian gets on the podium and kind of bullshits his way through saying it was him to try to protect Miss Norbury.” That would have definitely been pretty different!
1 Mariah Carey's Song “Obsessed” Has 'Mean Girls' References
Everyone knows Mariah Carey's hit song “Obsessed.” If you listen closely to the lyrics, you can hear subtle references to Mean Girls throughout the song. Evidently, Mariah, or at least the songwriters, loved the vibes The Plastics gave off in the movie. Regina's line “Why are you obsessed with me?” is one of the most recognizable quotes from the film, so we get where Mariah was getting her inspiration from. Some lyrics from the song are, “Why you so obsessed with me? Boy, I wanna know. Lying that you're sexing me when everybody knows. It's clear that you're upset with me.” Mariah goes on to sing, "You're delusional, you're delusional. Boy, you're losing your mind. It's confusing, yo, you're confused, you know Why you wasting your time?” We bet that Mariah loves this movie just as much as we do!