10 Things I Hate About You

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For the TV series, see 10 Things I Hate About You (TV series).

10 Things I Hate About You
Promotional poster
Directed by	Gil Junger
Produced by	Andrew Lazar
Written by	Karen McCullah Lutz Kirsten Smith
Starring	Julia Stiles Heath Ledger Joseph Gordon-Levitt Larisa Oleynik Larry Miller Andrew Keegan David Krumholtz Susan May Pratt
Music by	Richard Gibbs
Cinematography	Mark Irwin
Editing by	O. Nicholas Brown
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s)	March 31, 1999
Running time	99 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$17 million
Box office	$53,478,166

10 Things I Hate About You is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy film. It is directed by Gil Junger and stars Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger. The screenplay was written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith.

The film, a modernization of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, is titled after a poem written by the film's female lead (played by Stiles) to describe her bittersweet romance with the male lead (played by Ledger). The film was released March 31, 1999, and it was a breakout success for stars Stiles and Ledger.^[1][2][3] The film marks the motion picture directing debut of Junger, who previously directed only for television.

Contents  [hide]  1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Release and reception 4.1 Box office 4.2 Critics 4.3 Awards and nominations 5 Soundtrack 6 Television series 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit]Plot

Cameron James (Gordon-Levitt), a new student at Padua Stadium High School, is given a tour of the school by Michael Eckman (Krumholtz), an A.V. geek. During the tour, Cameron notices the beautiful and popular Bianca Stratford (Oleynik) and he is immediately smitten with her. Michael warns Cameron that Bianca is shallow and conceited, and that her father does not allow her to date. However, Michael does inform Cameron that Bianca is looking for a French tutor.

At the Stratford residence, Bianca's outcast older sister, Kat (Stiles), is in conflict with their overprotective father (Miller), who wants Kat to attend college nearby despite her acceptance to Sarah Lawrence College. Bianca is also fighting with their father regarding his strict no-dating rule. Kat's aversion to dating prompts their father to come up with a new rule, to Bianca's fury: Bianca can only date if Kat is also dating.

Cameron starts tutoring Bianca (despite knowing little French himself). After Cameron makes a failed attempt to ask her out on a date, she informs him of her father’s rule. This motivates Cameron and Michael to find a boy who is willing to date Kat.

Cameron suggests Patrick Verona (Ledger), another outcast who is just as ill-tempered as Kat. Cameron tries asking Patrick for his assistance, but Patrick scares him off. Michael suggests that Joey Donner (Keegan), an affluent student and model who also wants to date Bianca, pay Patrick to take Kat out. Patrick agrees, but Kat wants nothing to do with him. After a little effort, Patrick gets Kat to attend a party with him, but rejects her advances, leaving her angered and unwilling to talk to him. At the party, Bianca sees Cameron but is dragged away by Joey. He poses and tries to please her when Bianca realizes he is just obsessed with himself. After the party, Cameron admits his feelings for Bianca, and they kiss. The next day, Patrick eventually wins Kat over with a performance of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" in front of her entire soccer team. After sneaking Patrick out of detention, the two go on a date and kiss; however, when Patrick asks Kat to prom, she becomes suspicious and the two fight.

Bianca tries to convince her father to let her attend the prom, but he refuses because Kat is not going to the prom. When Bianca confronts Kat, it is revealed that Kat previously dated Joey and they slept together once since "everyone was doing it." She tells Bianca that her feelings of isolation from her fellow students dated from that incident and that she would never again do anything just because it was the popular thing to do.

Bianca and Kat end up going to the prom with Cameron and Patrick, respectively. Joey is furious to learn that Bianca has gone to the prom with Cameron, and confronts Patrick about the "arrangement" in front of Kat. Kat is very angry at Patrick when she discovers the truth and leaves him at the prom. Joey subsequently confronts Cameron about manipulating the "deal" for himself and knocks him to the floor, but Bianca punches Joey numerous times for using her, for hurting Kat's feelings, and for punching Cameron. Bianca and Cameron share a kiss and leave Joey lying on the floor in pain.

The next morning, Kat and Bianca's relationship appears to have improved drastically as Bianca attempts to comfort her older sister. Their father allows Kat to go to Sarah Lawrence College; she is extremely grateful and hugs him with happiness. Later at school, Kat reads a poem which she wrote for English class, titled "Ten Things I Hate About You," revealing her true feelings for Patrick. After school, Kat finds a guitar in her car that Patrick bought her with the money that Joey paid him, and he admits that he messed up his and Joey's deal by falling for her. Kat forgives Patrick and the two reconcile with a kiss.

[edit]Cast

• Heath Ledger as Patrick Verona, described by a The New York Times reviewer as a "rough-edged outsider" and "teenage rebel" who hangs out at a pool hall, smokes cigarettes, and drinks. He speaks in a partly Australian dialect (often lapsing into American) because he lived in Australia until he was ten. He is based on Petruchio, the male lead of The Taming of the Shrew, and his last name is a reference to his hometown, Verona in the play,^[4] coincidentally the setting of Romeo and Juliet.
• Julia Stiles as Katarina "Kat" Stratford, the "shrew" in the film. Kat is a proud, unsociable, nonconforming feminist who listens toRiot Grrrl music and reads books such as The Bell Jar. She is against dating and often "sneers at the idiocy of teenage social life".The New York Times called this "a breath of fresh air in the stifling materialistic atmosphere of today's Hollywood teenage movies". She was accepted into Sarah Lawrence College, which her father initially refused to let her attend. Kat is based on the character of the same name in The Taming of the Shrew.
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cameron James, who, like Patrick, pursues a Stratford sister. In contrast to Patrick, who is seen as intimidating and manly, Cameron is seen as sweet and delicate. He is a new kid, has a father in the U.S. Army, and befriends Michael and Patrick. He is based on Lucentio from The Taming of the Shrew. The character's name is inspired by film directorJames Cameron.
• Larisa Oleynik as Bianca Stratford, Kat's younger sister and foil; seen as a "Valley girl" type, she is good looking, wears designer clothes and is popular in school, though she eventually falls for geeky new kid Cameron as opposed to the school's most popular guy, Joey. She is based on the character of the same name in The Taming of the Shrew.
• David Krumholtz as Michael Eckman, an audiovisual geek who is delegated the task of showing Cameron around. He quickly becomes Cameron's best friend and helps him scheme to win Bianca. He is based on Tranio from The Taming of the Shrew.
• Andrew Keegan as Joey Donner, the main antagonist, a male model, who formerly bedded Kat and makes a bet that he can do the same with Bianca. He is based on Hortensio from The Taming of the Shrew.
• Larry Miller as Dr. Walter Stratford, an OB/GYN and single father. He is an extremely overprotective father, believing that his daughters will have sex, do drugs and drink as soon as they aren't under his supervision, though he is incorrect about this for the most part. His character is based on Baptista from The Taming of the Shrew.
• Susan May Pratt as Mandella, a Shakespeare aficionado whom Michael, dressed as William Shakespeare, takes to the prom. She is Kat's best friend.
• Gabrielle Union as Chastity Church, Bianca's best friend.
• Daryl Mitchell as Mr. Morgan, the proud African-American English literature teacher. He's an imposing teacher who, for the most part, seems to keep his classroom under control.
• Allison Janney as Ms. Perky, the school's guidance counselor and a writer of erotic literature. She makes many sexual comments and innuendos throughout the film.
• David Leisure as Mr. Chapin, the detention teacher and the girls' soccer coach.
• Greg Jackson as "Scurvy", one of Patrick's friends.
• Kyle Cease as Bogey Lowenstien, a golf enthusiast (hence his nickname, Bogey) and member of a clique of aspiring MBA's.
• Kay Hanley and Michael Eisenstein, members of Letters to Cleo.
• Monique Powell and Brian Mashburn, members of Save Ferris.

[edit]Production

The opening scene was filmed at Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill just Northwest of downtown Seattle. Exterior shots of principal photography were filmed in Tacoma and Seattle, Washington. The high school's exterior was shot at Tacoma's Stadium High School. Bianca and Kat's home in the film is in North Tacoma. A brief scene takes place at the Fremont Troll in Seattle, Washington. Katarina and Patrick's date takes place at Gas Works Park in Seattle, Washington. The biker bar that Patrick is shown going into is the Buckaroo Tavern in Fremont, Seattle. The exterior shot was taken at Alki Beach.^[5] The Padua High School Prom was filmed at Seattle's Century Ballroom as well as at the restored Paramount Theatre. The prom sequence was shot over three 90+°F days in Seattle.^[6] The store in which Kat picks out her dream guitar was a Ted Brown Music store in Tacoma, but has since been made into part of the Tacoma School of the Arts. Another scene takes place inside the Kingdome where Kat and Patrick have a picnic inside the venue.

Costume designer Kim Tillman designed original dresses for Larisa Oleynik and Julia Stiles as well as the period outfits for Susan May Pratt and David Krumholtz. Gabrielle Union's snakeskin prom dress is a Betsey Johnson design. Heath Ledger and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's vintage tuxes came from Isadora's in Seattle.^[6]

The primary tagline is an allusion to a poem written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning from her Sonnets from the Portuguese collection. ("How do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways.") Another tagline is a spoof from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet ("Romeo, Oh Romeo, Get Out Of My Face.") and another is a line from The Taming of the Shrew that is spoken in the film by Cameron ("I burn, I pine, I perish!"). The original script was finalized on November 12, 1997.^[7]

[edit]Release and reception

[edit]Box office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $8,330,681 in 2,271 theaters in the United States and Canada, averaging $3,668 per venue, and ranking number two at the box office (behind The Matrix). It grossed a total of $38,178,166 in the United States and Canada and $15,300,000 in other territories, about $53,500,000 worldwide. The film had an estimated budget of $16 million and is considered a moderate financial and critical success. On October 12, 1999, the Region 1 DVD was released. In the box office, the film is number ten in teen romance, 18th in high school comedies, and ranked 96th in romantic comedies.^[8]

[edit]Critics

The film received generally positive feedback from critics. Geoff Andrew from Time Out praised the film's leads, stating "Stiles grows into her character, and Ledger is effortlessly charming".^[9] Roger Ebert gave the film two and a half stars out of four, claiming "I liked the movie's spirit, the actors and some of the scenes. The music, much of it by the band Letters to Cleo, is subtle and inventive while still cheerful".^[10] Brad Laidman from Film Threat said the film was "Pure of heart and perfectly executed".^[11] Ron Wells, another critic from Film Threat expressed "Of all the teen films released this year, this one is, by far, the best".^[12]

[edit]Awards and nominations

In the year the film was released, the lead actors Gordon-Levitt, Stiles, and Oleynik each received Young Star Award nominations for Best Actor/Actress in a Comedy Film. The movie was nominated for five Teen Choice Awards: Film Breakout Performance (Stiles), Film Choice Comedy, Film Funniest Scene (featuring Krumholtz), Film Sexiest Love Scene (featuring Stiles and Ledger), and Soundtrack of the Year. More notably, the film's casting directors Marcia Ross and Donna Morong won "Best Casting for Feature Film, Comedy" at the Casting Society of America in 1999. In 2000, Stiles won the CFCA Award for "Most Promising Actress" for her role as Kat Stratford (tied with Émilie Dequenne in Rosetta) and an MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Female Performance. The same year, Ledger was nominated for Best Musical Performance for the song "Can't Take My Eyes Off You."

[edit]Soundtrack

Main article: 10 Things I Hate About You (soundtrack)

The soundtrack was released on April 6, 1999 by Hollywood Records. The soundtrack includes music from artists including Sister Hazel, Letters to Cleo, Save Ferris, George Clinton, and Semisonic.

[edit]Television series

Main article: 10 Things I Hate About You (TV series)

On October 8, 2008, ABC Family ordered a pilot episode of a new half-hour, single-camera comedy series based on 10 Things I Hate About You. Larry Miller is the only actor from the film to reprise his role in the television series. The director of the film, Gil Junger, also directed many of the episodes including the pilot while the film's music composer, Richard Gibbs, also returned to do the show's music. The series was adapted and produced by Carter Covington.^[13] The show premiered on July 7, 2009.^[14] The series ran only twenty episodes.

[edit]See also

• List of American films of 1999

[edit]References

1. ^ Aames, Ethan. "Julia Stiles on "The Omen" ". Cinema Confidential News. June 5, 2006. Retrieved on October 28, 2006.
2. ^ Eisenbach, Helen. "10 Thing We Love About Julia Stiles ". Manhattan File Magazine. January 2000. Retrieved October 28, 2006.
3. ^ Maher, Kevin. "Heath Ledger- The Accidental Hero ". Times Sunday Magazine. October 14, 2006. Retrieved October 28, 2006.
4. ^ SparkNotes Editors. "SparkNote on The Taming of the Shrew" . SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
5. ^ "IMDB" . IMDB. 2009-05-01. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
6. ^ ^a b Write-up on CinemaReview.com . Retrieved 2008-05-24.
7. ^ "Internet Movie Script Database" . Imsdb.com. 1997-11-12. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
8. ^ "10 Things I Hate About You (1999)" . Box Office Mojo. 1999-08-20. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
9. ^ "10 Things I Hate About You Review. Movie Reviews - Film - Time Out New York" . Archived from the original  on 2009-09-21. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
10. ^ "Roger Ebert review" . Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original  on 2009-08-13. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
11. ^ "Current Movie Reviews, Independent Movies - Film Threat" . Archived from the original  on 2009-09-21. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
12. ^ "Current Movie Reviews, Independent Movies - Film Threat" . Archived from the original  on 2009-09-21. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
13. ^ Nguyen, Hanh. "ABC Family Greenlights '10 Things I Hate,' 'Ruby' Pilots ." Zap2it.com. October 8, 2008. Retrieved on October 8, 2008.
14. ^ "ABC Family: 10 Things I Hate About You" . Archived from the original  on 2009-06-19. Retrieved 2009-06-17.